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In today’s modern world, discussing an age old principle such as yoga can be rather challenging. The true idea of this ancient art has long been forgotten, buried within the challenging lifestyle of modern day globalization. Most people choose to explain yoga as a simple concept rather than a complicated philosophy in order to help people understand better. The particulars of this training might not be easily recognized by the western civilization.

Referring to a problem you do not have a comprehensive understanding of, and spreading the words as the gospel truth is a dangerous business. Yoga is mainly perceived as a physical exercise in the western part of the world. It can be displayed as a physical activity which is focused on the achievement of internal balance and meditative states of mind.

It is among the six schools of Hindu thoughts has roots deep inside the pages of the Hindu Holy Scriptures. In India, yoga is considered a very spiritual experience that has a physical element into it. However the western world would rather refer yoga as a simple physical practice. The hidden particulars on this mysterious practice having its strange looking symbols could be successful to make the typical westerner conscious that there are more to yoga than physical moves alone, but nevertheless they are often misunderstood. Working from the wrong paradigm, yoga grew to become a kind of sports in the western world. The appeal of yoga as an ideal way to achieve inner serenity and stability has beckoned many to embrace this activity as well. Furthermore, people who wish inner tranquility might often find this practice to be useful.

The so called experts in this field have been quick to make use of these promises and people have been attracted. Deadly errors have been detected in the practice of yoga outside of India, showing the level of misunderstanding among the western practitioners. A closer look revealed that these types of errors were caused by the social influence of each race. Apparently, the west is not willing to spend too much effort in important contemplations of this philosophy, therefore the ensuing fatal error as a result of lack of understanding.

While meditation is an integral part of the practice, the westerners with their ever hectic lifestyles certainly don’t posses time for such recreation. The greed for power and material wealth that is crucial in the western culture doesn’t have place in the Hindu culture. The western man shall by no means reach the heights of intelligence according to the boundaries set by the Hindu faith and culture. Patience as well as time is necessary for meditation. The westerners don’t view investment in such contemplative occasions to the accomplishment of philosophical wisdom to be valuable. It places high amount of significance in the mere acquisition of wealth and power.

Ironically, yoga has been implemented as a trend in the western part of the world. There is plenty of information going out promoting yoga as a form of sport. Followers of popular people who later become false gurus are adamant about promoting their idol and his practice. The growing effect of this unhealthy philosophy is related to the disciples that are faithful in getting the news out about the benefits of adopting this crooked kind of yogic philosophy.

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Yoga is the vogue for those trying to lose some weight and get fit. It is relaxing and through meditation, one can achieve calmness of mind, as well as increase suppleness and agility through the exercises.

Yoga was formed about eight thousand years back and it can be attributed to the Indus Valley and the Vedic civilization. Other hinted to it way back before the formation of the Vedas in India. Certain historians deem that it only goes back to about four thousand years as a result of Vedic shastras and the Hindu sacred manuscript. Vasishta, Yajnavalkya, and Jaigishavya whom are well known Vedic wise men and they are among the supreme practitioners.

Yoga in recent times has been reduced to physical exercises completely different from what was scripted. Hatha yoga is the most widespread type of yoga practiced in the west. The practices are mainly centered on stretching and breathing devoid of the spiritual aspects.

Yoga offer host of benefits to our physical, emotional and spiritual make ups that other exercises cannot provide, therefore it is advantageous to take up yoga. It is one of the best exercises as it reduce your stress level and calms the mind as yoga requires stretching of the body and taking up dissimilar poses, even when you are controlling your breathe.

This give rise to a calm body yet you are fully in control. Also they are certain kinds of yoga which center on meditation and relaxation. Doing the different poses will at the same time get you lean, toned and fit. Yoga not only assists you in losing weight but tone and fortifies your body as well, that by building gorgeous muscles and not bulking.

It is one of the best forms of exercises irrespective of age or gender. Picking up the fundamentals of yoga is not difficult by progressing from simple to advanced level of postures. The most fundamental forms of yoga is the asthanga yoga with bikram yoga being the most complicated as you will have to practice it in 40 degree Celsius and a humidity of about forty percent.

Through books and DVDs you can pick up yoga easily or visit a gym to learn from a qualified yoga teacher and learning from a yoga teacher will help you to pick up the nuances of yoga and they will be there to correct your mistakes.

