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Consulting Your Soul
Recently I approached a traffic light where a man stood in shabby clothes with a three-legged dog by his side. As I waited for the light to change I looked at this scene with compassion and felt an urge to contribute something. The sign he was...
Creating Insanity: A How-To Guide
Somebody once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. Optimal mental health, then, may include adapting your approach if you don't get the result you want. (NOTE: Seek help if you need it - this...
Healthy Living: Simple steps to a better life
When you watch TV or read magazines you get the impression that most people spend their days as lean, mean exercise fanatics who compete in triathlons, eat tofu, and drink a gallon of rain water a day. If you don’t fit this profile, you are not...
Is There A Place For God In The Corporate World
Is there a place for God in the corporate world?
Can spirituality provide us with a competitive advantage? Yes it
can, says Ian Mitroff, co-author of A Spiritual Audit of
Corporate America.
Indeed spiritual intelligence courses and...
What is Intution and How do I use it?
Intuition is an incredible resource and gift that we have been given to help us live our best life. Unfortunately, not many people know what it is or how to use it. The word intuition means “in to you” in Latin. Florence Scovel, a theologian,...
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How to meditate without even trying
I remember when I started trying to meditate. I would sit down, close my eyes, and try to be really calm (my definition of meditation at the time). That was hard: my head would burst with ideas, thoughts, solutions, problems… I would become agitated, and stopped generally after ten long minutes, if not less. It’s during my short “meditations” that I felt less… meditative.
I knew there was something for me to explore that was beyond the physical world. I knew I would unleash my potential, by “going within”. And sitting meditation, as I knew it, was the #1 technique that would lead me there. Yet, I just couldn’t do it… I was inadequate.
No, I wasn’t - and neither are you, if you are experiencing a similar situation. It’s your definition of meditation that may be inadequate.
The idea behind meditation is not to sit on a chair, and close our eyes. Or to sit in lotus, and watch the leaves change colors. You can do all this if you feel a call to do so, but whatever technique you choose is just as relevant as the type of fork you eat your meals with. Forks, meditations, cars, are just tools that help us accomplish a specific task…
Meditation, we could say, is an “altered state of consciousness”. We do not see things as we normally do; we feel connected to something bigger than our everyday selves; we feel “wider” than usual. In a few words, we are so immersed in ourselves that we can transcend our own limitations. Now, the question is: what do you need to feel that way (if so you wish)? For some people, it’s gardening; for others, it’s laying down comfortably and listening to music (it doesn’t even need to be New Age…). I personally know someone who meditates by playing card games on her computer. After a few minutes of calculating her moves and keeping score, she looses touch with the cards, and she “takes off”.
Why don’t we value such activities as much as those that involve candles, cushions, and incense? They may be simple, or silly, but their impact often is important, profound. Even more, they are easy and effortless. No need to be disciplined – we are naturally attracted to them.
In some ways, maybe that’s why we don’t always see their true magnitude. They are too accessible and
natural. Mustn’t we pay a high price or work hard to get anything of value? If it’s easy, it’s not worth much… or so we were told.
For some people, meditating the conventional way (sitting down and all) does not contribute to expanding their horizon. It may look like they are meditating when they are doing it, but in reality they are thinking about their problems, analyzing this and that…they are relaxing, yes, but meditating, no. They would probably have the deep experience they are looking for much more easily by being active, by doing things just like those mentioned before (repetitive tasks, especially, are very effective in that regard). Of course, before washing the dishes, or doing some gardening, we don’t really think “I’m going to meditate”. But when we become aware of the higher potential these activities hold for us, we can utilize them consciously with that clear intention in mind.
Still, the point of this article is that we do not even need a clear intention to meditate. In fact, when we want something too much, we often become our first obstacle in the process – especially when it comes to meditation. You cannot work hard to attain something that is all about lightness, openness, and receptivity. You cannot push yourself to open up. You can only create favorable circumstances – and those can be anything, as we have seen, since it is just a matter of which tool works best for you.
So if your mind is constantly active, or extremely creative, and your energy is so high you cannot sit down and close your eyes, do not categorize yourself as unspiritual or “unmeditative”. You may not be able to sit for hours in uncomfortable positions like Tibetan monks do, but you too can accomplish things that they would not even dream of doing. Sure, you would benefit greatly from slowing down your thoughts and relaxing; but developing strategies that suit you as you are now would probably serve you even better. What could be the best way to meditate for you?
About the Author
Marie-Pier Charron, Life Coach, is founder of Implosions, and editor of a monthly newsletter filled with practical tips and powerful empowerment strategies. To get your own free subscription, visit her at http://www.implosions.net
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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 ... |
| www.meditationcenter.com |
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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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