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Effectively Dealing with Sadness
No one ever has a problem dealing with happiness or feeling
good. When joy comes into our life we experience it freely, but
when sadness or grief is present, we often struggle with them.
This is especially true during the holidays when we are...
Neti Pot – You Want Me to Stick it Where?
I LOVE my Neti pot. It is the first thing I use each morning when I wake up and it is also the first thing I pack when I am going on a trip. As a matter of fact, I can’t imagine living without my Neti pot. For me, it is the difference between being...
Searchers Follow Ancient Traditions
In the past year 36 percent of all Americans age 18 and over
used approximately form of complementary color and option
practice of medicine to deal with illness. These therapies range
from acupuncture to herbs, from stress relieving meditation...
The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Allergies
The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Allergies In a healthy body, the allergic response serves to protect against invasion by harmful agents. Secretions and inflammation help our immune cells get into the affected tissue, dilute the toxic agent and...
Top 5 tips towards effective relaxation techniques
As a general rule we all face much more demanding daily lives.
The working day is getting longer and longer, and more of us are
required to work longer hours or even get second jobs to pay for
mortgages and other bills. As such, we find it...
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Do-Sa-Do For Mindfulness
When I was 12, one of my best friends was a square dancer. Twice a week, her family would pile into the Country Squire station wagon and head to the Grange Hall, where they'd gather with their square dancing club for an evening of music, friendship and do-sa-do. (That's the correct spelling, by the way. Visit www.dosado.com)
As a regular guest, I was fascinated by the form but, in the height of my coolness-conscious years, also acutely aware of the overwhelming dork factor. These people lived to square dance.
They skipped around for two or three hours at a time, twirling and smiling and dabbing at their foreheads between dances. They hunted for holiday-themed fabric months before special dances in order to whip up the perfect ruffled dress and matching shirt for each occasion. They packed their petticoats and headed to Penticton, British Columbia every summer for a regional square dancers' convergence.
The square dance girls were just as boy-crazy as my regular friends, but they had a built-in way to hold hands with the guys they liked. As for me, I had a major crush on my friend's older brother who, at 15, was an articulate, ambitious student body president with piercing blue eyes and blond hair to his shoulders (it was 1972, after all).
In one of our (for me, anyway) excruciating conversations involving much blushing, he told me that square dancing was like meditation. "It's a way to forget about everything except what's going on right now. You have to pay attention to what the caller says, and let your mind and body make sense of it naturally, without trying too hard."
At the time, I had only a fleeting familiarity with meditation, and I didn't see much similarity between these suburban, gingham-clad dancers and the Hare Krishnas that offered carnations to passersby on downtown street corners.
Years later, I have to marvel at his insight.
Square dancing IS like meditation. There's no focusing on memories of the past or worries about the future. Instead, a square dancer must remain in a state of
acceptance and anticipation. The caller will determine the next move, and no amount of second-guessing or outsmarting will help you become more effective--or more popular.
As a square dancer, you're surrounded by other dancers but not really attached to a particular one--your matching outfits notwithstanding-- because you are constantly moving among the others. Your attention is directed toward whatever comes up--in this case, the caller's command and your subsequent focus on that engagement, however brief.
There's a continuous current of possibilities, and your state is that of relaxed readiness without any judgment. Other than the moment your crush happens to be holding your hand, there is no partner or move that is better than any other.
The beauty is in the flow of it all and the awareness of being fully there.
For the square dancers, their Wednesday-and-Saturday-night gatherings provided fellowship, fitness and an opportunity to really let go. Despite the hopelessly unhip pointy white shoes and the Hee-Haw setting, the dancers had discovered a way to make mindfulness, well, FUN if not exactly cool.
Perhaps it never crossed their minds that they were engaging in anything but entertaining exercise. But if a 15-year-old boy--cute or not--could see it, I'm guessing that others recognized the sense of connection they gained in an evening of fully-present partner swinging.
