A Little Meditation Goes a Long Way I consider myself something of a prospective meditator—meaning that a serious meditation practice is always something I’m about to start… next week. So for years, I’ve been making a mental note of new studies showing that meditation can literally change our brain structure in ways that might boost concentration, memory, and positive emotions. Jacob Wackerhausen The results seem enticing enough to make anyone drop into the full lotus position—until you read the fine print: Much of this research involves people who have meditated for thousands of hours over many years; some of it zeroes in on Olympic-level meditators who have clocked 10,000 hours or more. Pretty daunting. Well, a new study offers some hope—and makes the benefits of meditation seem within reach even for a novice like me. The researchers tracked 16 people who were participating in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, the training program developed more than 30 years ago by Jon Kabat-Zinn.
How to Meditate: What you didn’t know about Empty Mind Techniques and your bliss Sow a thought and you reap an act; Sow an act and you reap a habit; Sow a habit and you reap a character; Sow a character and you reap a destiny. Empty mind meditation is one of the most popular and yet misunderstood types of meditation. I love it because it trains you to still (or control, depending on what you want) your thoughts and emotions. Why should this matter? Empty mind meditation is also a neutral form – it is free of all the different teachings and belief systems, so everyone can practice it without getting sucked into something they might not want to. I’ve been asked a few times about my favourite meditations, so I’ll describe it here, with a few personal variations. If you’re an experienced meditator, you can skip the next few sections and get straight to the goods. Benefits of empty mind meditation I have used empty mind meditation to great effect; it was one of the most important practices I used to get out of extreme negativity. Continued practice of meditation: Posture
Calm_Thunder_Storm 1. Choose a sound In order for nature sounds to start playing choose a sound from drop-down box for one channel and drag the volume slider up. 2. You can add more nature sounds to composition by choosing other sounds in other channels. 3. Pan the channel (with horizontal slider) to the left or to the right for stereo effects. 4. If you want the sound volume to fluctuate instead of playing continuously, click on a drop-down box with a green line and choose one of interrupted lines. 1. In order for nature sounds to start playing choose a sound from drop-down box for one channel and drag the volume slider up. 2. You can add more nature sounds to composition by choosing other sounds in other channels. 3. Pan the channel (with horizontal slider) to the left or to the right for stereo effects. 4. If you want the sound volume to fluctuate instead of playing continuously, click on a drop-down box with a green line and choose one of interrupted lines.
Audio: Meditation Guided Meditations with Malcolm Huxter Body Scan gives instructions on bringing awareness to bodily sensations. For the most part this exercise is relaxing. Progressive Relaxation gives guidance for a common muscle tension and release exercise often used for stress management. Calming the body with the breath, describes a mindfulness of breath exercise coupled with relaxation. Cultivating peace and joy with the breath, is an extension of the track "Calming the body with the breath". Mindful Standing and Walking, provides simple instructions for mindful standing and walking. Mindfulness of Breath gives instructions for mindfulness of breath, as is it experienced as movement in the abdomen. Mindfulness of sound and thought, firstly instructs on how to use sound as an object of meditation then asks the listener to shift attention to thoughts. Open awareness. A guided Loving kindness meditation.