Breathe Deep! The Power of Your Breath

Power Of The Yoga Breath
A 2006 study on the effects of pranayama (yoga rhythmic breathing) in patients with severe COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) examined forty eight patients randomly divided (24 each) into two groups.
The study group patients were trained to do pranayama daily, six times a week, for 3 months for at least half an hour duration and both the groups were allowed to continue with their usual physical activity and medications.

Pranayama consisted of six breathing exercises: Bhastika Pranayama,'Kapalabhati Pranayama, Vhasya pranayama, Anulom-Vilom pranayama, Bhramid pranayama and Udgeedh pranayama.

Lung function tests, spirometry, and blood gases were taken and compared with the control group.

Amazing Results
The results showed that there was improvement in the lung function parameters in the study group which in turn had an overall positive effect on the patients. “Patients had reduced symptoms, became more actively involved in their own health care, more independent in performing their daily activities, increased exercise tolerance and therefore were less dependent on family, friends, health professionals, and expensive medical resources. There was improvement in the psychological function of the patient with less anxiety and depression and increased feeling of hope, control and self- esteem.”

The researchers concluded that yogic breathing is a “noncompetitive, personal, inexpensive and enjoyable activity which can produce truly amazing results.”

Your Breath
Your feelings and emotions correspond to your thoughts and actions and the subsequent flow of the breath.

Yoga philosophy teaches that where the breath goes the mind follows and vice-versa, highlighting the distinct relationship between how you breathe and your individual physical and spiritual well-being.

The average body takes approximately 21,600 breaths every day, which equates to 15 breaths per minute. We are all breathing but all too often the breath becomes held, rapid, or uneven in response to events that either exist in the mind or are actually happening in the present moment. These events include, fear, laughter, and even stress.

Maintaining a full and steady breathing pattern not only benefits the mind and body by promoting a relaxed physical state and clear decision-making but there is also an abundant supply of oxygen to ensure completion of daily tasks while the cells of the body are nurtured and stale waste products are eliminated, ensuring better overall health.

Connecting with the flow of the breath is also a spiritual tool that draws you closer to the quiet place within while acting as a means by which to train the mind to maintain a single-pointed focus.
Conscious awareness is further strengthened by concentration on the rhythmic breath.

Simple Techniques to Practice
Awareness of each of the senses, and whether one is more active than the other, assists you in not only regulating the flow, rate, and rhythm of the breath, but helps you to make better choices in relation to the thoughts that you produce and their impact on you and your surroundings.

You can embrace the senses and the breath when you are walking outside, perhaps in a park, the beach, or the countryside. Synchronize each inhale and exhale with each step while noticing what you hear, feel, smell, see, and touch. As each step becomes linked with each breath, you can cease the awareness of the senses and draw closer to the rhythmic flow of the breath.

You can also link the breath and step with an affirmation or with each word of your affirmation.

Breath Affirmation
Affirmations are a proven and powerful method of changing the way the mind thinks and creating a positive (or negative) outcome.

1. Recognize what you want.
2. Create language that affirms what you want.
3. By repeating and believing what you have written, the mind will gradually replace the outdated patterns and images with ones that support you in achieving a new reality.

I fill my body with light

I release all impurities

I am free and strong

Or you can try the following method:

With each inhalation I breathe in ….(add a word)

With each exhalation I breathe out …(add a word)

Role of Pranayama in Rehabilitation of COPD patients - a Randomized
Controlled Study. S K Katiyar, Shailesh Bihari
Dept. of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases Dr. Murari Lai Chest Hospital
G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur
Indian J Allergy Asthma Immunol 2006; 20(2) : 98-104

Increasing your optimism. There are No limits!

Concentration, Optimism, Success

The brain has an open loop system where we are able to pick up subtle clues that are emitted from one another. We can also anticipate the actions of other people and react accordingly and this amazing ability fires back and forth in split seconds between each person. For example, hormones are activated in 40 milliseconds while the sympathetic nervous system is activated in a mere 8 milliseconds.

There is also a cycle of "sacrifice and renewal" which occurs daily within the neurons and this cycle is affected either positively or negatively by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).

It is estimated that 85,000 neurons are lost every day and if the SNS is activated more frequently and for prolonged periods, it actually promotes cognitive loss. This includes reducing the health of the immune system, increasing nervousness and fears, and stimulating stress.

The PNS has the opposite effect; promoting renewal and health including a better memory for details, increased positive emotions, lowering blood pressure, and arousing compassion.

Increasing optimism
Activities such as meditation, yoga and prayer have all been shown to promote renewal of neurons while also increasing hope, compassion and optimism.

Meditation affects your perception, your perspective on life, and by promoting a positive mental state enables you to be free from negativity that creates upset. It allows each one of us to move beyond the comprehension of what is occurring in the mind and body and to actually begin to feel the flow of positive emotions.

Mindfulness moments increase and effectively give the mind space to focus on what is positive and meaningful to you.

You begin to recognize what is dominate in your life and choose to develop new habits more in line with what you desire. This allows you to transcend the meditative experience and bring the benefits of meditation into your everyday activities.

So what will you do with the new-found attitude?

Let creativity flow
Wonderful things can happen when you channel your true passions into disciplined action and move beyond recurring thoughts and habits and replace them with positive ones through affirmations and a regular meditation practice and to actually begin to feel the flow of positive emotions. Don't compare yourself to others; simply do your best and encourage this in others,

Becoming active rather than reactive to situations fosters positive emotions, framing goals with hope for the future while also being able to see that negative events can “wake” you up to possibilities. This allows you to transcend the meditative experience and bring the benefits of meditation into your everyday activities.

There are NO limits
Be creative and inventive. Let your ideas flow and find what inspires you. Your horizon is as vast as you allow it to be and as tall and exciting as you make it.

Other people do not have your vision or your desire to succeed. There are no limits to your potential.
Your physical outer world is a reflection of your inner world and your energy is always radiating, flowing, and touching others. True change occurs from within and your positive inner dialogue helps elevate others around you even when you are not saying anything TO them; just thinking positive thoughts.

Affirmations

All that I perceive about myself is positive.

I face challenges with certainty that I will find solutions and overcome all obstacles

I am able to help and encourage people around me

I am successful in all that I set out to do

My life is filled with wonder.

 
In the 2008 University of Wisconsin study, “Regulation of the neural circuitry of emotion by compassion meditation: effects of meditative expertise” the researchers found that compassion meditation increased the practitioners capacity for empathy, which has both clinical and social importance.

Earlier studies showed that two people can share the same emotional responses or elicit the same activity in their brain when one actually experiences pain or pleasure, and the other person is either a visual witness, or hears the experience taking place.
This illustrated that humans have a foundation for empathy.