Learning yoga is an ongoing process and you will grow to enjoy the benefits as it is not an exhausting and arduous undertaking. Compare to other exercises, this is the one that you can benefit physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Yoga is initially alternative kinds of exercises that began to be more widespread and becoming mainstream. The yoga practice in the west is hatha yoga and it is through vigorous exercises get the body ready for extended period of meditation. Other kinds of Yoga are not that physical but just there as a philosophy.

Contorting the body into odd physical shapes is known as asana yoga. It might make you squirm but it is meant for the body to relax. There are other poses too but the easy one is enough to give the practitioner strength, control and suppleness.

Even though western countries concentrate on the physical aspects, breathing technique is as vital. Breathing complements the exercises as oxygen supports the body. With the correct breathing technique, it will help you to alleviate your stress and fuel you up. Meditation from yoga helps you to relax, think on your feet and there is a whole concept of mind and body development.

Yoga is very beneficial to mind and body and the practices have been spreading throughout the world. The increasing popularity is due to endorsement by physician who counsels their patients to take it up for the value and advantages of yoga and it also has been widely research.

As yoga relaxes and calms the mind and body and offer many other benefits, for instant uplifting of your mood; it is not surprising that physicians and scientist are keen on it and much has been written on the subject. Yoga also helps in healing and maintains health. Together there are six types of yoga and they are Raja Yoga, Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Tantra Yoga and Hatha Yoga.

Therefore with an understanding of yoga, it will point you to one of these six types and eventually when you have pick up enough knowledge; it will open your mind.

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Most westerners usually wince when they the subject of yoga is brought up. All they see is complicated poses done by yoga practitioners. But there is easy yoga and the advanced level, so everyone who is interested can pick it up. Both easy and advanced yoga are formed thousands of years ago in India to assist practitioners achieve balance and harmony in their life. With a balanced and harmonious body, it is easy to be one with the universe.

Yoga is never religious although it was passed down from traditional Hindu sacred document. Easy yoga poses can be obtained from classes, self-help books, self taught videos or DVDs but it is better to begin learning from a qualified yoga teacher. You will then pick up all the proper yoga poses.

Yoga lessons can be tailored for children, pregnant women, senior citizens, etc as easy yoga is not at all difficult to pick up. Exercises keep your body fit and healthy and easy yoga fits the bills as it can be done in relax and joyful approaches.

As your muscles grow suppler, you will experience a growing confidence in addition to rejuvenation, reassurance and relaxation. As a form of meditation, it can help reduce stress and frustrations as well as getting healthy.

Beginners can practice yoga by following few basic steps and from there you can fully understand and garner the many benefits of yoga. Through practicing beginning yoga, you will feel emotionally and physically better.

Initially you will have to pick up the dissimilar features of yoga and the differing types. The philosophy of yoga needs to be learned as well, including the breathing techniques that will assist you in relaxation so as to attain stability to be able to acquire a right frame of mind to do intense meditation.

As you started off with beginning yoga, you will have to experience many levels of yoga and from there build up capability to sense what can be done from one level to another. Altogether there are eight levels and you need to be able to overcome each to achieve insight to a greater life. It is necessary to observe the morals and ethics of yoga in order to lead healthy life.

One of the many benefits of beginning yoga is its curative purposes and it can better your mental and physical well being. Your body will become suppler and you will be able to move about easily and you will also gain muscles and a well toned body. The mental aspects will be a reduction in stress level with increasing consciousness and calmness of mind in addition to concentrating better.

Advanced yoga is taught not to show off but one of the main attribute is humility. Yoga lessons create harmony between mind, body and soul. Although it can be learn from DVDs, books, magazines, etc, do not attempt it if you are not familiar as it is more difficult that envisage. Advanced yoga is for those experienced practitioners and Pilates can be useful too, even though Pilates focus on body and not mind and soul.

Advanced yoga is a gradual build up from easy yoga but there is more than meet the eyes as building up your ethics and morals as well as staying calm and be able to take what life throws at you and follow god’s guidance.

Advanced yoga can muster the mind to walk on broken glasses or through fire and even went without food for days, be clairvoyance and even levitate. But that is not what advanced yoga encourages as it is to be unified with the universe and show you the direction in life.

