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Meditation is Not New - With its roots in prehistory, it
almost certainly predates the science that now endorses it. History
shows that its practice was adopted by Eastern cultures thousands of
years ago, with ancient Indian scriptures dating from 5,000 years ago
detailing techniques.
By increasing the level of awareness to the actual things that are
happening right now (not imagination or visualization), but your breath,
your body and your surroundings – you can harness much more of the power
of your mind and spirit.
Meditation is being continuously aware of yourself and your
surroundings. The more details about yourself that you are aware of, the
more intense is the beneficial effect.
Practitioners have been attesting for years and finally now, medical
science is waking up to the fact that Meditation has powerful health
benefits. A new study, published in the journal
Psychoneuroendocrinology, has discovered specific molecular changes
in the body after a period of mindful meditation.
After 8 hours, 'Practitioners of Meditation' showed a range of genetic
and molecular differences, including reduced levels of pro-inflammatory
genes. This correlates with faster physical recovery from a stressful
situation.
Research Concludes:
"Our genes are quite dynamic in their expression and these results
suggest that the calmness of our mind can actually have a potential
influence on their expression."
Meditation can also improve several medical conditions, including pain
management and lowering blood pressure. Meditation is further gaining
advocates among the medical community with research showing its benefits
for Alzheimer's patients and sufferers of chronic inflammation.
Besides improving cardiovascular problems that can lead to poor brain
function, meditation may also reduce levels of Cortisol, a stress
hormone. Excess of Cortisol can impede cognitive abilities such as
memory recall. Researchers have also found an association between
meditation and an increase in the thickness of the Cerebral Cortex,
that part of the brain that handles our higher functions of
intelligence, innovation and creativity. |
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The Art of Centering
with
Chinese Taoist
Energetic Visualization Meditation |
| If You Suffer - From fear, weakness, stress, physical illness,
depression, uncertainty, etc., and you seek a method other than drugs or
psychoanalysis for dealing with it, the Green Dragon Society suggests
this basic meditation. Anyone can learn this meditation and can benefit
from its diligent practice. This meditation, called "Centering", is an essential component to
the true study of Chinese Martial Arts. As the name 'Dawn of Heaven'
implies, this meditation can induce profound states, when the mind
ceases to dwell in the head and instead 'Centers' into the belly. It is
a wonderful way to relax your body and calm your mind, taking as little
as ten or fifteen minutes of your time a day. |
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First, you need someplace quiet and private where you can meditate
undisturbed. If you cannot find such a quiet place in your life to
meditate, this then is part of the problem you have. Everyone needs
alone, personal time. Choose a spot you 'feel' is comfortable and
practice your meditation there at the same time everyday, if possible,
for best results. Good times to meditate include after arising in the
morning or before retiring for the night, but the best time to meditate
is whenever you can. You'll miss some days but strive for regular
practice. Next, begin to prepare yourself for meditation. You should wear
comfortable, loose clothing, or no clothes at all if you feel so
inclined. Comfortable room temperature certainly helps, so dress
accordingly. At your chosen place sit upon a pillow (helps properly
support the internal organs), in the simple 'Indian Posture', which is
sitting cross-legged on the floor with the feet placed under the
thighs, not on top of the thighs as in the "Yogic Lotus Posture". If
you are physically incapable of sitting on the floor you can sit upright
in a straight backed chair instead. In any case, keep your spine erect
and the head up, but not held stiffly, and just sit and deeply relax all
the muscles. Place your hands together in your lap.
Close your eyes, continue to relax further, imagine the tension draining
out of you and into the ground, like melting ice. Breathe from the
abdomen. Let the lungs fill with oxygen all the way down to the belly.
The most common problem is people holding their breath unconsciously.
Therefore, don't hinder the breathing but don't force it either, just
let it happen naturally and deeply. Relax now and breath for awhile. |
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Now, as your body is completely relaxed, let's go on to relax your mind.
Mental tension is caused by all the divergent thoughts that ramble and
tumble through your head continuously. To calm your mind, you will unite
your multiple thoughts into one thought. "One Thought" is the
state of mind attained through the ability to concentrate the focus of
your consciousness on one thing exclusively. When your thoughts
disappear, you will not disappear. The one who remains will be able to
'Think' on a truly higher level, and your senses will remain
totally aware and receptive to stimuli. One Thought is not to be
intellectually comprehended, for it must be experienced.
To attain the state of One Thought you visualize the image of an orb of
pure energy, roughly one-and-one-half inches diameter in size, the color
yellow, and radiating limitless power. You imagine this brightly burning
sphere located three inches within your body and three inches below the
navel. The greater the imagination, the clearer the visualized image,
the more dynamic the results. Never allow your mind to wander, but also
do not strain. Remain physically and mentally relaxed.When you can attain states of
One Thought it can be an enriching,
rejuvenating, expanding and pleasurable experience. When "Centered"
you are truly balanced both physically and mentally. Your Chi (Spirit)
is flowing and you are in harmony with Nature. You can defeat any
uncentered foe (almost all people are uncentered). But the key to
success lies in keeping up the practice so you can proceed to "No
Thought," which is a state of mind you will reach someday in your meditating when
your yellow sphere within you spontaneously "Explodes". You will not be
harmed, quite the contrary, you will be in the first state of
'Enlightenment', which is beyond mere words, and your life will never be
the same again. |
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Ta Mo . . . Chinese Immortal |
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