Nothing Will Disturb You

Meditation: Nothing Will Disturb You and Nothing Will Bother You

While comfortably supported, take a deep breath. As you breathe out, notice the feeling of relaxation that exhaling brings. Mentally move this feeling of relaxation into your shoulders and upper arms, then through your elbows, forearms, wrists and hands. Next move the feeling of relaxation into your chest, stomach, hips and upper legs – through your knees, into your lower legs, ankles and feet.

Move the feeling of relaxation from your neck to your head….until it fills your head with a very comfortable, relaxed feeling.

As you exhale, relax twice as deeply as you are now. Each exhalation will relax you more. Continue to become more deeply relaxed and comfortable each time you breathe out.

As you continue to relax, you will feel physically stronger and more fit in every way – so that nothing will disturb you and nothing will bother you. You will feel mentally stronger and your nerves will become steadier, your mind will become calmer and clearer, more composed and tranquil.

Breathe out. Nothing will disturb you and nothing will bother you.

Moira

Be Fearless

Franklin Roosevelt said in his inaugural address, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” What if we could banish our fear?

With meditation fearlessness is possible. Fearlessness is a sense of deep confidence and the feeling of “nothing to gain, nothing to lose”. Meditation can bring to mind a fearless certainty, a deep confidence that nothing can unsettle—decisive and firm, without hesitating, where you’re open to anything. You can enter into a state where you feel, no matter what happens, you have nothing to gain, and nothing to lose – a feeling of freedom from burden.

I’ve written before about visualization. You can use that technique to achieve fearlessness.

Sit in a comfortable position for meditation, close your eyes and breathe naturally through your nose. Then, identify what it is you are currently afraid of. Visualize your fears along with their actual causes in the form of dense thick smoke, and breathe it out. When the smoke leaves your nostrils, it disappears into the furthest reaches of space, where it completely disappears, never to return.

When you inhale, imagine breathing in pure, inspiring energy and fearlessness in the form of white light. Let the light fill your body and mind.

Or, if you’d like, you can focus on the word “fearlessness,” and repeat, “nothing to gain, nothing to lose,” while imagining the feeling of deep confidence.

With practice, this meditation will help you feel lighter, clearer, more peaceful and balanced. You will feel fearlessness.

Types of Meditation

Do you think of meditation as a single, vaguely defined Zen-like mental exercise?

 

That’s like thinking baseball, football and golf are the same because they’re sports.

 

The truth is there are dozens upon dozens of varieties of mental training. Too often they are lumped together under the term meditation. However, each practice comes with its own instructions and specific effects on experience and brain activity.

 

Consider one-pointedness—a fully focused concentration on a single object of attention. It may be the most basic and universal of all practices. It is found in one form or another in every spiritual tradition that employs meditation.

 

Practitioners focus on one point and release the ten thousand other thoughts and desires that flit through their minds as distractions.

 

By contrast, visualization entails constructing in the mind’s eye a detailed image. In the Buddhist tradition, a meditator might imagine a deity, starting with the details and building the whole picture from top to bottom. If you’re rusty on Buddhist gods, you can visualize a pattern or mandala or even build peaceful refuge in your mind.

 

Researchers have found a clear difference in cognitive activity between the two. It’s not a bad idea to practice both and fire different parts of your brain.

Moira

Just do what feels right

When it comes to meditating, my advice is to do what feels right.

If you look online, you’ll find sites that tell you to eat before you meditate. Others tell you not to. Some sites will stress the importance of sitting in a certain position, others will tell you to find a comfortable chair.

The truth? When it comes to meditation, it doesn't matter if you eat or don't eat. It really doesn't matter if you sit up or lie down or stand on your head - you just need to quiet your body and mind in the way that works best for you.

Also, there is no 'right" time of day to meditate. The best time is when you don't think you'll fall asleep (unless the purpose of your meditating IS to fall asleep).

There is no "best" meditation. One meditation might feel perfect for you while another feels uncomfortable. There are thousands of exercises out there from visualizing for relaxation or reaching goals or preparing for surgery to very passive mantra meditations.

The key is to find the meditation that works best for you – one that quiets your mind and body. When you find it, you will feel better, happier and calmer.

Moira

Letting Go of Clutter

Self-calming activities like relaxation training or meditation should quiet the mind and body.

When you begin any kind of relaxation or meditation practice, you are lowering the noise level in your brain and body. When this happens, you might notice some ‘clutter’ in your mind. This clutter may manifest itself as wondering thoughts, pain or other sensations in your body.

Keep in mind, these distractions are not just popping up as you relax. With meditation, you are finally getting quiet enough to see what is regularly going on inside your brain and body. The bubbling of sensations and feelings is commonly known as ‘letting go’ phenomena (sometimes called discharge) and it is a good thing. You want to let go of the old, clean out the clutter, and make room for the new.

So, if you are meditating and emotions start bubbling up or you begin to feel anxious, understand that it is part of the process.

If you ever feel too uncomfortable, just stop, and try again later. The key is to be gentle with yourself. Start slowly. Gently ease yourself into the practice.

