Mindfulness - Mindfulness is a way of learning to relate directly to whatever is happening in your life, a way of taking charge of your life, a way of doing something for yourself that no one else can do for you — consciously and systematically working with your own stress, pain, illness, and the challenges and demands of everyday life. Mindfulness meditation practices may be best described as tapping directly into the dimensions of human experience commonly described by words such as heart, spirit, soul, Tao, and dharma. In this way, meditation can be thought of as a consciousness discipline: a profound spiritual discipline, aimed at deep self-reflection, self-knowledge, and liberation from confining views of self, others, and the world. In contrast, you’ve probably encountered moments of “mindlessness” — a loss of awareness resulting in forgetfulness, separation from self, and a sense of living mechanically.

Restoring within your self a balanced sense of health and well-being requires increased awareness of all aspects of self, including body and mind, heart and soul. Fortunately, mindfulness is not something that you have to “get” or acquire. It is already within you — a deep internal resource available and patiently waiting to be released and used in the service of learning, growing, and healing. Worldwide, tens of thousands of people have begun to practice meditation. Two decades of published research indicates that the majority of people who meditate regularly experience:

· Lasting decreases in physical and psychological symptoms
· An increased ability to relax and feel peaceful
· Reductions in pain levels and an enhanced ability to cope with chronic pain
· Greater energy and enthusiasm for life
· Improved self-esteem
· An ability to cope more effectively with both short- and long-term stressful situations
· Happiness

Meditation - Meditation is a mental discipline through which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. Meditation often involves turning attention to a single point of reference. It is recognized as a component of many religions, and has been practiced since antiquity. It is also practiced outside religious traditions. Different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual and/or psychophysical practices which may emphasize different goals – from achievement of a higher state of consciousness to greater focus, creativity or self-awareness, or simply a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind. Giving this sense of relaxation and peace, meditation ultimately leads people to find peace within themselves.

The use of meditation for healing is not new. Meditative techniques are the product of diverse cultures and peoples around the world. It has been rooted in the traditions of the world's great religions. In fact, practically all religious groups practice meditation in one form or another. The value of meditation to alleviate suffering and promote healing has been known and practiced for thousands of years.

Meditation Techniques - There are hundreds of techniques, schools, and styles of meditation. The common inner mechanism underlying the various techniques consists of two simultaneous mental activities: Concentration and Mindfulness. Concentration means attempting to focus your attention on an object of focus, moment-by-moment, rather than your usual stream of thoughts and impressions. Mindfulness involves observing whatever thought, feeling, or sensation is momentarily arising – positive or negative – and letting it go without evaluating, judging, or elaborating on it. The many techniques of meditation are basically different objects of focus that have been developed over the centuries. The reason there are so many is that every person learns differently. Some people are more visual, while others are more sound or body oriented. I teach the following techniques – representing most major types of meditation – so that participants will find at least one that they will want to do on an ongoing basis.

Body Awareness Technique
• Breath Focus – Focusing your attention on the simple, moment-to-moment experience of your own breath coming in and out of your body. This is the most fundamental of all meditation techniques, and has many variations.
• Body Scan and Relaxation – Methodically feeling and then relaxing each part of your body in sequence. This comes from yoga and is used in many stress reduction, healing, and sports clinics.
• Energy Center Focus – Focusing your attention on the inner energy that flows in your body. These are ancient and powerful techniques that use the same energy (known as Chi or Ki) found in Asian practices such as acupuncture and the martial arts.

Mental Technique
• Insight Meditation – This involves practicing mindfulness on the random stream of inner thoughts, feelings, and sensations (including sounds) as they flow by.
• Affirmations – Focusing on positive thoughts of a practical nature that you’d like to see manifest in the world, e.g., “I’m going to get that promotion,” or “I can lose weight.” This is a good practice to accompany all daily meditation sessions.

Moving Meditation Technique
• Walking Meditation: Focusing one’s mind on the simple act of walking is an ancient technique that can work for people who have a hard time sitting still.
• T’ai Chi Beginning Movements: These can be performed by anyone and can be both energizing and relaxing. They may inspire some students to learn the entire form.
• Yoga Stretch: The object of focus in all yoga movements is the feeling of the movement and position of your own body. Each class starts with an optional stretch for those interested and able.

Visual Technique
• Eyes Open/Gazing – Breath focus and other techniques can be done with the eyes open, which some people find preferable to the more traditional “eyes closed” meditation (which causes some people to fall asleep). Gazing involves using a physical object of your choice as an object of meditative focus.
• Visualization Practice – This technique entails using your imagination to create an image or picture to focus on in your mind, e.g., your favorite place in nature or a pleasant memory.

Sound Technique
• Mantra – This is a word, syllable, or phrase that you repeat over and over either verbally or silently. It can be a sound of your own creation, or there are hundreds of traditional ones to choose from.
• Music as a Meditation – Following the sound of a bell or soothing music is an effective focus and relaxation technique.

Back to Top