In the study mentioned above, two groups were studied: one who were experienced meditators and the other who were learning the technique.
Measuring brain activity to sounds such as a woman in distress or a baby crying elicited emotional responses in the groups such as a negative, neutral, or positive.

Brain imaging showed that meditating on compassion elicited reactions in the brain in both groups; however the experienced meditators exhibited a greater reaction, especially when someone was experiencing difficulty or distress.

Meditation increases compassion by helping you to focus on affirming thoughts, rather than problems and attune yourself to the needs of others.

Meditation
Meditation has been used for thousands of years for self-reflection, self-awareness, healing, and enlightenment. Today’s technology enables us to see the physiological and chemical changes that occur throughout the whole body.
People who meditate regularly are clinically shown to have fewer overall symptoms of stress, fewer cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal symptoms, less emotional irritability, and cognitive disorganization.
As the study mentioned above also shows, compassion increases, not only to others, but also to yourself.

Meditation draws your attention away from a particular problem or illness to a place of overall knowledge and feelings of inner calmness and peace. It helps you to concentrate less on individual set-backs or issues and provides you with a tool that promotes inward focus, enabling the mind and the body to experience a profound state of restfulness. In turn, the brain becomes balanced, while the mind and body move beyond thinking, to simply being.

Affirmation
You have the wonderful ability to think positively and compassionately. It is a conscious choice to ensure that your thoughts and subsequent action are doing their best for yourself and for others. Whether you call it positive thinking or an affirmation, as long as you believe that it is working then it will have the power to make a difference.
Thoughts have their own unique energy
Promote clear and positive images by seeing yourself as confident and compassionate in all that you think, say, and do. Use whichever words best meet your own needs and purpose each day.
Here are a few to begin with:

I choose to be kind
I choose to give love
I choose to be happy
May you and I be safe
May you and I be loved
May you and I be happy

What Thoughts Are You Carrying?

The immune system is not an independent self-directed system; rather it has an actual connection with the conscious mind and the effect of thoughts upon the body.
The brain produces chemicals called neuropeptides which affect the immune cell receptors in specific ways according to your emotional state.

The interaction between your mind and your subsequent behavior affects the immune system of your body, resulting in either health or illness.
People who expect the worst and see everything as half-empty may already be half-way to an early grave. With illnesses ranging from colds and flu to heart attacks and cancer, pessimists do live a shorter and unhealthier life.

Do mind-body techniques such as yoga, meditation or repetitive prayer affect the way the body deals with the activation or repression of genes which can result in cellular damage and consequently disease?
A study by MGH MBI and the Genomics Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center shows that following an 8 week period of meditation, participants’ genes were positively affected demonstrating that thoughts can and do affect the body at a cellular level.

Food and drink contain energy that can work with or against your body.
However, health does not only come from what you consume or apply topically. It stems from the internal and meditation is one of the easiest methods to promote healthy thoughts.
What habits do you keep repeating?
What feelings and fears keep intruding?
A diet of positive thoughts detoxifies the mind and improves your quality of life.
You are what you think.

Affirmation
Negative thoughts draw more negative energy to you; however it is possible to create new and better pathways within your brain with far-reaching consequences. Carry an affirmative thought with you every day to remind you to stay optimistic.

I choose to be grateful I choose to be kind

I choose to give love

I choose to feel joy

I choose to see the good within

I choose to be happy

Is Your Attitude Contagious?

 When the lake of the mind is still...... Ahh, Bliss!

As always, thank you to everyone around the world who follows my writing and thank you again for forwarding the blog link to friends.

Happiness and friendship is never diminished because it is shared.

Margaret

It’s now an accepted fact that stress not only affects how you feel, it impacts you physically. What’s less known is the cumulative consequence of long-term stress.

Many studies clearly show the link between stress, challenging work-related issues, and disheartening living conditions as heightening the risk for heart disease which are compounded when other aspects like smoking are factored in.

A 2005 study by The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine looked at 892 men with no-known cardiovascular disease and who felt they had no support or control of their working life. The findings showed that the men had increased markers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein and fibrinogen, which are linked to heart disease.

Staying In The Flow
Stress also creates an increase in the production of cortisol which in turn leads to further inflammation, raising blood pressure and inflammation.

Staying in the moment, and recognizing what you can change while accepting what you can’t, helps you to stay in the flow of life and use your energy wisely.

Meditation balances the chemical arousal while enabling you to reduce stress levels. You learn how to reframe what is happening instead of internalizing it and use the breathing and meditation techniques to relax and regain control.

Natural Rhythm
The findings of this 2005 study are relevant to both men and women regardless of age too. When you feel chronic pressure, as opposed to short-term acute pressure, it compounds the stress that already exists, and increases your likelihood of developing high blood pressure, irregular breathing patterns, cardiac problems, and other health risks.

Change is everywhere and there is a natural rhythm to the world. As we enter a new season, we are reminded yet again of the ever-changing flow of life that surrounds us. We know that seasonal variations cannot be stopped and are a wonderful part of life to be embraced, rather than struggled against.

Breathing Techniques
There are previous postings on my blog page which give guided meditations as well as simple breathing techniques that you can integrate into your daily activities.  Simply browse the list on the right hand side of the blog page (not the email page, if you receive the posting in your in-box).

Balance your life energy by replacing erratic breathing and random thought patterns with a calm and steady flow of energy that permeates throughout every cell of your body. This elevates your consciousness not only of the world around you, but of your own needs, and those of other people. Accepting change enables you to transition effortlessly with the twists and turns that occur on your life’s journey.

Is Your Attitude Contagious?
Optimism is a state of mind that can be developed and its many benefits include helping you to realize your goals and ambitions. It creates an upward cycle that is both contagious and powerful because it affects not only yourself, but those you come in contact with. Other people feel your positive and confident energy and this energizes them too.
The opposite can also be true.  Most of us know the phrase, "misery loves company."  These are the individuals who always find something wrong, whether it's the weather, what they had for lunch, or what someone is wearing.  They are often gossips too.  Hang around these people too long and it's draining.

Personally, I do not permit negativity to bury it's way into my life.  It saps time, energy, and other resources.

Remember though, it is a different situation when you recognize that someone is ill, sad, or grieving and in need of comfort, support, or even the gift of a smile; and you give freely. This is an example of using your energy wisely.

When life is frantic, people are angry, traffic is hectic, and the world seems to be getting crazier,

how do you respond to this?

While most of us are well aware that “remaining calm” or “love is the answer” are appropriate choices, putting them into practice is another matter entirely when you find it challenging to monitor your thoughts, keep them in check, or even reign in actions that you really don’t want to pursue.

