Transcendental Meditation

Today is Info Friday where I highlight anything that is relevant to meditation. I’m not involved in any of these products or areas. They are simply something that I thought was interesting and thought you might enjoy too.

David Lynch is a well-known film producer and his current project is taking him into areas far from the world of Hollywood. As one of the biggest proponents of Transcendental Meditation, (TM) he is promoting TM through concerts and videos using well-known musicians such as Paul McCartney and Sheryl Crow via his David Lynch Foundation.
David has practiced meditation for decades and believes it has helped him tremendously in his career and also by increasing his creativity and intuition.

David is currently raising funds to place TM in schools and using his foundation to support Universities of World Peace that will “train the coming generation in a new profession: that of professional peacemaker.”

These schools are open to everyone, regardless of culture or religion and by offering a Consciousness-Based education to children in both elementary and high schools, he believes that a strong foundation for a healthy, harmonious, and peaceful world can be created. Funding is also being streamed into colleges that specialize in this form of meditation, offering classes on philosophy and aspects of meditation and spirituality.

He states, “In today’s world of fear and uncertainty, every child should have one class period a day to dive within himself and experience the field of silence—bliss—the enormous reservoir of energy and intelligence that is deep within all of us. This is the way to save the coming generation.”

Dr William Stixrud, Ph.D., is a clinical neuropsychologist in Silver Spring, Maryland, and specializes in working with children and adolescents. He has studied and lectured frequently on the effects of stress on the brain, particularly the developing brain. “The effects of stress are not pretty. Not only does stress interfere with functions such as attention, memory, organization, and integration, but prolonged stress actually kills brain cells and shrinks the brain’s main memory structures.”

Studies show that schools where the students and teachers participate in meditation are generally free from bullying and aggression. Students are calm, grades improve, and there is an overall positive feeling within the schools.
This program is an innovative tool to eliminate stress and promote healthier physical and learning environments for both students and teachers.

In the following video David explains why meditation and TM in particular, is so important to him personally and why he believes it is important for the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2UHLMVr4vg

Transcendental Meditation has been successfully implemented in public and private schools and in after-school programs across the U.S. and around the world, with thousands of students enjoying its benefits (see www.mum.edu).

What role does meditation play in your life and what do you think about schools integrating meditation into the curriculum?

MEDITATION: PEACE AND PERFECTION

Creation is beautiful and is always a work in progress.

Meditation and Creation
In our western culture we are taught to set goals, to achieve, to succeed. When life does not go smoothly, and we end up having to take detours on our chosen path, we can sometimes think that we have failed to live up to the expectations of others and even ourselves.

However, it is worth remembering that being perfect should not be goal in life.

Ancient cultures make this point very clear during craft activities such as blanket and quilt making. They will deliberately create a small “flaw” in the pattern as a reminder that none of us are perfect except God, the ultimate Creator.

Accepting Change
Life is always changing and no matter how hard we try, we can never keep everything in our life the same. Accepting change is challenging as sometimes things change and we become sad. Happily though, life does change and there are joyful moments in our lives where we can retain the happy memories and also share our happiness with others.

While it is important to be the best that we can be and to do the best job that we can in all circumstances, releasing the misconception that we HAVE to be perfect is freeing.
None of us are perfect and none of us will ever be truly perfect.

Nature is a reminder that nothing remains the same.

Embracing Imperfection
Meditation helps us to relinquish our ideals and releases us from clinging to the human perception of perfection.
We see around us the beauty of the world and humanity, but we know that true perfection exists within the source of peace and Love when we connect to God through meditation.

Despite our imperfections, meditation shows us that we ARE loved and welcomed with an open heart.