I suggest starting with visualization or relaxation exercises that keep you busier with suggestions. If you are practicing the more passive meditations like counting breaths or a mantra, only practice for twenty minutes at a time and build up to longer meditation sessions.

Some of the symptoms you may experience:

• An increase in dreams
• Emotions bubbling up to the surface
• Feelings of nausea or dizziness or other bodily sensations
• Feelings of anxiety or uneasiness as you are meditating

I hope I’m not scaring you off. This ‘letting go’ phenomena does not happen to everyone. Relaxation and meditation is so good for your mind and body, the benefits greatly outweigh the possible side-effects. If you ease into meditation and don’t get carried away with “more is better” in the beginning, you’ll be fine.

Moira

Meditation and Pain Management

Amazing isn’t it? Activities we took for granted in the first blush of youth can cause us pain now that we’re older. Bending over to pick up the newspaper while turning to call to the dog trampling your neighbor’s flowers can result in some serious back pain. Some people carry stress in their necks and a quick glance over their shoulders can mean they’re limited to looking straight ahead for weeks at a time. Ouch!

And now the good news - research shows that learning to meditate can alter brain activity in the same way next-generation pain medication do.

Imagine delivering your own pain-killer whenever and how often you want – with no warning label or serious side-effects.

For many it can take less than two hours of training to see significant improvement.

Use the basic relaxation induction that I outline in previous blog posts, then:

·         Focus on the area of the pain.

·         Breathe into it. This might be difficult to do because we are trained to move away from pain, but trust me, this technique is proven to work.

·         Give the pain a color, shape and size. Any color, size or shape will do.

·         Now change the color of the pain, make it lighter - if it is red, change it to pink, if it is black, change it to grey, picture the color of the pain getting lighter and lighter.

·         Change the size of the pain - imagine it shrinking, smaller…and smaller…and smaller. Make the size grow, larger and larger and larger…then shrink it again, making it smaller…and smaller… and smaller… until it shrinks to the size of a pea.

·         See if you can make it disappear, if you can't, don't worry, it is okay to leave it the size of a pea where it is manageable.

·         Just rest in this place, noticing how the pain has changed, how it is more manageable.

·         Try to relax deeper and deeper, letting go of any remaining pain…

Noticing What Is

Do you wake up in the morning and react? The alarm didn’t go off, one of your kids couldn’t locate the shoes/assignment/notebook they simply had to have for school, traffic was awful, someone burned the coffee which you spilled on the final copy of the report due in five minutes…Most people move through their day reacting to whatever happens around them.

If you meditate, you naturally begin to take control of your emotions, your reactions to situations, and how you understand others’ motivations.

What follows is a basic meditation that allows you to develop a calm mind and insight through reflection and focusing your awareness on the body. The purpose is to allow you to notice how your mind works and to bring peace and clarity to your life. When you see more clearly what is going on inside of you, you see more clearly what is going on around you. This is good information to have – it allows you to move through your day with a greater sense of clarity and purpose.

 

In this meditation:

·         Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.

·         Take a couple of deep breaths and settle in – allowing your body to relax.

·         Make sure you are breathing from your diaphragm, your abdomen should rise as you inhale, and fall back down as you exhale.

·         Just take deep breaths, letting peace and relaxation flow in and all of the day’s tension, conflict and worries flow out.

·         Remember - your breathing helps you relax. You can relax just the right amount, by first paying attention to your breathing and extending the exhalation just a little bit more with each breath.

As you relax, focus on whatever presents itself to you. Just sit quietly and notice any thoughts, images, sensations, tension or pain. As these thoughts, ideas or images come to mind, acknowledge they are part of the exercise. Then, breathe quietly and let them go. Let your heart soften and be open to whatever arises without fighting. Let go of the battle, gently allow all of your experiences to be present, breathe quietly and let them go.

How to Turn Down the Noise

We are bombarded with stimuli – cell phones ring, e-mail beckons, the television and its myriad channels sing their siren song, Facebook tells us what our friends are doing and Twitter informs us in 140 characters or less of the latest banalities. Our attention spans suffer and our stress level ratchets up.

Meditation can quiet the noise.

Meditation accesses parts of the brain most of us don’t tap into in our everyday lives. It gets to the physiology of the stress response. It bypasses intellectualizing, thinking and talking. It is a direct line to the emotional part of the brain – the part that doesn’t tell you to answer e-mail, return calls or write reports. It helps the meditator find a sense of peace and quiet in a storm of noise.

Your Happiness Set Point

Studies done with monks who are adept meditators, found that a particular form of meditation called compassion or loving kindness meditation trains happiness and can actually change the happiness set point.

Through tracking brain activity, researchers have found when the activity in the Left Prefrontal Cortex (LPC) is higher than in the Right Prefrontal Cortex (RPC) – people feel alert, energized, enthusiastic, joyous, enjoying life more, and are happier. When the activity in the RPC is higher than in the LPC – people worry, are anxious, and sad. If the activity in the RPC cortex is much greater than the LPC, people are prone to depression.