"A chaotic life is often a reflection of a restless mind."

What Is Important?
Meditation restores peace to both the body and the mind and puts you back in control of what you think, say, and do. You are still aware of external stimuli but no longer affected by them.
You become able to filter the tug and pull of what's going on around you, making it easier to see all that is happening around you with greater detail and able to process the information with clarity. No longer pulled in different directions, you can discern what is important and retain connection to the source of peace that resides within you, free from the constraints of habits, desires, and boundaries.

A peaceful mind is the foundation for expanded awareness and a happy and stable life. Downbeat and pessimistic thinking is an acquired habit with its own internal mantra, and you can release yourself from thinking in terms of limitations, disappointments, and problems by first and foremost seeing all that is good in your life and being thankful for it.

Sow What You Want To Harvest
Affirmations help you to cultivate a fertile area in your heart where you weed out deep-rooted thought-patterns and sow seeds of love, ultimately reaping the rewards of peace and happiness.
Applying them every day helps you promote a better habitual way of thinking by inspiring you to grow only that which you want to flourish in your life.

Affirmation

The moment that I have right now is everything.

I visualize my desires and dreams and connect with them at all times

I find my bliss and keep it with me

Every thought takes me closer to my life purpose

I am filled with joy and enthusiasm

I love myself and others

I choose to do things that foster love

Be Kind to Yourself Too!

Integrating loving-kindness into your everyday life can provide quick results that benefit yourself, and others.
It's often easier to extend a helping hand or a thoughtful word to a friend or even a complete stranger, but what goes on in your head? What recurring thoughts do you have that you don't want and how can you get rid of them?

Loving-kindness directed to friends, family, yourself, and even strangers fosters self-care and improves connections while extinguishing doubts, anxieties, and even anger.

You can learn to express loving/kind thoughts and actions but it is also important to permit yourself to receive love/kindness in return.

A new perspective
This open-hearted way of living permeates all aspects of your life and interactions with the world around you; from what you eat, from your loving respect of animals, to caring about the environment, and embracing non-violence.

When you interact with another person, or even a group, your intention will show via your thoughts through the language that you choose to use, to your tone of voice. Building and living your life upon the strong foundation of love and kindness provides a steady stepping-stone to increase your well-being, happiness, and self-compassion.

When you catch yourself in the throes of another self-depricating thought, replace it with one or all of the following affirmations instead.

Meditation
The following meditation helps to bring positive changes to the area of your heart and can be repeated as often as you wish throughout the day.

When seated in your meditation pose you can focus on the phrases by repeating them.

If concentration is challenging, you may like to try repeating them when walking and synchronize them with each step that you take.

In addition, one or more of the phrases can be written down and placed where you can see them often.

With continued use, you clear away the clutter of thoughts and emotions that you do not want and act instead from a clear place of kindness that was within you all along.

May I be safe

May I be happy

May I be well

May I be at peace

5 Ways to Increase Self-Awareness

We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.

Anais Nin

When I teach a yoga, meditation, and pranayama class participants leave the session relaxed, refreshed, peaceful and often clearer about a particular issue in their life. While meditation does bring bliss and a release from the world, it does not mean that people who meditate are not consciously aware of the needs of themselves or the people around them, nor are they unaware of what is happening in the world.

Meditation enables a heightened state of awareness to evolve and with this newfound clarity comes an understanding of needs, purpose, and the ability to implement change with confidence.

Yet many people live their life following the same routines and habits, sometime without remembering why, and don’t know why or how to begin making simple changes that will bring positive transformation to their professional and personal lives.

There are more than 5 ways to increase your self-awareness but that would read more like an essay than a blog posting so in the interest of space and your time I have selected 5 easy-to-implement techniques that will enable you to influence the way that you think and promote heightened self-awareness.

Awareness Research
Numerous awareness studies that use some form of meditation report similar findings of positive benefits by program participants. One particular six-week study by the University of Ohio examined the effects of meditation on stress. The negative effects of long-term stress and its contribution to chronic disease are well-documented. The members of this study who were a part of a meditation group reported that they were more aware of external stressors, they felt less stressed by life events, and they fell asleep more easily, unlike the control group who did not experience any benefits.

This type of research in invaluable to companies who are seeking to reduce their health-care costs as meditation training is inexpensive, does not require special equipment, and is transportable as it can be practiced most places.

To the individual, it is the increased level of awareness that helps them to make subtle changes in diet, activity, and other lifestyle choices. Interactions improve as empathy, understanding, and perception of situations become clearer.

Awareness at Work
Clarity of self and vision empowers you to make better life choices as well as to consciously act on your thoughts, knowing that your decisions are based out of an awareness of who you are and what you need.

Jim Rohn said "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”

When you stop to think about this simple yet profound statement it encourages you to really think about where you are in life, who you have around you, and why. How can you make the best decisions if you are not consciously aware of your thoughts or actions?
Awareness helps you to relinquish the status quo and make the gradual shift to a new you who has control and influence over your own life.

Five Ways to Increase Your Self Awareness
1. Understanding what motivates you
Sit down and make a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Be honest about all of them as chances are if you can see them, so can other people. Challenge yourself to think of those areas in your life that you want to do different or enhance.

2. Your Habits
What are your core values in life? How do you measure success?
When thinking about your habits be specific. How do people act around you and why do you think this is? How do you act around other people and why?
What habits do you keep repeating that you want to release.
Self awareness is a gradual process and change will not occur overnight, nor is it a quick fix. You will begin with one area that you want to improve and work on that until you feel that you are ready to move onto another.
Learning is a lifetime activity and we stop growing when we stop evolving and increasing our knowledge base.

Wisdom evolves from within.

3. Your Purpose
You are unique. Don’t compare yourself to others.

The American author Kurt Vonnegut wrote the following; “Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be.”

Ask questions specific to your needs such as :
What habits do I want to change?
Am I happy with…?
Do I want to…?

By looking at what you have written, you may see a trend or pattern arise. A useful technique is to separate yourself from what you have written and think about how you might advise a fellow co-worker or friend who was in such a position.
This helps you to separate emotions from the decisions you have to take, identify what you want to do in life, and be happier with your choices.

In yoga philosophy there is a well-known saying “All Knowledge is Within.”

Trust that you have the knowledge within you to know your purpose.

4. Release the Past; Journaling
Writing your thoughts down is helpful for some people and this is another option that you may wish to try to release unconscious thoughts and habits. By writing events and conversations down you may notice a pattern of behavior or gain clarity and insight into a trait that you were unaware of.
Let the past go and know that you have a choice about what you do now.

It is what you do NOW that will shape and evolve the future.

5. Experiencing the Moment

Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!

Look to this Day!

