The Life Changer

Practising meditation in my life has helped me to a great extent. It just has not helped me in one   specific aspect of my life but in various aspects, rather I can say has shaped me to a  greater aspect from what I am today. I have some instances that will throw light on the various phases  in life and personality where meditation has made difference. I have been practicing meditation since I was a kid; as far as I remember from my childhood I have been  practising it.

I was a small kid, and had gone out to play. Back at home, my family was looking for dad’s scooter’s keys. I recall the house to be toppled just for a key. When I couldn’t understand what was happening I asked my mother what they were looking for. My mother  in hurry and haphazard manner  asked if I  have seen the scooter keys. Expecting I won’t know and I would resume playing, my answer surprised her when I being cool said yes and lead her to where it was. Meditation thus has helped me in attaining  excellence. Till date, I can remember  where something is or where could it possibly be. I am good at recalling instances, events, situations or actions.

Thus meditation has helped me attain a good memory.

I recall another instance when I suddenly  told my mother  about our aunt will be coming to India from Australia before the end of the year. It was already the end of November and she had no plans. But it turned out that she had come to India for some important work and that too before the end of the year.

Thus meditation has helped me in strengthening my intuition.

I love to write poem related to nature. It's my passion in life. But  no other topic I love to write except on nature. But in order to write I need to connect to nature to write my poems.

Thus meditation has helped me live up to my passion.

At present I’m a student and have few responsibilities in college, volunteer at  NGO'S The Art of Living and another NGO Make A Difference (MAD),  writing poems for fun, and loads more which astonishes my friends on how do I manage all and play all roles and yet have time for them. What astonishes them more is when I say I have the capacities capacity to do more.

Thus meditation has helped me play multiples roles to a great extent.

I didn’t like to study much. I could hardly keep my mind focus on my task. Often I would wonder to my own fantasy world. But now I have started to achieve what I want with little effort.

Thus meditation has helped me attain afocus mind.

Often my friends call me a calm girl. They say I know mostly what I have to do. Under pressure of deadline, I don’t lose my mind and calmly get over it.

Thus meditation has helped me attain a calm mind.

I had started to get migraine attracts. I was unable to detect the cause. But others surprise  I got over it in less than a year and this I knew was because of meditation.

Thus meditation has helped me get over my medical problem.

Thus I have gained so much in my life and framed my personality to a good human being. Thus it helped me to be who I am.

Meditation is not Boring

Meditation has been regarded as ‘very difficult’ and ‘boring’ by few crazy souls on this planet. Spirituality has been touted as the sole baby of long bearded, seriously looking apparently enlightened souls. But Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said that spirituality can be achieved through celebration also. And celebrations are never boring.

Meditation is the easiest form of spirituality and relaxation where “doing nothing” approach can lead you to enlightenment. Strenuous works leads to frequent burn outs but relaxation through meditation never lets you bore. We never get bored of having food, as an element of ‘pleasure’ is involved in it. After effects of meditation are nothing but pleasure and that too long lasting. 

So think about it, how can such a beautiful thing be boring? An initial foray into meditation can be a challenging task but keeping faith can help a lot.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says that having belief in the unknown is faith. Let us have faith in the power of unknown and meditate. After a threshold limit, the journey would start on auto pilot mode and without meditation, life would seem boring.

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also says, the world rocking Sudarshan Kriya was downloaded from the universe in silence and meditation. The famous ‘Aayurveda’ knowledge was blessed to the 86000 meditators who meditated in central India thousands of years ago and the same was compiled by the Rishis (sages) in a presentable form. Meditation is the process of finding answers from the consciousness and only subtle mind can do that. Meditation takes you to the subtle areas.

Pleasures through five senses of eye, nose, skin, taste and ears can lead to boredom in a day. Even moderate use of them would certainly lead to boredom because their life is limited. Limited things only can give boredom but the joy of the soul is ever lasting, pure and UNLIMITED. Unlimited things would radiate forever. Boring has got no place in this journey.  Let us start meditating now or else we would get bore by discussing the worldly things.