The more adept meditators used more of their brains when meditating (more areas lit up). This shows how meditation accesses more of the brain. Particularly – the left prefrontal cortex – activity in the LPC cortex swamped that in the RPC the LPC is associated with happiness, love and empathy. This is what keeps meditators coming back for more – it feels good!

This meditation is a 2,500 year old practice in which key phrases are repeated and the meditator focuses on feelings of happiness or loving kindness toward themselves and others.

It is best to practice daily for fifteen to twenty minutes for several months.

Sometimes this meditation can bring up feelings opposite to those one is trying to cultivate. If this happens, please be patient, acknowledge those feelings, feel them, let them pass, and continue with the loving kindness phrases. Over time, the part of your brain that deals with feelings of happiness, love and bliss will be developed.

While repeating the phrases, it is important to focus on the feeling of happiness. If it is difficult to hold onto that feeling, concentrate on a time when you felt happy and focus on that feeling (don’t focus on the activity involved or the people you were with). Or, imagine yourself as a child or as you are now, surrounded with loving kindness by those who love you, or God.

·         Sit or lie down in a comfortable position.

·         Take a couple of deep breaths and settle in – allowing your body to relax.

·         Make sure you are breathing from your diaphragm, your abdomen should rise as you inhale, and fall back down as you exhale.

·         Take deep breaths, letting the peace and the relaxation flow in and all of the tension, conflict and worries flow out.

·         Remember your breathing helps you relax – you can relax just the right amount, by first paying attention to your breathing and extending the exhalation just a little bit more from where it was before.

·         If thoughts, ideas or images come to mind, remember, it is part of the exercise, just acknowledge them, gently usher them through and go back to the exercise.

You will be repeating the following phrases for yourself and others:

May I be free from fear

May I be happy

May I be well

May I live life with ease (or in peace)

Begin by repeating these phrases for yourself, imagining the feelings of loving kindness and happiness permeating your body and mind. You may have to repeat these phrases for yourself for weeks until you feel the sense of loving kindness grow for yourself.  Then begin adding others, such as your family or friends - repeating to yourself:

May they (my family) be free from fear

May they be happy

May they be well

May they live life with ease

Meditation

Ommm…ommm…ommm

For those who don’t meditate, the very word conjures images of a saffron-swathed swami seated pretzel fashion amidst tinkling wind chimes.

The reality is much different. Studies have shown that meditation boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, can be used to manage chronic pain or alleviate anxiety. The health benefits are real.

Put aside the vision of Tibetan temples and find a comfortable chair that allows you to sit up straight. A dimly lit room and soothing music are options that can enhance your meditation but they are not essential.

Close your eyes.

Breathe. Deeply. Focus on it. Inhale and exhale slowly. Deeply.

Now imagine descending with each breath. Perhaps you’re on an elevator and each time you exhale means you’ve passed another floor. Perhaps you’re on the stairs and each exhalation represents a step downward. Concentrate on your breath and reaching the ‘ground floor.’

When you’ve arrived, focus your mind on each body part body you want to relax. Your neck? Imagine each kink melting away. After your body is relaxed, imagine a peaceful place – a tranquil beach or a tranquil wood. Relax your mind.

Get back on your elevator or staircase and climb back up to consciousness.

Easy-peasy. And, the more you meditate, the easier it becomes.

Check in often for more tips on meditation and its benefits.

Moira

How Stress and Our Emotions are Connected

Last week I talked about stress and the fight/flight state, how to identify the signs of the state and how to neutralize the negative reactions associated with it.

But, there’s more to think about – namely, humans have an emotional response to everything that happens to them.

Every second of every day, we respond both mentally and emotionally to everything that happens to us. Here is why: everything that happens is processed in the subcortical part of the brain (also known as the limbic system or stream of emotion). Everyone responds in this way; it’s the way humans are wired.

At the base of the subcortical part of your brain is the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus governs the Autonomic Nervous System (fight/flight response) and basic functions of the body. It also controls sympathetic firing – whether or not you go into that fight/flight state.

So an event happens – let’s say a driver runs a red light and narrowly avoids hitting you. Your reaction is processed in the emotional part of the brain. As you silently (or not) curse the other driver’s carelessness your brain is busy. Chances are you found the incident stressful. Your hypothalamus reacts, you go into the fight/flight state and your hands get cold (remember if your hands are cold - and you’re not outside in very cold weather or have a medical condition that causes it - then you are in the fight/flight state).

The above is an obvious example of how you respond emotionally to events. But we also respond emotionally when we are stuck in traffic or grocery lines that are too long – or when we wake up in the morning and realize that our “to do” list is longer than we have time for. Remember we have a mental and emotional response to everything that we encounter.

Reversing the fight/flight state isn’t difficult if you practice self-calming techniques (please see last week’s blog for some simple techniques).

Be aware that there are thousands of different relaxation/meditation techniques. Some will work better for you than others. However, deep breathing is the basis of any relaxation or meditation technique. A good basic book on the subject is called “The Relaxation Response” by Herbert Benson M.D. To read further, go to http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/basics/rr.aspx.

Next week I’m going write about how stress affects your memory.