For it is Life, the very Life of Life.

In its brief course lie all the

Verities and Realities of your Existence.

The Bliss of Growth,

The Glory of Action,

The Splendor of Beauty;

For Yesterday is but a Dream,

And To-morrow is only a Vision;

But To-day well lived makes

Every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness,

And every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope.

Look well therefore to this Day!

Such is the Salutation of the Dawn!

Kalidasa (5th century Sanskrit scholar)

Meditation is the easiest method to begin to increase awareness of self. As mentioned earlier it is inexpensive to learn yet the benefits are many.
The following link will give you a basic introduction to a simple meditation.
How to Meditate

Peace

Meditation Anytime

Photo of Waikiki Beach Sunset by Margaret Stockley

You can find time to meditate anywhere.

Meditation Methods
Finding Time to Meditate
Meditation is a means of bringing the mind into a singe point of focus until after many months of practice you eventually transcend beyond the point of concentration and all awareness dissipates and you emerge into complete bliss.

The journey to bliss is wonderful and need not be time-consuming. While a regular practice is to be encouraged, your whole life should be a meditation.
The mind loves to be in meditation and the results bring you to a more relaxed and peaceful state of mind and body.
Stress dissipates and you are more creative, happy, healthier, and productive and take an optimistic view on life.

Places to Meditate
You do not need to be seated at home or another quiet place.
I encourage people to practice drawing the mind into a meditative state whenever they have a few minutes to spare e.g. waiting for the kettle to boil, standing in line waiting to be served, when out walking or when you are participating in any other activity that you can think of.

Controlling the Breath
We all breathe, but many people do not breathe correctly, only half-filling the lungs and not absorbing the essential nutrients and energy contained within the breath to enable daily tasks to be performed with vitality and clarity.
Practice slowing the breath down and keeping it slow and steady. This may take only a few breaths or it may take several minutes depending on how experienced you are at meditating.
As the breath becomes slower and deeper, feel the different levels of relaxation that are occurring in the body and mind.
Feel stress ebb away with each exhalation.

Monitor Your Thoughts
During your quiet moment, notice your thoughts then allow them to pass without becoming attached to them. As you practice focusing on the breath, you will notice that the body is relaxed and the mind peaceful.

Over time you will discover that during your daily activities, if disturbed or angry thoughts emerge you will become aware of them as they occur and will be able to replace them with more appropriate thoughts and subsequent behavior.
This results in a more enjoyable and peaceful environment that keeps you tranquil, happy, and more prepared to face what life sends your way. All your interactions become pleasant and devoid of extreme emotional reactions.

Music
Listening to gentle music has been clinically proven to induce relaxation, slow the pulse, and lower blood pressure. It also enables you to enter into a meditative state with ease. If you can walk outside, listen to the sounds of nature and absorb the natural sounds and colors that the world provides.
If you spend most of your time indoors, a small water fountain that trickles softly can also generate a relaxed response and help you to remain calm and peaceful.

Make Space to Meditate
Remove any items that disturb your environment. Keep the temperature comfortable.
Fill your space with objects that promote serenity and tranquility.
In time, your whole life will become a meditation, free from anxiety, stress and filled with hope and love.

Choose Your Thoughts

All Photos by Margaret Stockley,

Everything in nature is unique.

Thoughts have their own unique energy. Are you using the power of your words to create only that which is positive for you?

Positive thoughts vibrate at a higher frequency than negative thoughts, just as light vibrates at a higher frequency than what we perceive as darkness.
Realize the power behind your intentions by being consciously aware of self-defeating actions and directing your thoughts in constructive and healing ways.

As you meditate every day, you can choose a positive word or phrase and repeat it in rhythm with your slow and steady breath. Examples are:

I am loved

All is well

I am at peace

I am happy

Peace

Meditation is the tool by which you remain true to your Self, untouched by comments and the actions of others. It strengthens your resolve to not let yourself be affected by detractors or to give up following your chosen path, shows you how to keep feeling the joy of love inside, and live each moment of every day with purpose and peace.

My inner glow is not dulled or discolored by what is happening around me.

I am a beacon of pure energy radiating on the world helping others by the brightness and power of my light.

Look and see where you’re resisting change which could help you evolve your life.
Meditation will help you self-generate power and self-discipline by the use of intention to effect change and forge new pathways within the brain.

Whoever tries nothing will get nothing; you won't reach your objectives if you don't make necessary efforts.

Transform yourself through minding your thoughts and by exchanging your patterns of thought for a state of mind that is continually excited by, and in love with, life.
Expect more and get more out of your day-to-day interactions and activities by reinforcing positive images and behavior.

Allow meditation to help release that which drags you down and fill you instead with energy to complete all your daily activities and live in a constant state of fulfillment.

The words and actions that you send out will manifest the life you really want so open your mind and heart to the untapped possibilities that lie within you.

Om Peace

Meditation and Thoughts

Light reflecting on water.

Have you ever seen or held a crystal up to the light and watched the way that it catches the sunlight? Many colors shine through it, their colorful rays spreading out in a myriad of directions.

In what way does the crystal change?

The answer is it doesn’t.

No matter the amount of light passing through the crystal, the intensity or color of the light, the crystal remains unaffected by what has happened.

During meditation, the part of you that does the observing also remains unchanged by what happens around and to the body.

Meditation and Thoughts
Stress remains the number one health problem in the United States and during persistent anxiety and periods of extreme duress the body releases chemicals that detrimentally affect the neurons in the brain and all other systems, contributing to many serious health conditions such as heart attacks and even death.

The 2002 study Psychoneuroimmunology and Psychosomatic Medicine: Back to the Future, emphasizes the impact of positive thoughts and their broad implications in reducing the risk of negative physical symptoms.

Meditation has been used for thousands of years for self-reflection, self-awareness, healing, and enlightenment. Today’s technology enables us to see the physiological and chemical changes that occur throughout the whole body.

People who meditate regularly are clinically shown to have fewer overall symptoms of stress, fewer cardiopulmonary and gastrointestinal symptoms, less emotional irritability, and cognitive disorganization.

Restoring Inner Balance
Meditation draws your attention away from a particular problem or illness to a place of overall knowledge and feelings of inner calmness and peace. It helps you to concentrate less on individual set-backs or issues and provides you with a tool that promotes inward focus, enabling the mind and the body to experience a profound state of restfulness. In turn, the brain becomes balanced, while the mind and body move beyond thinking, to simply being.

How do you want to live?

You are not stuck with the life-pattern and thought-pattern that you currently have. Change is possible. Putting new thoughts into new actions is not just about producing a new way of thinking though.
It’s about generating a new way of living, discerning and applying the information gleaned through meditation and letting go of old ways of reacting to a lifestyle that no longer serves you.