Another difficult type of yoga is the power yoga and it can be thought of as similar to karate. Even with experience in martial art instructions, you might not be sufficiently prepared to take on power yoga.

Power yoga require total dedication as the training can be intensive but it make little sense as yoga is understood to be relaxing and calming to the mind and body. But power yoga is very physical in nature.

Power yoga is all about fitness and complements the usual stretching, balance and focus; it helps in your blood circulation. The reason is more oxygen is propelled to the muscles, thus improving energy level.

Power yoga is the best way to keep fit and with this, it will help you to grow old with poise and not rapidly. Picking the techniques of power yoga is not enough, you need to practice consistently or your fitness level will drop. Sticking to a firm schedule daily is essential even with distractions. This is what discipline is all about.

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Ancient practitioners have likened yoga to a living tree with six branches coming from the trunk, with each branch having its own unique function relating to a particular lifestyle. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is one of the six darshanas of Hindu or Vedic schools and, alongside the Bhagvada Gita and Hatha Yoga Pradipika, is a milestone in the history of Yoga. Though brief, the Yoga Sutras are an enormously influential work, just as relevant for yoga philosophy and practice today, as when written many thousands of years ago.

The six branches of Yoga tend to have some aspects in common and familiarizing oneself with all six will certainly help in the selection of your own yoga programme that incorporates routines that appeal from any of the six branches. Asanas or postures, Pranayama or breath control, these two disciplines along with meditation and a strict moral code are the fundamentals of the practice of yoga.

Hatha Yoga
Introduced in the 15th century by an Indian sage as a preparatory stage of physical purification to enable the body to be fit for the practice of higher meditation as in Raja Yoga, Ha means sun and tha means moon, a reference to the energy channels of the body. Fully opened energy channels allow the body to become supple enough to attain the mental disciplines of Raja Yoga. In practice, both Hatha and Raja Yoga are inter-related and dependant upon each other. Western practitioners associate yoga with the hatha branch to attain mental and physical wellbeing.

Raja Yoga
Raja translates as ‘royal’ and meditation is central to this branch of yoga, which has eight side branches or limbs in an order that must be strictly followed. We start with Yama meaning ethical standards, Niyama – self discipline, asana – posture, pranayama – breathing control, pratyahara – sensory withdrawal, dharana – meditation, samadhi – ecstasy or final liberation. Those inclined to introspection or meditation are best suited to Raja yoga.

Though members of religious orders and spiritual communities devote themselves to this yoga branch, one does not have to embrace a monastic lifestyle to gain from the benefits of practicing Raja Yoga.

Karma Yoga
The fundamental principle of Karma Yoga is that what we experience now is created by our past actions, whether in this life or a previous one. Once we understand this principal, then we can ensure all our present actions help create a future free of negativity and selfishness. To practice Karma Yoga is to lead a life of selfless service to others.

Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti Yoga is yoga of the heart, a branch of devotion Bhakti is the Sanskrit term for selfless love of God and mankind. Bhakti principles are universal and common to many world religions. By following the path of bhakti we learn to channel our emotions, accept and have tolerance for all those that cross our path.

Jnana Yoga
This is the branch of knowledge, the yoga of the mind and is both the most difficult and the most direct of the six branches. It is yoga of the mind, of wisdom, the path of the sage or scholar. The practitioners of Jnana Yoga develop their intellects by intensive study, particularly but not confined to, the yoga tradition and other spiritual teachings. This is the path that most appeals to the intellectuals pursuing the practice of yoga. Within the context of our Western religious traditions, Kabalistic scholars, Jesuit priests, and Benedictine monks epitomise Jnana Yogis.

Tantra Yoga
Tantra, from the Sanskrit ‘to weave’ or ‘loom’, is the branch of yoga that practices ritual as a means of experiencing the divine in all our activities. Probably, the most misunderstood or misinterpreted of all the yogas, tantra, the sixth branch, is the pathway of ritual, an in tantric practice; we experience the Divine in everything we do. A reverential attitude is, therefore cultivated, encouraging a ritualistic approach to life. In essence, tantra is the most esoteric of the six major branches and appeals to those yogis who enjoy ceremony and relate to the feminine principle of the cosmos, which they call Shakti.