Your Personal Meditation
During your meditation experience, don’t worry if your mind wanders or thoughts intrude.
Stay relaxed and return your attention to the breath or your chosen internal object of focus.
Don’t worry about your practice having to be perfect.
Stay focused on the ultimate goal of meditation which is to draw closer to the Divine.
Know that you are welcome and that your meditation practice will get you to the place where Love resides.
Return to your meditation and draw deeper into the peace that resides within.
Each time you enter into meditation you will encounter fewer distractions and experience longer moments of tranquility and happiness.

Meditation Methods

Meditation Creates Expansion of the Mind

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.


The meditative experience can occur anywhere.

This does not replace your regular daily practice though. It is in addition to your practice to reinforce what you have learned from meditation and to see that meditation is not separate from your life but an integral part of it.

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.



Natural Sounds enhance the Meditative Experience

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.

Life Happiness

Happiness is a State of Mind
There is a Sanskrit saying that reads "A man is according to his mind."
If you think that you are happy, you are happy.
If you think that you are miserable, you are miserable.

We make life more complicated than that because of self-imposed restrictions set by the mind. However, you are not bound by the limitations that the mind sets for you, unless you choose to be.

Meditation helps you to rise above the mind and see that the Self is different and separate from the creations of the mind.
The Self is eternally free and Meditation helps you to distinguish your Self from the mind and transcend the mind's perception of reality.

Non-Stick Meditation
When the mind is free from all obstacles, it can view the world clearly. Life will continue to occur around it but the Self is not affected by it. Nothing sticks to the mind. The meditative mind rises above the world and while it sees what is happening around it, it is unaffected by it as though the concerns of the world simply slide right off.

This does not mean though that you become distant or aloof from the world. You live in it, you are a part of it, and you use your new-found compassion to help others reach the calm and tranquil place that you have discovered.

Daily Practice
Practice catching your thoughts, moods, feelings, and alter your thought pattern to reflect a happy state of mind. Notice how you react to what other people are doing and saying and strive to remain centered and at peace.

While reading about and understanding the principles behind meditation are important, even more knowledge and understanding is received during a regular meditation practice.
Without action, nothing is achieved.
Know that there will be days when your practice is smooth and others when you struggle to maintain a connection to a single focus. In time you will overcome all struggles and enter into a meditative state with ease.

New meditation information is added to the site every week with links to my additional articles on how to meditate, reduce stress, and gain inner peace.

Meditation Practice

Meditation Practice
Change is inevitable and it happens all around you from the rising and setting of the sun to the changing seasons. Having a meditation routine can be comforting, reassuring, and safe because of its predictability but without conscious awareness of the content, it can become stale.

Breathing-in New Energy
Life is about balance, harmony, and choice and your meditation practice should reflect the changes that you experience in your own life by enabling you to meet your daily needs and bring healing and knowledge into your life.
Breathing new energy into your daily practice comes through accepting the need for change and surrendering to the possibilities before you.

Embracing Change
Surrendering to subtle shifts of your energy releases built-in issues that are restrictive and negative while enabling you to embrace the potential that lies within.

Photo by Margaret Stockley

The mind compartmentalizes roles, thoughts, and emotions, and meditation helps you to break down limitations. It is a cleansing procedure to go through as you perceive the positive transformation in your physical abilities and in your thoughts and awareness of your surroundings.

Awakening To The Self
Your sense of self and spirit awakens to the freshly created space in your life that is ready to welcome the new. This awareness enables you to remain in the present and listen to your inner wisdom.

Surrendering To Your Meditation
Learning to be in the now enables you to let go of the past while not being afraid of things to come. As you remain in the present, aware of your thoughts, you experience the joy of a deepening sense of purpose and direction that alters how you approach your practice.
Surrendering to anything new can feel as if you are losing control but gradually you develop the ability to still the body and mind and ensure that you free yourself of self-limiting expectations.

Enjoy Your Meditation. There are no limits; only self-imposed ones. So open yourself up to receive and explore the wondrous possibilities that present themselves.

New meditation information is added to the site every week with links to additional articles on how to meditate, reduce stress, and gain inner peace.