You are not your thoughts, but they do impact you and others.

Choose your thoughts.

Peace, Light, Love.

A World of Possibilities

River Ganges, India

“What is seen as reality is simply what the mind prefers.”

A Course in Miracles

Life has ebbs and flows and can change direction when you least expect it.
When change occurs that you desire this is usually cause for celebration because you’ve been looking forward to it, yet when life seems to take aim at you and drops one problem after another into your lap you may feel like running for cover until the deluge has passed.
This does not necessarily mean that the path you have been following up till now is wrong; rather it may simply mean that it has run its course and life is sending you not-so-subtle hints that the time for new growth, challenges, and opportunities has in fact arrived.

Plans and strategies are useful to help each one of us focus and form clear, definitive objectives in order to dodge obstructions that might appear in our way if we are not observant. However, observation is important not only in what is happening around you but what is happening within you as well.

Meditation is a wonderful method of reflecting, gaining insight, and learning about yourself. Some revelations though can also bring feelings and emotions to the surface that you were unaware of.

Intuition
Through a regular meditation practice you will learn to trust what you sense deep within you. Your sixth-sense, intuition, will mature and strengthen through use, just like any other skill that you want to develop.
In the tranquility of your meditation, you will be able to quieten all other voices and impressions and listen only to the still small voice that exists inside you and hear with clarity what it is saying.
Trust comes when you know that something is reliable.
Likewise, trust in your intuition occurs with continuous use and endows you with the skills and confidence to embrace new challenges and adventures in life.

But how do you choose what’s right for you?

You are the person responsible for choosing how to act and react to changes. You are fortunate to have the freedom to decide when and if you are going to move away from the negativities of the past and move forward.

Unless you cease to be concerned about the past

you will find that it has become your future.

Emptying The Garbage
Meditation is my preferred method of promoting conscious awareness of myself and the world. In addition it helps me discover who I am and what I need and want.
A regular meditation practice will let you not only BE yourself, but also let you KNOW yourself too.

In knowing yourself fully, you can let go of the thoughts that you don’t want to use anymore, dispose of them permanently, and empty yourself of all the garbage that has been sitting around, tripping you up, and basically creating a stink.

A World Of Possibility
Meditation will help you release what you no longer need or recognize what is no longer good for you. Don't hold yourself back because of habit or fear of the unknown. Uncertainty about what the future holds is common and meditation gives you the ability to remaining accepting and calm with any changes that occur around you.

It helps you remember who you are even when faced with challenges and instills in you a deep, lasting peace and the knowledge of how special and phenomenal you are. No matter what you have endured in the past, these events are behind you and you can begin life anew.

A world of possibility awaits you.

Meditation
Inner knowledge arises from the quiet tranquil place that DOES exist within each one of us.

If you are new to meditation, there are a variety of guided meditations on this blog page that you can use to help train your mind to focus.

Meditation begins as a single-pointed focus that evolves and transitions until you experience bliss and complete understanding.
Even if you only hold your inner attention for a few seconds, it IS meditation.
Continue practicing and distractions and intruding thoughts WILL lessen while a sense of peace will fill your mind and body.
It is normal in the beginning for thoughts to intrude but they DO diminish.

With fewer unnecessary thoughts, greater clarity emerges.

Use this clarity to help you make decisions, great and small.
Use your new ability in every decision.
You will discover that you think before you act, and that your actions are better for you and the world around you.

Meditation affects your perception, your awareness of time, and by promoting a positive mental state enables you to be free from the negativity that creates disorder and chaos.

Life has a lot to offer, and you, with your unique potential, will recognize opportunities and know that you do indeed have a lot to offer life.

Create a new reality; a reality that your Self desires.

Awareness

 

When the mind is still, you can look inside.

"How can I be useful, of what service can I be? There is something inside me, what can it be?"

Vincent Van Gogh

In the latest meditation research, US neuroscientists say that electro-encephalography (brain imaging) shows that meditation can help you achieve your goals by clearing the mind of distractions, in addition to promoting physical and emotional balance.

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia have also found that meditation delivers an enhanced ability to control the mind’s focus and disentangle it from distracting or harmful preoccupations.

Meditation is becoming more popular amongst senior business people too and was a topic at a one - day Leadership Stamina conference in Cape Town, South Africa in July 2009.

In many countries, the benefits of meditation are being researched, talked, and written about. 
Meditation studies have also found that mental characteristics that were previously regarded as fixed and unchangeable can in fact be altered by mental training such as meditation, helping you to make happier, wiser choices and stay with your chosen objectives and aspirations and allowing you to become more focused and positive.

We all like to think that we have a good understanding of our deepest needs and motivations, yet we are often surprised by some of the things we find ourselves doing or saying.

Meditation draws your attention away from a particular problem or illness to a place of overall knowledge and feelings of inner calmness and peace. It helps you to concentrate less on individual set-backs or issues and provides you with a tool that promotes inward focus, enabling the mind and the body to experience a profound state of restfulness. In turn, the brain becomes balanced, while the mind and body move beyond thinking, to simply being.

 

Reflecting pools are found in surprising places and offer a quiet moment in a busy world.

Peace lies within.

Focusing on the positive things in your life means that you alter your perspective as you seek to attain success in reaching your goals. This has the effect of making you more constructive every day, while others are glad to see you because of your enthusiasm and affirmative action.

Affirmation
Noticing how and when you respond to situations gives you the ability to choose your thoughts and subsequent actions and stick to the resolutions and goals that you have set for yourself.

“I pay attention to why I think what I do”

“I pay attention to why I do what I do”

“I pay attention to how I affect the world around me”

“I am secure and at peace in knowing who I am.”

"I am filled with love and happiness"

Affirmations and Meditation

Much has been written about affirmations and their powerful effect upon yourself and the world around you.
People who dismiss the impact of affirmations are usually people who do not use positive affirmations. Instead, they use negative reinforcement without even realizing it with comments such as "That will never work," or "Why bother. You're too old/young/not qualified enough."

You may have heard phrases like that and unfortunately if you are exposed to these types of comments on a regular basis then they have an insidious way of sticking.

Conversely, statements that reaffirm who you are and your perspective of the world around you, will also stay with you, spurring you upward and onward to greater success professionally and in your relationships.

This is more than seeing the world through rose-colored glasses. Sad events do happen. However, it is how we view the world and ourselves that enables us to recover from unhappy occasions, to seek ways to comfort others, and to ultimately be a force for change and goodness.

What you believe about yourself and your life does eventually become true, and depending on which train of thought you follow and adhere to, will ultimately impact your life with either a positive or negative outcome.

