Simple meditation helps in many ways - Regular practice shown to decrease symptoms of stress and depression

Regular practice shown to decrease symptoms of stress and depression

A simple form of mindful meditation can help breast cancer survivors stave off the symptoms of depression, new research suggests. But the potential benefits don't stop there.

Meditation may help wipe out some of those repetitive thoughts about the past or future that can clutter the mind once treatment ends. It may also reduce loneliness and decrease the body's inflammatory response to stress — which can trigger serious illness — according to a small study published in the journal Brain, Behavior, and Immunity.

"Mindfulness meditation is particularly effective in buffering the effects of stress on well-being and physical health," said study co-author J. David Creswell, director of the Health and Human Performance Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University. Though the mechanism isn't known, meditation can help stop the spiral of negative thoughts that can trigger distress, Creswell said.

Meditation teacher Elesa Commerse knows the benefits firsthand. She practiced meditation before, during and after her own treatment for breast cancer. She also meditated to help her cope with her mother's and grandmother's breast cancer journeys. Her DVD, "Finding Your Way," is a nine-hour program that includes meditation and is designed to help breast cancer survivors navigate their changed world. Find it at foreverwhole.org.

Below, Commerse elaborates on how meditation can help breast cancer survivors:

Q: How can meditation help once cancer treatment has ended?

A: Meditation helps you stay present, and it helps you work with your mind in productive ways. It's important to stay present when dealing with such devastating news because it is then that the mind gets very creative and usually in unhelpful ways — about the future or possible lack of a future.

Q: How do I meditate, or quiet my mind?

A: There are many ways or techniques. First, you quiet the body and sit comfortably. You then observe the weather of your mind by noting the intensity and velocity of your thoughts. You welcome any and all thoughts. You become like a healthy form of Teflon — imagine that — holding your seat but not allowing any of the thoughts or feelings to stick to you. You notice a thought — greet it, welcome it, say "hello" to it and let it go like a helium balloon that floats away without you even noticing where it goes. And you do this hundreds, thousands of time, without judgment, without reaction, without counting. You keep coming back to the sensation of the breath that you are breathing just now — to the present moment.

Q: Is meditation more difficult to learn when you're battling a life-threatening illness?

A: I think it's easier because you know why you need to learn how to do this. There is an amazing clarity that often comes with a cancer diagnosis and treatment. One of the things meditation teaches you is that cancer isn't all there is. You are no more a cancer diagnosis than you are the color red. Life is a mosaic, and there is always a lot going on in a person's life. What matters and what determines the quality of our life depends on what we choose to focus on. Whatever the mind focuses on magnifies.

Sjá: http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sc-health-0926-bc-mindfulness-20120926,0,4512733.story

The what is is what you are

The what is is what you are, not what you would like to be; it is not the ideal because the ideal is fictitious, but it is actually what you are doing, thinking, and feeling from moment to moment. What is is the actual, and to understand the actual requires awareness, a very alert, swift mind.

Krishnamurti

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said:

The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said:

“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health.
And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present;
the result being that he does not live in the present or the future;
he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

Yogi Shanti Desai discusses the the difference between happiness and bliss

Yogi Shanti Desai discusses the the difference between happiness and bliss:

 

http://yogishantidesai.com/videos.html

 

See all of Shanti Desai's YouTube videos at: www.youtube.com/user/yogishantidesai/videos

The mystics ask you to take nothing on mere belief

The mystics ask you to take nothing on mere belief. Rather, they give you a set of experiments to test in your own awareness and experience. The laboratory is your own mind, the experiment is meditation.

 

Ken Wilber

Meditation: the new medication

Thanks to pop-culture representations, meditation is seen as something that takes place in the isolation of a lush forest at the top of a Himalayan mountain. Those who practice the delicate art know one does not have to be alone or in an exotic location to meditate.

Billy Juliani, a junior in philosophy and the president of N.C. State's Buddhist Philosophy Club, defined meditation as the practice of "living in the present moment and being aware of what's around us."

"It reduces stress and anxiety and promotes a more peaceful and thoughtful approach to looking at the world," Juliani said.

Lesa greinina í heild: http://www.technicianonline.com/features/meditation-the-new-medication-1.2766229 

Your life will reflect spiritual consciousness if you meditate

Your life will reflect spiritual consciousness if you meditate. Since the publication of my book [Autobiography of a Yogi], everyone is asking about Kriya Yoga. That is my purpose. I didn’t come to give theological abstractions, but a technique whereby those who are sincere can truly know God, not just theorize about Him....The practice of Kriya gives the true experience of religion, which cannot be had by just talking about God.

Paramahansa Yogananda

´

Hér getið þið hlustað á hljóðupptökur með Yogananda:  

http://www.yogananda-srf.org/listentopy/Listen_to_Paramahansa_Yogananda.aspx

 

There is no need for temples ...

 

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

Dalai Lama

Þetta er hin launhelgi boðskapur Dauðans

...

14 Þegar allar kenndir og hvatir hjartans hafa hljóðnað, þá finnur dauðlegur maður ódauðleikann og verður eitt með allífinu.

15 Þegar ástríðuviðjar mannlegs hjarta hafa brostið, þá verður dauðlegur maður dauðlegur. -

 

                              Þetta er hin launhelgi boðskapur Dauðans 

 

17 Vitundarneistinn, sjálfið, vakir hið innra með sérhverjum manni, ljós í hjarta. Lærð að þekkja hið innra, hreina ljós, lærið að þekkja hið innra ódauðlega ljós.

 

18 Nachiketas nam þessa háleitu vizku af vörum Dauðans, og hann lærði fræðin um samhljóm hinna innri afla, sem nefnist yoga. Hann varð eitt með hinu Eilífa og hann varð ódauðlegur og hreinn. Og það getur í sannleika sérhver orðið, sem vill ná valdi á hinum innri öflum og sameinast sál sinni.

                              Hér endar Katha Upanishad

Launvizka Vedabóka. Upanishad. Sören Sörensen endursagði úr frummálinu.

... keep your beginner's mind

So the most difficult thing is always to keep your beginner's mind. There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind. You should not say, "I know what Zen is," or "I have attained enlightenment." This is also the real secret of the arts: always be a beginner. Be very very careful about this point. If you start to practice zazen, you will begin to appreciate your beginner's mind. It is the secret of Zen practice.

Shunryu Suzuki-roshi