In the West, the tantric path of yoga has become associated almost entirely with sexual activity. It is because of this emphasis on only one aspect of this branch that it has become misinterpreted and misunderstood by so many. It is amusing to note that, although tantra has become associated exclusively with sexual ritual, most tantric schools actually recommend a celibate lifestyle. The ‘Kama Sutra’ an ancient Hindu book of sexual techniques is the best known example of the lack of understanding of the true objectives of tantra yoga.

A discipline that leads to a reverential attitude to even the most every day celebrations of giving and receiving, of birth and death, of achievements and of failure, and of relationships and understanding, this is a path that will appeal to westerners who enjoy being actively involved in celebrations, church going, clubs and associations and other types of ceremonies.

Combining the Paths
You do not have to limit yourself to one expression, but can practice hatha yoga, taking care of your physical body, while simultaneously cultivating the lifestyle of a Bhakti Yogi, expressing compassion for everyone you meet. Whichever, avenue of yogic expression draws your interest; it will probably be the right yoga path for you.

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Trying to find well-produced fitness videos that are truly suitable for beginners can be a daunting challenge.

There is a good video by Alan Finger called Yoga zone. It’s nice to discover Yoga Zone: Flexibility and Tone, a beginners’ tape that offers the depth of instruction and easy pace that true beginners need.

He has a true gift for instruction, combining the nuts-and-bolts details of positioning with what it feels like to stretch and balance.

The video session ends with stretching and relaxation, set to gentle New Age music that might lull you to sleep.

The Cure

Yoga is a 3,000-year-old, Hindu discipline of mind and body that became known in Western society with the hippie generation of the Sixties and early Seventies. Its image as a mystic practice is disappearing as fast as the stressful aspects of the Eighties are appearing.

Stretching and toning, though beneficial, aren’t the primary reasons people turn to yoga. Newcomers are hoping that yoga will provide them with a means for handling stress and diffusing tension. The difference between exercise and yoga is that yoga has a meditative quality.

Hatha Yoga is among the most popular forms in the west. It emphasizes the practice of postures, which stretch and strengthen the body help develop a sense of balance and flexibility, as well as body awareness and mental concentration. All forms of yoga incorporate the practice of proper breathing techniques for relaxation, to rest the mind from its constant chatter, to experience an internal calm, and to energize and purify the body.

Stress-related problems account for 60percent to 90percent of U.S. doctor visits, and mind-body approaches often are more effective, and cost-effective, than drugs or surgery. For example, 34percent of infertile patients get pregnant within six months, 70percent of insomniacs become regular sleepers and doctor visits for pain are reduced 36percent.

And the techniques work on children as well as adults. When your children are quarreling, ask them to stop what they’re doing, raise their arms over their heads, lean forward and breathe deeply to help diffuse their anger. It definitely helps them to cool it.

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The purpose of meditation is to still the fluctuations of the mind, to bring a cessation of thoughts. Anyone who has tried to do this knows exactly how difficult it is to accomplish. Everything we eat produces chemical effects on the body and the mind. Some foods are downright injurious in their effect, some are stimulating, and others are calming. It is this last group of foods that we want to eat from to assist our efforts in meditation. To eat from the other two groups will create unnecessary difficulties for ourselves, or even completely sabotage us. The effect of these different foods on the body and mind holds true for everyone, whether you practice a Christian, Buddhist, Hindu or some other form of meditation.

All foods fall into one of three categories. They will be either materializing, energizing or spiritualizing in nature. This means they will have either a heavy, stultifying and downward pulling effect on the body and mind, an energizing, stimulating and activating effect, or a calming, quieting and uplifting effect. If you are trying to meditate you don’t want your mind pulled toward matter, or stimulated into more activity. You want your body to become calm and still, and your mind to be quiet, internalized and free from mental activity.

Materializing foods are: all animal products such as beef, pork (and to a lesser extent fish and fowl and lamb), all alcoholic beverages, any food that is old, decaying or rotten, or processed into nutritional worthlessness. (The Sanskrit yogic term for this class of foods is tamasic.)

Energizing foods are: foods that are bitter, sour, salty, excessively hot, burning, pungent, harsh, eggs, fish, fowl and lamb. (The Sanskrit yogic term for this class of foods is rajasic.)