Louise Hay is one of the best known writers of affirmations and a good resource should you wish to seek out further information. However, like most things in life, developing the art of positive thinking comes through practice, awareness, and catching yourself mid-thought and replacing a negative thought with a positive one.

Here are 12 Affirmations by Louise Hay to get you started:

• My thoughts flow freely and easily.
• I move through ideas with ease.
• I decide to be me. I approve of myself as I am.
• I am at home in the Universe. I am safe and secure and understood.
• I love and approve of myself I am at peace. I am calm. All is well.
• I create a joyful, peaceful world to live in.
• I increase my consciousness of good and good is what I now attract.
• I am the very center of Life and I am totally connected in Love.
• I love every part of my body; I am healthy, happy and whole.
• My loving thoughts connect with like-minded and together we bless the world.
• I relax completely for I now know I am safe.
• I trust Life and I trust myself. 

Yoga, pranayama, and meditation are three powerful tools that help you take control of your mind and actions, helps you monitor your thoughts, and become aware enough to actually choose what you think and actively replace negative thinking with positive affirmations.

Through meditation you gain introspection without the guilt. You can identify areas where you may have unconsciously harbored feelings of separation and the belief that the world was not a good and wonderful place but rather one that was troubled and dangerous.
Seeing the world as a dark place is further reinforced when you repeatedly see or hear information that fits the landscape that you have painted for yourself.

Sad events do occur. They are real. But good things occur daily too and by maintaining a positive frame of mind and outlook on the world YOU can be the change that the world needs. You can shine YOUR light upon those you are suffering. YOU can make a difference.

Whatever you focus on, your mind forms thoughts, emotions, and actions around a particular stream of thinking. Meditation is the simplest method I know that helps to break the old mold and create a healthier, more beneficial way of living.

Meditation is a free and easy tool that we each have access to.
With regular practice it will help you release obstacles to peace and restore balance and harmony to your world.

While affirmations are different from mantras (see previous articles on the blog site related to mantras) they are a useful addition to helping you create the life that you desire for yourself.

You have the ability to learn the gift (which is how I view it) of meditation and receive the wonderful benefits which are your birthright.

Begin today. It's never too late to start.

Use affirmations to help create the correct mind-set.
Practice meditation, and there are plenty of guided meditations on this blog site for you to use.

Continue to affirm, love, and help those who need you by practicing compassion.  Reach out to those in need. Be the Light that they need.

Changing any habit is fraught with challenge, and thought patterns are also a habit and YOU have the ability to change your thoughts.

If everyone thought in terms of doom and gloom there would be no hope, no recovery.

Be the person you would like to help you, when you are in need.
Inspire, support, and most of all Love


You CAN do it.

Peace, Love, Light.

Veterans Day 2009 Meditation

Before we have today's meditation posting I wanted to simply remind people to pause at 11 a.m. to mark Remembrance Day/Veterans Day. (so called depending on which country you live in.)

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One.
And so it was that at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.

The following video is a tribute to the men and women who have served or are currently serving in the military, and their families.

For today's meditation, I invite each one of us to pause and take stock of who we are, what we are doing, and how we can make a difference.

Meditation

Freedom to Soar

1. Create Space
Spring-clean your mind. The deeper you dig through the jumble of tired and worn-out behaviors, the easier it becomes to recognize what you need to keep and what you can do without.

2. Let your Light Shine
Don’t judge yourself. Fear of doing what’s right in your life can hold you back. You have the support of a loving Spirit that helps and guides you when asked.

3. Love
There is a peaceful and sacred place deep within you where your Spirit resides. By eliminating negativity, you also exclude judging others and in turn bringing judgment upon yourself.

4. Use the Spiritual Community to Nourish your Needs
No one is an island and what affects people around you in your street, town, and country can alter your own destiny thereby demonstrating how each person is bound to one another.
Create peace, in word and action.
When you consciously endeavor to do no harm to yourself or towards others, you bring lightness into your world.

5. Meditation
Your whole life is a prayer when you are one with the Spirit. Immerse yourself in silence and hear the voice that created the universe.

Love and Light.

Peace, Light, Love

  A dragon holding a golden key.  What will it unlock?

Many thanks to Flo for sharing the dragon with us. I've photographed it on my yoga mat in my yoga studio.  Note the dragon's breath as it protects the key.

Last week I posted an article about dragons and while they don’t exist except in our imaginations, there are real things that can create fear and anxiety in each of our lives, if we allow them to.  Inner Happiness

These fears prevent many of us from exploring and seeing the potential that lies before us every day. If our imagination can project fear, then it can also project happiness.

Instead of allowing the fears to burn away your hopes, desires, and potential, meditation and affirmations help you to take control of your thoughts and actions and overcome any internal and external obstacles.

Unlike stories where a knight will arrive and slay a dragon, the only person who can eliminate the dragon breathing down your neck with it's fiery breath is YOU.

Meditation and assertive affirmations remove all feelings of helplessness and of being lost.

The inner light of meditation connects you to the Universal Source that infuses you with peace and love.
When you are connected to the source of Love, there is NO PLACE for fear to reside.

Period.

It's that simple.

When you are learning to meditate there will be times when you feel positive, only to have doubts later on.  Love is stronger and each time that you meditate you will REINFORCE your strength and the power of Love.
This power exists within you and you can tap into it every time that you meditate and bring it into all your activities.

Assertive affirmations are a great way to keep you focused on the wonderful individual that you are.  They act like a shield to block unwanted thoughts that will harm you if permitted to continue.

Holding a positive image in your mind during your meditation practice helps you to stay focused.  Following your meditation, you can concentrate on this image whenever you experience the mind wandering from a peaceful state.

One image that I like to focus on is the face of a person that I love.  I invite this person into my heart and see their divine qualities.  Slowly, I fill my mind and body with love until it is overflowing.

During my waking moments, I can re-experience this loving feeling whenever I draw this person into my mind's awareness.  It's a simple yet effective method of developing concentration and awareness of Love.

Use the strength and power of your meditation practice to chase away any dragons and seize the golden key that will unlock the door to health and success in all that you do.

Peace, Light, Love

Chakra, Sun and Moon

Thank you to everyone who wrote to let me know how much they enjoyed the photographs and observations from Montreal.  I had a wonderful time exploring new sites and meeting interesting people and returned home safely on Sunday night.

On Monday I taught a meditation workshop that focused on the chakras that run from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Chakra is a Sanskrit word that means "wheel" and carries energy through a subtle channel called sushumna.

Each chakra has a specific energy and therefore purpose, such as intuitive knowledge, however while this energy exists, many people go through life without activating or using these natural gifts.