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What Is Meditation.....??????

Meditation is universal. It transcends all divides like religion, country and culture. It is a gift given to mankind to access the infinite sprit not limited by any identity. It is the only tool that can aid a person to return to innocence.

Modern life style has high exposure to anger, hate, fear and other negative emotions. These human emotions have a high tendency to duplicate and spread. For example, when a person gets cheated, he starts to suspect everything around him. This also has an impact on people around him. These emotions form strong impressions and opinions on an individual and social level. The result of which is an insecure individual and an unstable society.

Meditation helps an individual overcome these emotions to facilitate a calm peaceful mind and a healthy and stress free body.Upon daily practice an individual will blossom into an unshakable personality. With increase in the number of people who are calm, peaceful and healthy will facilitate a social transformation, enabling a society that is trusting, happy and content.

Some Tips for Powerful Meditation

Posture

Eyes

Focus

The Breath

Continue Your Breath

Emotions

Length

Place

Enjoyment

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Yoga and Meditation

Many wonder why it is necessary to meditate after practising Yoga asanas/ postures. One of the many benefits of practising yoga asanas/ postures is the fact that it allows us to slip into meditation effortlessly. Meditation being one of the main aspects of Yoga, it's essential that we sit for meditation after practising Yoga asanas and pranayama; else it is like preparing our dinner but not eating it! In meditation one delves deep into the self. There are many kinds of Yoga and Meditation though they might seem different most of them are, in essence, the same. The Panchakosha and Hari Om meditations can be experienced in the Art of Living Courses.

Panchakosha Meditation

According to ancient Indian scriptures, we consist of five sheaths or koshas – body, breath, mind, intellect and finally bliss. In this meditation we are guided from the gross to the subtler aspects of our being, finally experiencing the joy and peace that's inherent in everyone.

Yoga and Meditation

Hari Om Meditation

It is said that there are seven chakras/ centres of prana-flow (the flow of subtle life energy). In this meditation, we guide the prana to flow from one chakra to the other. Though very simple, the Hari Om meditation leads to a profound experience.

Learn Meditation

First, Sit Upright

Sit upright with a straight spine, away from the back of the chair. Place your feet flat on the floor, and your arms, palms turned upward, at the joint between your thighs and torso.

Relax the Body

Do this Tense and Relax exercise to help you relax the body:

Inhale sharply through the nose, with 1 short and 1 long inhalation (double breath)

Tense the whole body until it vibrates with energy

Hold your breath and the tension for five seconds

Exhale forcibly through the mouth, with one short and one long exhalation (double breath)

As you do, throw the tension out

Repeat several times

Breathe Evenly

Inhale slowly, counting to eight. Hold the breath for eight more counts, then exhale slowly to the same count. Without pausing, inhale again — hold — exhale, each to the count of eight.

This is called the Measured Breathing Exercise. Repeat it three to six times.

You can vary the count according to your lung capacity, but always keep it equal during inhalation, holding, and exhalation. Finish your practice by inhaling deeply, then exhaling completely.

Hong-Sau Technique of Concentration

Now wait for the next breath to come in of its own accord. When it does, mentally say Hong (rhymes with song). This time, don’t hold the breath, but exhale naturally. As you do, mentally say Sau (rhymes with saw).

Hong-Sau is an ancient Sanskrit mantra (a mantra is a word, syllable, or group of syllables, which can convey spiritual power when pronounced correctly, often with repetition). It means “I am He” or “I am Spirit.” Try to feel that your breath itself is silently making the sounds of Hong and Sau.

Make no attempt to control your breath. Simply observe it as it flows in and out naturally.

In the beginning you may be mostly aware of the physical manifestation of the breathing process as your diaphragm and chest expand and contract.