Calming, spiritualizing foods are: fresh fruits and vegetables in their raw form (and to a lesser extent if lightly cooked), whole grains and legumes, fresh dairy products, nuts, natural sweets such as honey and dates, small amounts of fats from vegetable or dairy sources only. (The Sanskrit yogic term for this class of foods is sattvic.)

Another requisite for the spiritualizing foods listed above to be beneficial is that they be consumed the way nature made them, not consumed after man processes, pasteurizes, heats, freezes, denatures, fortifies, packages and otherwise mutilates them into unrecognizability.

Since you are serious about meditating deeply, get serious about strengthening your efforts with a daily diet that will purify, calm, invigorate and spiritualize your mind, and every cell in your body and brain. The fight against restlessness and delusion is a difficult one. Arm yourself for the battle with the powerful weapon of a proper diet.

Ms. Harper’s website offers the full line of Champion and Omega juicers: masticating, pulp ejecting, citrus and centrifugal styles, plus lots of info, articles and books on juicing, nutrition and yoga. Her aim is to educate people on the physical, mental and spiritual health benefits of juicing. She is a student of Vedic philosophy and disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda. Visit: www.longlifejuicers.com www.shop.longlifejuicers.com

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The History of Meditation

Tibetan Buddhist meditation has a long history, but not as long as the history of meditation itself. Buddhism was a branch of Hinduism and so meditation was practiced in Hinduism before it was practiced in Buddhism. Buddhist thought is that there are three things one must accomplish before enlightenment. Virtue, Wisdom, and Meditation. Meditation is practiced in many of the eastern religions, and even in western religions. But I will focus this article on Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism meditation practices.

Hinduism is the oldest living religion that practiced meditation. Meditation in Hinduism is thought to have developed out of man’s need to find Brahman (God’s) true nature. Hindu practitioners would sit and think about who God really was, and by sitting for hours like this they began to have moments of clarity. These moments of clarity are what many practitioners even today are trying to achieve through meditation.

The difference in meditation in Buddhism and in Hinduism is that Buddhist practitioners did not believe that meditation is a means by which to be closer with God, but that it is instead a way for those meditating to become closer with everything on earth. It is said that Buddha (Siddhartha) found enlightenment by meditation underneath a Bodhi tree.

Meditation in yoga

In yoga, meditation is practiced after breathing exercises, or pranayama. The original philosphy of yoga was that is was important to meditate after practicing asanas, or the physical aspect of yoga, because the body would be prepared to relax and loose enough that sitting on the floor would be comfortable. Breathing before any type of meditation is a good practice, because slow breathing slows down your heart rate and calms the mind so that the body is able to move into a tranquil place.

Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism was formed out of the principles of yoga and of Buddhism, which arrived in Tibet from India beginning in the eighth century. Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism is focused on tantric principles, and another name for Tibetan Buddhism is Tantrayana Buddhism. One purpose of tantra is to help turn the base human desires such as greed and envy into something good, like love and compassion. There are many steps in tantric Buddhism, these include lamrim (things that should be reflected on and meditative activities), preliminary practices, contemplation, Dzogchen (an advanced step which is the last step on the Tantrayana Buddhist practitioner’s path).

Ways to Meditate

In Tibetan Buddhism many forms of meditation are comprised of thinking about certain things in order to clear your mind and help make the path to enlightenment open. Some topics to meditate on include being charitable to others, seeing yourself and those around you as equal, and developing compassion.

In yoga and Hinduism, meditation is the path and the goal. There are many different forms that yogic meditation can take. Because meditation in yoga often starts with pranayama, or breathing exercises, meditation can also start with the breath. There are also forms of meditation where you meditate on a mantra, or prayer. There is meditation through kirtan, singing. There is also meditation on sound that can occur with music or in a kirtan session. And in both Hinduism and in Tibetan Buddhism there is meditation on an object, such as a Buddhist statue or a Buddhist thangka or a dorje or other symbol.

There are many different forms of meditation in both Hindusim (yoga) and Tibetan Buddhism. Whichever path one chooses in meditation, it is important to first find a spiritual guide. A spiritual guide can help you understand how to meditate and help guide your meditation path in ways that we cannot do on our own. Remember, even your spiritual guide started with a spiritual guide of their own at some point.

