Changing Your Thoughts and Emotions

A New Pathway is Possible

Thoughts and Emotions
In a 1997 study, researchers at Duke University found that negative thoughts altered emotions and caused physical symptoms leading to ischemia of blood vessels. The study summarized that positive emotions reduced the risk of ischemic attacks.

Since then, additional studies in the field of PsychoNeuroImmunology (PNI) have examined the role of thoughts and the mind on the body, right down to the cellular level. Despite the wealth of information available, it is hard to simply start thinking positive thoughts all the time.

However, changing the way that you think is possible.

New Pathways
For this to happen, new pathways, i.e. thought patterns, have to be made in the brain and the most efficient method of creating lasting change is through breathing and meditation.

Constantly dragging the past or concerns about the future around with you keeps the body in a negative energy state. Applying the right thoughts, emotions, and behavior comes after creating space within the mind for new patterns to emerge. Aversions and preferences fade away until you remove the patterns of the past to create space for a new present to occur.

It takes energy to produce energy and this is true for all actions, including meditation.

Creating Change
During meditation, with the mind still and centered on the breath or your choice of focus, the brain works at keeping the breath slow, calm, and steady. As the breath slows, the mind becomes steady and less prone to random thoughts.

Meditation creates neurological changes that help you during your every day life. The changes are then reinforced each time you meditate, and each time you follow the new behavior.

Over time, thinking positively becomes your normal way of thinking. You are able to catch yourself as each negative thought occurs, and change it quickly to a positive one. Eventually you only think good thoughts.

Intuition
This does not mean that you cannot see danger or when a situation or person is harmful. Rather, your intuition is heightened.
It helps you to:
see when situations are bad for you, whether it is in the form of gossip or being in the company of someone
recognize when your behavior is reckless
hear when your thoughts are unkind either about yourself or directed at someone.

Making a Miracle
You “make a miracle” by creating good vibrational energy and sending it through your body. This restores much needed balance to both the body and the mind.

In the silence of a stilled mind, you move into a meditative state with grace and ease, creating the vital space within for new knowledge to emerge.

Peace transfers to the body and mind
You gain health and vitality
You create the life you really want.

Make meditation a part of your life and experience peace, happiness, and improved health every day.

Guided Meditation:Relaxation

Open the window of the mind to experience full relaxation

It is useful to record your guided meditations onto a recording device so that you can fully concentrate on the sounds and images without the distraction of having to read the next sentence or paragraph.
I have endeavored to write the guided meditations into useful chunks that are relatively easy to memorize.

The general idea is to eventually take the image, and permit your mind to travel to the tranquil place that exists within your mind’s eye. No two people will “see” or experience the same meditation even though the y are following the same guided meditation because your experiences and memories are different. It is your own visualization. Let it be unique to you and allow the images to flow.

Take your time during each visualization. Spend as long as you would like to or need to in one image, developing it fully before moving on.

GUIDED MEDITATION: RELAXATION

Sitting or lying down, depending on your physical abilities, close your eyes gently and focus on creating a rhythmic flow of breath.

Let your arms rest loosely by your sides, or place your hands face up on your lap.

With each inhalation, breathe in the richness of life.
As you exhale, release the breath in a slow and steady stream.
Feel tension and stress leave the body on the breath.
Slow the breath down even further with each inhale and exhale.

Focus on the crown of your head.
In your mind’s eye, notice your scalp and feel the skin in the top of your head relax.

Move slowly to your eyebrows. Relax the forehead and facial muscles.
Consciously release all anxiety, allowing the facial muscles to relax.

Purse your lips for 3 seconds and release.
Let you mouth relax into its natural form. This can mean that the lips are closed, or slightly apart. Ensure that the jaw is relaxed and not clenched.

Continue down to your neck and shoulders. Shrug the shoulders and let them go.
Feel the relaxing energy travel slowly down your arms to the tips of your fingers.

Feel peace fill the inner space where tension once resided as the upper limbs relax.

Move to your hips. This is often a place of deep-seated stress and anxiety.
With each exhalation, breathe all tension and worry away through the body and out through the toes.
Feel the connection to the ground beneath your feet.
Feel supported and grounded by the union.

Feel relaxed and contented.

Stay in your relaxed state until you feel that it is time to return to your day’s duties.

Slowly bring awareness back to your body.
Allow the eyes to open.
Keep the breath calm and steady, the body relaxed.
Feel recharged, invigorated, and contented.

Know that you can return to this peaceful safe place simply by closing your eyes and following the breath’s journey.
It resides deep within you.

With practice, you will restore balance and harmony simply by returning to a calm and peaceful flow of breath.
Embrace your ability make contentment a daily reality.

CONTEMPLATIVE MEDITATION

Word
Prayer
Spirit

Background
Centering Prayer is now more commonly known as Contemplative Meditation. It is drawn from prayer practices that began in the first century C.E. and was made popular in the 1970’s by monks from the Trappist Abbey, St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts.

They describe Contemplative Meditation as “A prayer of silence, an experience of God’s presence as the ground in which our being is rooted, the Source from whom our life emerges at every moment.”

This form of meditation is a means of centering the mind to receive God’s presence and increase awareness of God's presence in your life. It creates a peace even when awake by releasing the flow of knowledge and guidance at the level of the soul.

There is a peaceful and sacred place that abides within you. It is your refuge and your home. It is here in this hallowed sanctuary that you are safe to withdraw to discover the areas where you need to grow.

Find a quiet place to reflect on a word in Contemplative Meditation

Essence
Contemplative Meditation is a means of training the mind to concentrate, or center, on a word, a thought, a spiritual passage, or a mantra.
This type of meditation can be practiced anywhere that you have time to yourself such as walking, physical activity, or simply sitting.

Method
Choose a phrase from a spiritual book, or select a spiritual word or name.
Study the word. Notice what “speaks” to you.
Study the word again. What feelings does it evoke within you.
Return to the word a final time.
Keep focusing on the word, absorbing it, understanding it, and knowing its truth.
Merge into meditation if the situation permits.


Benefits
It expands your ability to concentrate and become aware of the thoughts, emotions, and feelings from the body as they arise.
Any time that you find yourself in a situation that is challenging, you can induce relaxation by bringing awareness to the flow of the breath and focus on a word or phrase that you have encountered during your Contemplative Meditation.
It heightens your spiritual journey and deepens your relationship with God.
Your intuition increases as it maintains an openness to hearing and following the wisdom that arises from within.

You may like to carry your word with you to deepen your spiritual connection and awareness.

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.