As your breath grows calmer, however, try to become aware of its flow in the nostrils, then gradually transfer your awareness higher and higher in the nasal passages.

With the eyes closed, turn your gaze upward to the point midway between the eyebrows within your forehead. Concentrate there. This is the seat of spiritual consciousness in the body, also called the spiritual eye, or Christ Center. In time, try to feel the flow of the breath near the spiritual eye within your forehead.

Keep your gaze steady at the point between the eyebrows throughout your practice. Don’t allow your eyes to follow the movement of the breath. If you find that your mind has wandered, gently bring it back to an awareness of the breath and the mantra. 

Finish your practice of Hong-Sau by inhaling once through the nose, then exhaling three times through the mouth.

 

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Meditation Benefits

There are so many advantages to meditation. When I first originally thought of this post, I indeed wanted to make it 100 benefits long (think big right!), however, I wasn’t sure I could find more than perhaps 20-25 benefits. Well, I made it happen! Meditation is as powerful as I thought it would be. Here is the definitive list of benefits that meditation can provide you with:

Here we go for benefits of meditation.

1- It lowers oxygen consumption.
2- It decreases respiratory rate.
3- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
4- Increases exercise tolerance.
5- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.
6- Good for people with high blood pressure.
7- Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate.
8- Decreases muscle tension
9- Helps in chronic diseases like allergies, arthritis etc.
10- Reduces Pre-menstrual Syndrome symptoms.
11- Helps in post-operative healing.
12- Enhances the immune system.
13- Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress
14- Enhances energy, strength and vigour.
15- Helps with weight loss
16- Reduction of free radicals, less tissue damage
17- Higher skin resistance
18- Drop in cholesterol levels, lowers risk of cardiovascular disease.
19- Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing.
20- Decreases the aging process.
21- Higher levels of DHEAS (Dehydroepiandrosterone)
22- prevented, slowed or controlled pain of chronic diseases
23- Makes you sweat less
24- Cure headaches & migraines
25- Greater Orderliness of Brain Functioning
26- Reduced Need for Medical Care
27- Less energy wasted
28- More inclined to sports, activities
29- Significant relief from asthma
30- improved performance in athletic events
31- Normalizes to your ideal weight
32- harmonizes our endocrine system
33- relaxes our nervous system
34- produce lasting beneficial changes in brain electrical activity
35- Cure infertility (the stresses of infertility can interfere with the release of hormones that regulate ovulation).

Meditation is also completely FREE! It requires no special equipment, and is not complicated to learn. It can be practiced anywhere, at any given moment, and it is not time consuming (15-20 min. per day is good). Best of all, meditation has NO negative side effects. Bottom line, there is nothing but positive to be gained from it! With such a huge list of benefits, the question you should ask yourself is, “why am I not meditating yet?”

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It's All About Meditation

The term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices (like sports), which range from techniques designed to promote relaxation, contacting spiritual guides, receiving psychic visions, getting closer to god, seeing past lives, taking astral journies, and so forth, to more technical exercises targeted at developing compassion, love, patience, generosity, forgiveness and more far-reaching goals such as effortless sustained single-pointed concentration^[2], single-pointed analysis^[3], and an indestructible sense of well-being while engaging in any and all of life’s activities. Thus, it is essential to be specific about the type of meditation practice under investigation.

Failure to make such distinctions would be akin to the use of the word ‘sport’ to refer to all sports as if they were essentially the same. For example, the overly generic description of meditation as a mere relaxation technique12 becomes extremely problematic when one attends to the details of many practices (see 7 and Box 1 and Box 2)7,13,14. In contrast, we should think about the term “Meditation” as referring to several neighborhoods of new age mish-mosh, shamanistic lucid dreaming and astral journeying, theistic-concentration meditations, contemplation’s, visualizations, hypnotherapy, training of single-pointed attention, training in mindfulness, training in single-pointed analysis, vision questing, chi building exercises, and so on, developed for various ends.”

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