We tend to think of mindfulness as something to be experienced only through meditation. WRONG. Mindfulness involves us 100% in the present moment, but we don't need a cushion, maple bench, or incense to get there.
In our mindful moments, we are at our finest and most human--open, forgiving, focused, compassionate and connected. Sitting, standing, or swinging your partner, that's a good place to be.
Yee-haw!
About the Author
Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training in Portland, Oregon. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, visit http://mindmasseuse.com.
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Learning Meditation Home Page |
Introduction to the basics of meditation and the reduction of stress. |
www.learningmeditation.com |
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Meditation Room |
Choose freely and feel free to perform more than one meditation. ... Allow some time for your meditation. These meditations last from 3 - 10 minutes. ... |
www.learningmeditation.com |
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Meditation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
An introduction to different traditions, forms, techniques, and benefits. Includes links to other resources. |
en.wikipedia.org |
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World Wide Online Meditation Center |
Contains colorful, clear, concise meditation instruction on a variety of meditation methods from various spiritual teachings, plus tranquil meditation tapes ... |
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The Transcendental Meditation (TM) Program - Official website. How ... |
Meditation validated by over 600 scientific studies. The best meditation against stress. Online video! Personal instruction and lifetime follow-up. |
www.tm.org |
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Vipassana Meditation Website |
Homepage of the organization which offers Vipassana Meditation courses as taught by SN Goenka. |
www.dhamma.org |
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Welcome to Meditation Mount |
Meditation training programs and group meditation as a service to humanity. Worldwide organization based in Ojai, California. |
www.meditation.com |
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Guided meditations on mindfulness, peace, the 23rd Psalm, the way ... |
Come into the present moment with this 10-minute mindfulness meditation narrated by ... Experience a flow of positive energy with this meditation on peace ... |
www.beliefnet.com |
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Meditation Station Presented By The Meditation Society Of America |
Meditation Society of America's web site. Dedicated to sharing meditation techniques and concepts from all traditions. |
www.meditationsociety.com |
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Wildmind | Learn Meditation Online |
Wildmind provides a complete guide to simple meditation techniques. |
www.wildmind.org |
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Meditation |
An article By Dr Tom J. Chalko explaining the process and stressing the need for a spiritual teacher. |
www.thiaoouba.com |
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Free Learn to Meditate, online meditation - Meditation Australia. |
Details of activities, events, and classes in Wollongong University, Australia. Also offer a free online Meditation course. |
meditation.org.au |
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Meditation, Home, what is meditation, types of meditation ... |
Meditation Meditation is an alternative therapy. It can be broadly classified under the mind-body medicine. More and more doctors are prescribing meditation ... |
1stholistic.com |
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Sivananda Yoga - Meditation |
Introduction to the Official Web site of the Internationa Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers. Lots of information on Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, ... |
www.sivananda.org |
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Stress Reducers: Articles index |
yellow arrow button, Choose a Virtual Meditation Slide Show for Your ... yellow arrow button, Meditation and Relaxation: 20 Minutes A Day Can Make A ... |
www.selfhelpmagazine.com |
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Zen Mountain Monastery: Zen Meditation Instructions |
Detailed instructions from Zen Mountain Monastery on how to practice Zen meditation. |
www.mro.org |
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Meditation and concentration |
meditation concentration ability. ... Online fire meditation use it and develop concentration ability; Online flash meditation look at the screen and ajust ... |
www.ababasoft.com |
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Siddha Yoga path - Gurumayi - Swami Muktananda founder |
Under the guidance and teachings of Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, Siddha Yoga meditation students embrace the spiritual practices of yoga. |
www.siddhayoga.org |
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Meditation Handbook |
Survey of seven meditation techniques for beginners. |
home.att.net |
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Healing Music|Meditation Music|Self Help products |
Healing Products offers healing music for your Mind, Body & Soul at low prices. Use sound and music to heal and relax. |
www.healingproducts.com |
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