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Be Selfish and Save the World
Why do we help others? There is a whole lot of pain and poverty, illness and despair in the world. I can't speak for you but I would like to make a difference and improve the quality of life for others. Volunteer work is a great way to begin. No...
Integrity = Being Your Word + Inner Guidance
Coming from a crazy family where people’s minds changed like the weather, I adopted the policy of being true to my word no matter what. Even if the time came and I didn’t feel like doing whatever I had agreed to, I kept my word and showed. I always...
Meditation 101
None"Still your mind in me, still yourself in me, and without a doubt you shall be united with me, Lord of Love, dwelling in your heart. "
-Bhagavad Gita
Meditation is a bit of a buzz word these days. For some it is a requirement and a respite...
Reduce Your Stress
If you live in the early part of the twenty-first century, chances are you are feeling stressed. Life for most of us today is highly pressured. Many of us feel stressed because of too little money, and too many urgent things to do, and not enough...
Stop Relationship Stress and Create Your Own Health Remedies
Human beings need relationships. Your relationships, past, present, personal or professional, represent a major source of stress in your life. Chronic stress causes breakdown of your immune system. This leads to many emotional and physical disorders...
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Kaizen - How Can It Help You?
What does Kaizen, a Japanese method of production excellence and industrial efficiency have to do with self improvement? Can it be adapted to self-work? What is it, anyhow?
It began with the "continuous improvement" theories of efficiency expert W. Edwards Deming in the 30s and 40s. After the war the ideas were picked up by the Japanese and developed into "Kaizen," a method for creating quality products efficiently through many small and continuous changes. This is perfect for self-improvement, as Robert Maurer explains in his book "One Small Step Change Your Life:"
"Your brain is programmed to resist change, but by taking small steps, you effectively rewire your nervous system so that is does the following:
* Unsticks you from a creative block.
* Bypasses the fight or flight response.
* Creates new connections between neurons so thet the brain entusiastically takes over the process of change and you progress rapidly towards your goal."
Kaizen is an alternative for those who have a hard time facing major changes, like quitting smoking all at once. For something like that, the kaizen way might be to stop smoking in your car, as the first small step. Then you could switch to a brand with less nicotine, stop smoking in the house, and so on.
An important technique used in kaizen is asking "small questions." In factories this meant no more questions like "What
are you going to do to improve the company profits this year?" That just elicits more fear than creative ideas. A better question might be, "What small change could we make in your department to reduce expenses (or improve quality)?" This approach was found to be far more productive.
For purposes of self improvement, this means asking small suggestive questions of yourself, like, "What could I do to free up five minutes for my meditation practice?" or "What small change could I make if I wanted to improve my relationships today?" Small questions tend to dispell the fear and intimidation that come with frontally facing the whole issue.
Small questions, along with small, comfortable changes is the first important principle of kaizen. The second is to make the process a continual one. Just imagine where you'd be if you had consciously made one small change in your life each week for the last few years. Even better, imagine where you'll be a few years from now, if you start the process today.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step." - Lao Tzu
About the Author
Steve Gillman writes on many topics including brainpower, weight loss, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. Learn more and get FREE e-courses at http://www.SelfImprovementNow.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 |
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| 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 |
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| Meditation validated by over 600 scientific studies. The best meditation against stress. Online video! Personal instruction and lifetime follow-up. |
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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. |
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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 ... |
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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. |
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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. |
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