Meditation enables you to utilize these energy wheels by using the powerful feminine energy called kundalini to pierce the center of each chakra and allow a series of transformative experiences to occur.  This energy exists in both men and women and provides you with exactly what you need at this moment in time.  For some, it occurs as a profound feeling of joy, cleansing of emotional stuff, enhanced creativity, or intuitive knowledge and knowing what choices to make.

However, learning to awaken this energy is best practiced with a teacher to address any questions that will arise, that your posture and practice is correct, and to ensure that energy can flow freely as obstacles are released.

As an overview, the workshop was in three sections:
Pranayama,
Concentration
Meditation.

All three sections contained practices that would travel through each of the chakras and awaken the kundalini energy.

PRANAYAMA
A healthy body is one where the life-force flows steady and even, unrestricted in its ability to direct energy throughout every area, and one that is vibrant and energized. When blockages occur to restrict this flow, the result is a disruption within the cells and dis-ease occurs, manifesting in illness.

Passive breathing occurs without any conscious thought or awareness and permits strong emotional drives to adversely influence your thoughts when exposed to negative energy or situations.

This allows cellular distress to occur and random thoughts and behavior to fire off, eventually resulting in illnesses ranging from mild sadness or anger to a downward spiral of abuse and actual physical symptoms.

Active breathing, at the other end of the spectrum, protects and preserves. It requires your dynamic input to be aware of what you are thinking and feeling, how you are going to act, and consequently creating a balance within your body, mind, and spirit.

SUN AND MOON
In today's posting, I thought that I would share one of the traditional pranayama practices that we did during the chakra workshop.
It is suitable for you to practice at home.

Known as Sun/Moon or Surya/Chandra breathing, it has been used for thousands of years as a means of bringing balance to both hemispheres of the brain, bringing the brain into alpha wave, and permitting the two energy channels of Ida and Pingali to travel around each of the chakras via the subtle energy body.
Ida and Pingali originate at the root chakra and weave around each chakra before crossing behind the nostril area. This specific breathing technique has many benefits, including preparing the mind for meditation and allowing the flow of kundalini to emerge.

Method
Sitting in a comfortable seated position with the spine erect, bring awareness to the rhythmical flow of the breath.
The breath should be slow, steady and even with no straining or effort.

Using either hand, place the thumb and ring finger on the nostril crease.
The 2nd and 3rd finger can either be curled in the palm of the hand (Vishnu mudra) or placed between the eyebrows. (Nasagra mudra)
Using complete breath, close the right nostril and inhale slowly and steadily through the left nostril.
Top of the inhalation, close left nostril and exhale through the right.
Inhale through right nostril
Top of the inhale, close right nostril and exhale through the left nostril.

That completes one round.

Continue for 10 rounds or at least 3 to 5 minutes, exhaling through the left nostril when you are complete.

Keep each breath the same length.

You may find that one side of your nose is more open than the other. Unless there is a physical obstacle such as injury, with regular practice, both nostrils become open, the brain becomes balanced, and the subtle energy channels allow kundalini to flow.

BENEFITS
• Nourishes the body and prepares an open channel for kundalini to flow
• Continuous practice eliminates desires and cravings.
• Allows the breath to flow without restriction, eliminating the toxins and waste products that reside in residual air and saturating the cells with oxygen.
• Creates alpha brain waves and develops a calm and positive state of mind
• Deepens concentration
• An even breath flow produces even thoughts
• Strengthens the diaphragm and abdominal muscles
• Soothes the nervous system
• Increases blood flow to the brain

BLISS

Enter into the Light within and find your state of true Bliss.

In his epic book The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck writes, “Carbon is not a man, nor salt, nor water, nor calcium. He is all these, but he is much more, much more;”²

During your meditation practice, you come to see beyond the physical realm and enter a deeper state of awareness where you become a witness of your mind. As you immerse yourself into the whole experience, you become aware of the fact that it is your soul that is doing the observing, or witnessing.

Bliss
Sustaining the witness state allows for realization of “I Am Bliss,” expansion of your consciousness, and awareness of a higher knowledge.

These are often challenging concepts to understand with the thinking mind, but with a regular meditation practice you personally experience these for yourself. Over time, you enter into meditation with grace and ease and dissolve into the state of bliss that is ever-present within you. This bliss stays with you during your everyday life as you realize that the soul is not separate from you but with you always.

Inner Knowledge
The soul expresses itself in the world as “I” and during inward reflection as the “Soul.”
Yoga philosophy describes the soul reflecting the witness state in the same way that the moon reflects the light of the sun. What you know in the world is often expressed as the “lower mind” with all of the material mind-stuff that accompanies it, while what you experience when you move beyond the pull of the external world is a “Higher Knowledge” and it is this knowledge that is accessed and revealed during meditation.

Surrendering Control
Recognizing what you need comes not from what you perceive outwardly, but what comes to you inwardly when you reside in bliss and listen to your innermost guidance. In quieting your mind you receive knowledge, guidance, and love.

Through a regular practice of meditation, gifts of higher knowledge and intuition develop, transforming you anew and enabling you to generate a new and positive life, not one that takes your existing situation and reshapes it into more of the same.


Meditation allows the essence of unity with the source of pure love to lead you to a state of harmony and bliss through specific examples in stilling the mind, surrendering to change, and reaching the highest level of awareness that enriches and nourishes you.

Life is not about one thinks may happen in the future. Life is about enjoying the daily journey of creative and loving experiences.
Then when you least expect it, something great comes along to change your life making it even more purposeful, with an aliveness, vitality and a higher sense of spiritual purpose in life. Something even greater will happen for you that you never even planned.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS

It is estimated that an average person thinks about 12,000 thoughts per day, while a deep thinker can think up to 50,000 thoughts.

While 95% of what we think ARE the same thoughts as we had yesterday, 75% of the average person’s thoughts are negative.

That’s between 9,000 and almost 38,000 negative thoughts every single day.

Thoughts and the spoken word impact ourselves and others and help to mold and shape the life that we ultimately live. Living your life unaware of the thoughts that you are thinking, or their consequences, means that you are unfortunately setting yourself up to failure before you even embark upon a particular endeavor.

Deep seated feelings and emotions that you may not even have quantified into actual words, permeate through your mind and your life as a self-defeating cycle. Language such as “you’re not good enough, not smart enough, not worthy of love,” may have been uttered a long time ago but they still hold true because you repeat them every day, reinforcing them as a truth.

It's a vicious cycle that has the ability to trap you unless you make the conscious decision to BREAK FREE ONE THOUGHT AT A TIME.

The converse is also true; “you are so clever, you are wonderful, I love you.”

YOUR MIND IS CAPABLE OF BELIEVING THESE THOUGHTS TOO.

