meditation

Meditation is supposedly the master at keeping the mind tiptop.

Anyne ever practiced meditation?

If so good results/bad?

Any opinions how it works, is it really mystical or is there a perfectly logical answer.

Regards,

Den.

Hey Den

I do meditation on a regular basis, I find it does help keep me balanced and focussed on the day ahead. The results I have had from it over the past 7 years or so have been all positive and no bad experiences at all.

I think lots of people put too much emphasis on the word mystical, in each faith there is a form of meditation or a method of calming ones mind and becoming one with himself.

Almost like a state of Mu, or nothingness. where the mind will quieten, and the body relaxes letting thoughts into your head which may have been clouded before with the mumbo jumbo of the day to day stuff you have to do.

Medically it has been proven, depending on where you look that meditatio has a calming effect on the body and can and does reduce the effects of panic attacks, tension, stress, etc etc.

This can be due to the fact the the rythmic deep breathing through the diaphragm calms the adrenal glands and stops your body going into overdrive at the smallest thing. putting your body into a natural state of calm.

I have had medical results from it also, but will post those incidences when I get more time.

For me its all been positive but would like to hear other views and thoughts.

Craig

Thats great Craig, do you have any links to this medical evidence you found so we can all have a look?

And nice call on the mysticism by the way,

regards,

Den.

Hey Den

These are the ones I found when I was researching what I was doing
I hope they are of some use

http://www.project-meditation.org/a_bom2/medical_benefits_of_meditation.html

http://1stholistic.com/meditation/hol_meditation_benefits_health_conditions.htm

http://www.onlinemeditationguru.com/powerful-health-benefits-of-meditation-are-they-true/

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/12-13-2004-62878.asp

There are more, but these will give a good basic ground base.

Craig

Mental disorders that can benefit through meditation are vast. Some conditions in which meditation can help are:

Relaxation
Stress
Depression
Panic attacks
anxiety
irritability and moodiness
memory
self esteem and self confidence
relationships

For improved Physical health, meditation can also aide in relief for the following:

Pain
Cancer
Heart disease
Angina pains
Asthma
PMS
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Fibromyalgia
high blood pressure
cholesterol

Scientists and doctors agree, more and more, that meditation is having a direct impact on the way the brain is ‘wired’. There has, in recent years, been a dramatic rise of the research and testing of meditation and the exact effects meditation can have on the brain and the heart.

Taken from the first link.

Thats a heck of a tall order thank God those anonymous scientists and doctors can all agree that meditation is having a direct impact on the way the brain is 'wired'.

Now call me a long in the tooth sceptic but.........

Anyone else shed light on this 'wired' business? and dont get me started on healing the spirit

Thanks for the lnks Craig,

regards,

Den.

No Worries mate

Neurons, Leptons, Semi firing synapses, neurological pathways which have been broken reforming to give the same motor functions or a higher state of intelligence as some sort of compensation. The body and mind is a wonderful thing.

The power of thought is incredible, the power of positve belief in oneself or another maybe more so. The power to overcome anything which is set in your way makes us more determined than ever that we shall succeed. SO IF meditation does what it says on the tin, and there is a direct corrolation between body and mind, and how we are " wired " this altered state of " rewiring " as it were must occur more readily even when we are not expecting it to.

Have you ever been sat listening to music, seemingly dead to the world and the solution to a problem you have had has just popped into your head without so much as you trying?


Stress - the inability to cope with problems mostly day to day
Depression - feelings of uselesness, despair, loneliness, apathetic, etc
Panic attacks - feelings of an extreme nature, can be most frightening
anxiety - anger, fear, apprehension, worry ( just feelings )
irritability and moodiness - does this really need explaining?
memory - short term or long term, the ability to be able to recall information
self esteem and self confidence - belief in oneself to one degree or another.

All of the above are nothing more than a collection of feelings from a certain state of mind. whether you are happy, sad, angry, anxious, depressed, etc etc. due to hormone imbalances, of one form or another, now if we can feel a certain way over a magazine, book, movie, or a certain comment made to us at a specific time. we can and do provoke a response to those stimuli, be it consciously by thinking about it, or subconsciously.

why then cant we rewire ourselves with practice to train these thoughts and emotions. not only to recognise they are part of us, but also to learn that with time. practice, and perserverence, we can eventually control them instead of them controlling us?.

control ones mind, and anything is possible. learn to accept what we can be, EVERYTHING is possible.

Craig

Reading thats a mental workout itself,

some interesting viewpoints Craig,

when you say everything is possible when you control ones mind, can you elaborate?

Perhaps an example or 2?

regards,

Den

ok just a couple mate

Was the 4 minute mile always 4 minutes? where did this start, who wanted under 5 minutes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfCsSDiPZxk

wim hof, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Hof now this man has control

wim hof is able and has proven that he can raise and lower his heart rate at will, which i agree can be quite easy. however to do it to a level where he does not get frostbite until a considerable amount of time in sub zero temperatures is amazing, and he can also regulate his body heat with the power of thought also and through meditation.

so there is just one extreme example. but it is possible

Craig

So are we saying this is a perfectly reasonable physiological feat that can be duplicated by anyone given the right training?

Or are we being led down the mystical powers garden path?

Regards,

Den.

For me personally,

Id say there was nothing overly mystical, but just an ability to concentrate the mind on what we want. and by relaxing it makes it easier to focus on certain goals and train the mind.

I think meditation does give you an edge with regards to controlling your thoughts and your mind. and in this instance, being able to focus on something which would ordinarily be life threatening to guys like us and turn it around and do what is needed to survive just by the power of thought and making your body respond.

Craig

When you speak of the mind, what is it you refer to exactly?

It seems very subjective, non tangible and some counrtries don't even have a word for it

I agree with what Craig said about how certain everyday things such as listening to music can relax you. Sometimes when I'm doing my homework, I play ambiant music in the background, which helps me greatly with my concentration.

Though, I feel this is is done in a sort of passive way and if you actually tried to relax and focus on this, I myself would find it a lot harder to do it as you are making more of an effort to relax.

May be different for others, any tips on how to improve?

Hey Den

You want me to expand on mind? when some cultures dont even have a name for it.... erm... well from my point of view and perspective mate.

The mind or my mind as I see it is an ever changing consciouness, able to and does take on board pre concieved ideas, thoughts and emotions which are hard wired into our genes. but able to when relaxed enough bring out subconscious thoughts and ideas at random.

I believe that our best work is still inside us, and its not for lack of wanting it, its just that we are socially conditioned to not want the best for ourself whole heartedly.

From a child we are told we cannot be a professional footballer, Air force pilot, movie star, singer, etc etc as it is all pipe dreams. so from this early age we are programmed like machines to just follow a course the same as everyone else.

once you learn to truly think for youself, and open your mind to the possibilities around you the potential is limitless.

As Geoff T told us once " When you take abundance from abundance then abundance still remains ".

There is more than enough for everyone out there, but we can only truly get it when we believe in ourselves, and this can be helped via meditation and relaxtion to calm the body and mind and allow the free thought processes to come through without all the day to day fuss.

Craig

Could you reccomend any good books on the subject Craig?

Some great info' there Craig. Thanks.

I definitely use breathing exercisers to lower my stress levels. Works very well for me.

R.

Craig,

thanks for the clarification m8, nicely put,

regards,

Den.