Meditation: what is it and what does it do for you?

[teenybash]

A lot of people can find meditation quite difficult to begin with.......many years ago a very wise lady shared me how reach that special place of peace and tranquility. This is what she told me................Make yourself comfortable and cosy in a place where there are no distractions...bedroom/bathroom, whever is good for you. Light a candle and dim the light and for the next 5 minutes watch the candle flame, which will dance and twirl and multiply...beautiful to see.
Sounds very simple, which it is and it will teach you easily how to reach your own inner island.

[Sun Circle]

If i have time ill post later, but if anyone wants to see meditation whilst on an EEG session etc, let me know and we will put on another free workshop at the surgery on the topic.

Andrew.

That sounds really interesting Andrew - I'd love to try that out! Presumably if you do put on a free workshop it will be advertised on the org?

I've done a bit of meditation through Reiki practice and yoga practice, but to be honest I'm never convinced I'm doing it "right"... even so, I have no doubt that even 10 minutes of "meditation" (whatever it is!) each day makes a big difference. Doing guided visualisation or even lying down and focussing the mind on various parts of the body does seem to have an incredibly good effect on both my mind and body.

Lelebo - are your classes for beginners? What form does your meditation take... is it visualisation or something more abstract than that?

Sun Circle

[A_Usher]

In many cases this is because meditation is not taught correctly and or the process is not understood by the individual teaching. In many cases esoteric ideas and concepts are introduced with claims it can only be taught by a guru are introduced etc, which is simply not the case.

I know this because i have studied meditation in a variety of forms for over 20 years, trained with some so called Guru's etc, and found in many cases what they were saying was incorrect. I know this from my studies in psychology, neuroscience, EEG and research into hypnosis etc. I have also taught meditation in Caithness for over 5 years, using a very simply method.

The problem is that many so called trainers have no knowledge of how the mind works, brainwave patterns, eliciting states of mind etc and cover the topic with esotericism and well coated suggestions to the client.

Meditation is a state of mind that anyone can achieve and can achieve with a variety of methods, in its simplest form meditation is a state of focus, which is accompanied in many cases with breathing patterns. The process creates a biofeedback loop in the individual, and its easy to understand why, as when you focus on an image or thought you mind hazes out the other aspects going on around you, and your breathing creates a physiological change, lowering your breathing rate etc. This state for many is different and more relaxed to their normal active state that they utilise whilst dealing with family, work, the shops etc, and is generally found to be more relaxing.

This is important, as a relaxed state is much more healthier for you than a stressed out state. Now repetition in meditation and changing the patterns is key to development, as the more you do it, the more easier it becomes and the more your brain wave patterns learn settle into this state. Changing pattern such as visualisation etc stop the brain from becoming bored in the long term, which is why many people abandon projects, as they simply find it boring. In essence meditation is brain wave training, and you can do it very easily.

If people are interested then i am happy to put on a free workshop, and can show the different methods, modern methods, clinical data of efficiency in health conditions, let people see their brainwave pattern in and out of meditation though EEG, and show the latest finding in fRMI etc.

[3of8]

In many cases this is because meditation is not taught correctly and or the process is not understood by the individual teaching. In many cases esoteric ideas and concepts are introduced with claims it can only be taught by a guru are introduced etc, which is simply not the case.

I know this because i have studied meditation in a variety of forms for over 20 years, trained with some so called Guru's etc, and found in many cases what they were saying was incorrect. I know this from my studies in psychology, neuroscience, EEG and research into hypnosis etc. I have also taught meditation in Caithness for over 5 years, using a very simply method.
The problem is that many so called trainers have no knowledge of how the mind works, brainwave patterns, eliciting states of mind etc and cover the topic with esotericism and well coated suggestions to the client.

Does this mean that the long line of Hindu gurus which have dated back generations were useless because they couldn't see brainwaves on a machine?

Meditation is another form of resting isn't it? Does this mean you've slept for 20 years?

Meditation is a state of mind that anyone can achieve and can achieve with a variety of methods, in its simplest form meditation is a state of focus, which is accompanied in many cases with breathing patterns.

Yep. I can do that sitting on the bus going to work. Wifey says I'm daydreaming!!

The process creates a biofeedback loop in the individual, and its easy to understand why, as when you focus on an image or thought you mind hazes out the other aspects going on around you, and your breathing creates a physiological change, lowering your breathing rate etc. This state for many is different and more relaxed to their normal active state that they utilise whilst dealing with family, work, the shops etc, and is generally found to be more relaxing.

This is important, as a relaxed state is much more healthier for you than a stressed out state. Now repetition in meditation and changing the patterns is key to development, as the more you do it, the more easier it becomes and the more your brain wave patterns learn settle into this state. Changing pattern such as visualisation etc stop the brain from becoming bored in the long term, which is why many people abandon projects, as they simply find it boring. In essence meditation is brain wave training, and you can do it very easily.

If people are interested then i am happy to put on a free workshop, and can show the different methods, modern methods, clinical data of efficiency in health conditions, let people see their brainwave pattern in and out of meditation though EEG, and show the latest finding in fRMI etc.

Huh?? In layman's terms, does this mean that...... erm..... um..... what?

[A_Usher]

Does this mean that the long line of Hindu gurus which have dated back generations were useless because they couldn't see brainwaves on a machine?

Meditation is another form of resting isn't it? Does this mean you've slept for 20 years?



Yep. I can do that sitting on the bus going to work. Wifey says I'm daydreaming!!



Huh?? In layman's terms, does this mean that...... erm..... um..... what?

Nope, never said they where useless, however, what some of the gurus claimed took a lifetime to achieve, could be facilitated much quicker using modern advancements and processes. Meditation isnt necessarily resting, EEG and MRI studies have shown it differs from the classical ideas of the 4 stages of sleep for instance.

[lelebo]

Hi Sun Circle

My classes are for beginners and I'll be running an intermediate course once beginners course is complete. The style of meditation I teach is called Transformation Meditation - it's a very simple technique - I agree with much of what Andrew has said in previous posts but the focus of my course is on learning the technique and then practising it over the duration of the course. We talk a little about the science / history behind it but concentrate mostly on learning how to do it and applying it to your life. It is something that we all do naturally, so it's just a way of becoming more aware and formalising the technique to make it more effective.........to create a new habit takes around 3 weeks and learning meditation as part of a group is much easier that trying to learn alone so I find the regular period of practice makes it much easier to carry meditation forward as a regular practice.

D

[wifie]

Hey teenybash is that why I have always loved staring into the flames in a real fire? Sounds simple but effective.

[teenybash]

Hey teenybash is that why I have always loved staring into the flames in a real fire? Sounds simple but effective.

You have got it exactly right........luckily I still have real fires and can float off into my own world watching the flames.
But for those who have electric or gas a little tea light does the job...............no need to get to classes to learn how to meditate..and then of course the journey back..stress starts climbing again..........