AFFIRMATIONS
Words and thoughts enter both the conscious and subconscious where they impact you with either positive or detrimental effects.
The mind and the body will believe what you tell it and in turn will help you to create a life based on the premise of what you affirm to be true, whether it is a beneficial or critical thought.

Speak and think your chosen positive affirmations.
If it helps, you should write your affirmations down until you become practiced at making them.
Repeat them as often as you need to until you know that you believe them.

Instead of saying language such as “I want to…”
Use language such as “I am…”

The mind will believe what you tell it and soon you will be living these affirmations.
Allow positive changes to occur and replace the negative emotions that have occurred in your life.
Replace the bad with good and one by one you will grow stronger in your confidence, your outlook, and your zest for life.

ALTRUISM
In addition to helping you create the reality that you want, you will find that you become more grateful for what you have in your life, and are able to reach out to others and help them too.

RECEIVE
Continue to be open to receiving the subject of your affirmations. Trust that as you ask it, it has happened, and that you have received it. Receiving is important. It’s like having a parcel delivered on your birthday but you choose not to open it so you can’t use it in your life.

Affirmations are powerful statements that are under-utilized. The phrase Use it or Lose it, applies to affirmations too. Let every part of your body, mind, and spirit tap into the energy of your own positive messages, and you will change your life in ways that you DO want.

Om Shanti Peace

Inner Peace

Entrance to Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

When I was a child growing up in Scotland, there were times during the summer when my family would go on a ‘Mystery Tour.” This was a bus trip organized by a local tour company and as a child I eagerly anticipated the unknown destination while playing I-Spy and other travel games on the journey. It was exciting to see different towns go by as you tried to guess where you were going to end up; sometimes the Mystery Tour headed into the countryside and sometimes we ended up at the seaside on either the east or west coast of Scotland.

This type of mini-vacation is different from a typical day trip where you know where you are going and can plan accordingly. However, an unknown destination generates a lot of fun along the way as you note each landmark for a clue to where you are going to end up.

As an adult, facing challenges with unknown outcomes can be daunting and not pleasant, yet life’s journey is as much about your state of mind as it is about the scenery around you.

Meditation and the Breath
The breath and the mind are intertwined; when the breath is controlled the mind is also controlled. When you pay attention to the breath, you can read its signs and know whether your emotions are out of control and then adjust the flow of the breath in order to draw peace and harmony to the Self.

The old adage of counting to ten in order to stop an explosive outburst of anger or hurtful words that you can’t take back, probably stems from the wise knowledge accrued from meditation.

Troubled thoughts release adrenaline and stress hormones that increase outbursts of anger and undesirable consequences.
Rather that being tossed about by the chaos of life, with the mind filled with hurtful and punishing thoughts, you can observe your thoughts, your reactions, and choose to hold onto the peace that resides within.

Awareness of your reactions to what you experience enables you to release anxiety and block out the cause of your distress.
Breath control always brings you back to your source of inner peace and with awareness, it enables you to cultivate peace through controlling your state of mind and become calmer, more loving, and in full control of your emotions.

Affirmations
I have the freedom to choose how I will act, even when my first thoughts are not ideal.
Stillness spreads through me and surrounds me with each breath that I take.
I remain calm in a turbulent world.
I am in a state of serenity, joy, and love.

Om Shanti Peace

Meditation of Love

Swans are a Symbol of Love

Over the centuries there have been tales of the fountain of youth; a fountain whose waters impart healing or prolong life. Today’s scientists are looking for cures into many diseases and have uncovered cells and receptors within the body that promote feelings of well-being while increasing the protective factors that prevent diseases from occurring in the first place.  Much is also known about optimism and its subsequent benefits to the body.

For thousands of years, meditation has been known by practitioners to promote happiness, peace, and love.
This brings with it numerous advantages to not only spiritual health and happiness, but improves overall health and well-being too.


More benefits of meditation are being discovered every year and cover numerous areas from psychology, stress-reduction, and reduction of medication, to name a few.  One aspect is the ability of meditation to increase the thickness of the frontal lobe of the brain (it thins as we age) that is responsible for attention, sensory input, and emotional processing and well-being. This means that with repeated practice, the adult brain can alter its structure. The brain is more able to concentrate on what is truly important and not be drawn astray by thoughts that keep leaping about from one topic to another, it feels happier more often, and with practice it experiences deep and true Love.

When people experience profound happiness, like the kind they experience through love, they not only feel happy and exhilarated but exhibit increased levels of the hormone DHEA, which is known to prevent aging.

When you meditate, you gain similar benefits.

When you are in love, or feel love, your body produces hormones and receptors that increase your ability to fight infection and reduce the spread of diseases, while at the same time lowering the damaging process caused by stress, anxiety, and unhappiness.

Meditation helps you to improve your health, manifest a conscious shift in your relationships, and even how you feel about yourself.

How?

By increasing the depth of your Love.

Love is often described as an ocean, with unfathomable depths and breadths. We may think that we are able to love fully, but as our frequency of meditation increases, the depth of our experience intensifies as Love flows freely through an expanded heart and mind.

Everyone wants to love and receive love, and this is made possible through meditation as it unites you to the source of all that is Light and Love.  Open the subtle energy that surrounds and exists within your heart and let it flow freely.  During your meditation, you will know when your heart is open because the surge of Love through your body is like a dam being opened.
We are all capable of Loving and we may say that we are in love, but it is not until you experience the overwhelming flow of Love through you that you can experience your relationships in a different light.

How is it done?
Through preparation and regular meditation practice.

Preparation means awareness of thoughts.  Removing critical and disapproving thoughts on a regular basis until you see only the goodness in life, rather than focusing on what is broken or diseased.
This does not mean that you should view the world through rose-colored glasses. It means that you endeavor to see the beauty and potential of life.

In your relationships with others, focus on the love that united you, think of them often through the day with love, rather than on petty differences.
Monitor your thoughts and if you find that a less than loving thought has arisen, stop it in its tracks from going any further and replace it with thoughts of kindness and affection.
Practice thinking of others with love; extend kind thoughts to strangers rather than critical thoughts.

When you say that you love someone, love them without restrictions. Learn to swim in the ocean of love. As soon as you risk taking the plunge into the ocean of bliss you envelop yourself in it and recognize your true Self.

Loving Affirmations

The breath has power not only on a physical level, but on a subtle level too. As you meditate every day, develop loving awareness in rhythm with your deep and steady breath. This will become your normal state of being. Cultivate a state of Love in all your thoughts by drawing this understanding to all your activities.

I choose to be grateful
I choose to be kind
I choose to feel joy
I choose to see the good within
I choose to be happy
I choose to give love
I choose to be loved
I am Loved
I am Love