The History of Meditation

Tibetan Buddhist meditation has a long history, but not as long as the history of meditation itself. Buddhism was a branch of Hinduism and so meditation was practiced in Hinduism before it was practiced in Buddhism. Buddhist thought is that there are three things one must accomplish before enlightenment. Virtue, Wisdom, and Meditation. Meditation is practiced in many of the eastern religions, and even in western religions. But I will focus this article on Hinduism and Tibetan Buddhism meditation practices.

Hinduism is the oldest living religion that practiced meditation. Meditation in Hinduism is thought to have developed out of man’s need to find Brahman (God’s) true nature. Hindu practitioners would sit and think about who God really was, and by sitting for hours like this they began to have moments of clarity. These moments of clarity are what many practitioners even today are trying to achieve through meditation.

The difference in meditation in Buddhism and in Hinduism is that Buddhist practitioners did not believe that meditation is a means by which to be closer with God, but that it is instead a way for those meditating to become closer with everything on earth. It is said that Buddha (Siddhartha) found enlightenment by meditation underneath a Bodhi tree.

Meditation in yoga

In yoga, meditation is practiced after breathing exercises, or pranayama. The original philosphy of yoga was that is was important to meditate after practicing asanas, or the physical aspect of yoga, because the body would be prepared to relax and loose enough that sitting on the floor would be comfortable. Breathing before any type of meditation is a good practice, because slow breathing slows down your heart rate and calms the mind so that the body is able to move into a tranquil place.

Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism was formed out of the principles of yoga and of Buddhism, which arrived in Tibet from India beginning in the eighth century. Meditation in Tibetan Buddhism is focused on tantric principles, and another name for Tibetan Buddhism is Tantrayana Buddhism. One purpose of tantra is to help turn the base human desires such as greed and envy into something good, like love and compassion. There are many steps in tantric Buddhism, these include lamrim (things that should be reflected on and meditative activities), preliminary practices, contemplation, Dzogchen (an advanced step which is the last step on the Tantrayana Buddhist practitioner’s path).

Ways to Meditate

In Tibetan Buddhism many forms of meditation are comprised of thinking about certain things in order to clear your mind and help make the path to enlightenment open. Some topics to meditate on include being charitable to others, seeing yourself and those around you as equal, and developing compassion.

In yoga and Hinduism, meditation is the path and the goal. There are many different forms that yogic meditation can take. Because meditation in yoga often starts with pranayama, or breathing exercises, meditation can also start with the breath. There are also forms of meditation where you meditate on a mantra, or prayer. There is meditation through kirtan, singing. There is also meditation on sound that can occur with music or in a kirtan session. And in both Hinduism and in Tibetan Buddhism there is meditation on an object, such as a Buddhist statue or a Buddhist thangka or a dorje or other symbol.

There are many different forms of meditation in both Hindusim (yoga) and Tibetan Buddhism. Whichever path one chooses in meditation, it is important to first find a spiritual guide. A spiritual guide can help you understand how to meditate and help guide your meditation path in ways that we cannot do on our own. Remember, even your spiritual guide started with a spiritual guide of their own at some point.

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Meditation thoughts are a bit of an oxymoron. Meditation is actually about getting beyond thoughts, depending on the tradition.

The strongest meditation traditions are from the East, India, China, and Japan, for example, and are associated with Eastern religions.

I have been a student of the 11th step in AA, Transcendental Meditation, and Chi Gong.

I do not know anything about Buddhist or Hindu or Zen meditation thoughts.

My first experience with meditation thoughts was in Transcendental Meditation, which became popular in the West during the 1960’s when the Beatles studied with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India.

I was struggling a bit then, so I read a book, and since it did not appear too hard, I was initiated in that tradition and given a mantra.

The mantra, or meditation thought for this tradition, was a nonsense syllable which I was to repeat in my twice daily practices.

I really enjoyed the meditation process, but at that time I was living with a number of Viet Nam veterans and we partied heavily, and whenever they thought I was indulging in my meditative discipline, they would pelt me with beer cans.

I gave the practice up over time, but the thought or mantra was designed to occupy what I now know to be my beta brain wave or working brain so that other parts of my experience could take over.

The 11th step of AA calls for daily prayer and meditation to know your higher power’s will for you today.

It involves seeking an answer, and being attentive to hearing the still small voice on which the answer will come.

For those reading this who are new to AA or meditation, you can be listening all the time.

