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10 Steps To Inner Happiness
I find it interesting that although the United States is considered by many to be the most prosperous country in the world and the most prosperous society in history, so many of us are unhappy. It has also been my observation that an increasing...
Amazing Secrets Smart Students Have Tucked Under Their Belts For Years And Start Getting Better Test Scores Today!
Though there are hundreds of studies that suggest that many tests aren’t a true measure of your intelligence or potential for success, the reality is most universities still rely on them to measure a student’s academic acumen.
Because of...
Loving Kindness - How To Evoke It
The practice of meditating on loving-kindness may be over two thousand years old. Although it may feel a bit mechanical at first, many who have used it experience greater feelings of compassion and love towards both themselves and others. Here's how...
Overcoming Jet Lag
Jet lag can be one of the worst, and certainly one of the most frustrating, aspects of long distance travel. Also called desynchronosis (meaning “out of time”), jet lag occurs when travellers pass through multiple time zones, arriving several hours...
Self Control
Self control means the ability to motivate ourselves to do the
things we need to do. It also means stopping ourselves from
doing things that we see are bad for us. It may seem that it is
a problem of willpower, but pushing ourselves to do things...
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Stress: Guilty As Charged
How To Defend Yourself
Do you ever find yourself feeling overwhelmed? Do you sometimes feel like you just have too much to think about? Does it make you tired, irritable, or even depressed? What can you do about it?
People rarely go to the doctor to say "I think I have stress," and yet the National Institutes of Health say that 80% of illnesses are caused by stress, directly or indirectly. Hormones, such as adrenalin, are released into your blood when you're stressed. This causes a rise in blood pressure, a faster heart and breathing rate, and faster conversion of glycogen into glucose. These are good things if you need to escape a charging grizzly bear, but when these effects are prolonged, the immune system is depressed, and your body suffers other negative changes.
Common effects of prolonged stress include fatigue, pain in the muscles and joints, headache, mental confusion, depression, anxiety, and irritability. Stress reactions cause your body to use too much energy, which can result in physical and mental weakness.
Managing Stress With Meditation
Years ago at Stanford University, an analysis of 146 meditation studies was done. The conclusion was that meditation not only was beneficial at the time of practice, but that it significantly reduced anxiety as a character trait. The studies focused on transcendental meditation, but it's probable most methods have similar results. (Reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychology 45: 957974, 1989.)
The bottom line is that stress is a killer, and that meditation really can help you defend yourself. Traditional
meditation may have the most beneficial effects, but maybe you're short on time, or uncertain about learning to meditate. In that case, there are two simple techniques you can learn in a few minutes, and start using today.
The first is a breathing meditation. Close your eyes, let the tension drain from your muscles, let go of your thoughts (to the extent possible), and breath deeply through your nose, paying attention to your breath. As thoughts or sensations arise, just acknowledge them and return your attention to your breath as it goes in and out. Do this for five or ten minutes.
To use the second technique, stop whatever you're doing when you feel stressed, and take three deep breaths. Watch yourself until you identify what is bothering you. Are you worried about something? Is there a letter you need to write? Maybe your neck is sore. Note everything you find.
Now deal with these stressors. Write the letter that's on your mind, take an aspirin, put things on tomorrow's list. If the best you can do is recognise there's nothing you can do right now - then do that. With practice, you'll get better at finding what's just below the surface of consciousness, irritating you. After you address these things, close your eyes, take three deep breaths, and you'll feel more relaxed and able to think clearly. Try it now.
About the Author
Steve Gillman has meditated and studied meditation for over twenty years. You can visit his website, and subscribe to The Meditation Newsletter at: http://www.TheMeditationSite.com/newsletter.html
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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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