I like to call it swithching the figure and the ground. The necker cube graphic at the top of this page is an example. If I look at that for a moment or two, I will appear to see two different boxes, and if I focus on one, then the other seems to disappear, but actually it has simply moved to my perceptual background.

Meditation thoughts function very similarly, when I concentrate on a mantra or a thought, other thoughts recede to the background until I remove my focus from my seed thought or mantra. Then they come back.

Chi Gong has been a different kind of discipline with different kinds of meditative thoughts mixed with physical movements, still designed to keep my focus inward to achieve a long and healthy life.

Like all meditative practices, it is a practice which demands a commitment, and regular long term practices.

Now there are some technological tools which can inform your meditative thoughts.

EEG biofeedback and heart rate variability biofeedback and mind fullness practices using Open Focus language are tools I have used personally and professionally.

The two most pleasant feeling experiences result from using Open Focus, which stipulates that my meditative thought be about space, like the space inside my hand, and the HeartMath tools ask me to focus my thoughts on the area around my heart.

HeartMath is a computerized program and I can see how fast I switch from calm to excited when I switch my meditative thoughts away from my heart.

When I keep my thoughts focused on the space inside my chest and around my heart I feel calm and content, and with a bit of practice I can repeat that feeling on demand. My heart has learned how to do it.

Want to try?

Meditation thoughts are a bit of an oxymoron. Meditation is actually about getting beyond thoughts, depending on the tradition.

The strongest meditation traditions are from the East, India, China, and Japan, for example, and are associated with Eastern religions.

I have been a student of the 11th step in AA, Transcendental Meditation, and Chi Gong.

I do not know anything about Buddhist or Hindu or Zen meditation thoughts.

My first experience with meditation thoughts was in Transcendental Meditation, which became popular in the West during the 1960’s when the Beatles studied with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India.

I was struggling a bit then, so I read a book, and since it did not appear too hard, I was initiated in that tradition and given a mantra.

The mantra, or meditation thought for this tradition, was a nonsense syllable which I was to repeat in my twice daily practices.

I really enjoyed the meditation process, but at that time I was living with a number of Viet Nam veterans and we partied heavily, and whenever they thought I was indulging in my meditative discipline, they would pelt me with beer cans.

I gave the practice up over time, but the thought or mantra was designed to occupy what I now know to be my beta brain wave or working brain so that other parts of my experience could take over.

The 11th step of AA calls for daily prayer and meditation to know your higher power’s will for you today.

It involves seeking an answer, and being attentive to hearing the still small voice on which the answer will come.

For those reading this who are new to AA or meditation, you can be listening all the time.

I like to call it swithching the figure and the ground. The necker cube graphic at the top of this page is an example. If I look at that for a moment or two, I will appear to see two different boxes, and if I focus on one, then the other seems to disappear, but actually it has simply moved to my perceptual background.

Meditation thoughts function very similarly, when I concentrate on a mantra or a thought, other thoughts recede to the background until I remove my focus from my seed thought or mantra. Then they come back.

Chi Gong has been a different kind of discipline with different kinds of meditative thoughts mixed with physical movements, still designed to keep my focus inward to achieve a long and healthy life.

Like all meditative practices, it is a practice which demands a commitment, and regular long term practices.

Now there are some technological tools which can inform your meditative thoughts.

EEG biofeedback and heart rate variability biofeedback and mind fullness practices using Open Focus language are tools I have used personally and professionally.

The two most pleasant feeling experiences result from using Open Focus, which stipulates that my meditative thought be about space, like the space inside my hand, and the HeartMath tools ask me to focus my thoughts on the area around my heart.

HeartMath is a computerized program and I can see how fast I switch from calm to excited when I switch my meditative thoughts away from my heart.

When I keep my thoughts focused on the space inside my chest and around my heart I feel calm and content, and with a bit of practice I can repeat that feeling on demand. My heart has learned how to do it.

Want to try?

Article Source: http://www.articlewarehouse.com

Michael S. Logan is a brain fitness expert, a counselor, a student of Chi Gong, and licensed one on one HeartMath provider. I enjoy the spiritual, the mythological, and psychological, and I am a late life father to Shane, 10, and Hannah Marie, 4, whose brains are so amazing. www.askmikethecounselor2.com

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