Tag: meditation

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Why You Should Meditate

The act of meditation is thousands of years old.  It has been associated with religious and philosophical teachings for a good portion of that time.  However, in the last fifty years or so, it has progressively become more mainstream.  That is due in large part to the medical and scientific community beginning to test the results of long-term practices of meditation.

What these studies suggest is that there are psychological, emotional, and physical effects that come from a regular practice of meditation, but even more surprising is how quickly some of these effects begin to occur even after only a few days or weeks of consistent meditation.

One of the most obvious developments that happens from meditation is a reduction in stress levels.  It isn’t only stress from daily situations that are improved, but meditation seems capable of reducing levels of anxiety and depression along with helping to ease some other mental health issue symptoms as well.  People who practice meditation regularly seem to be able to handle higher levels of stress and also be able to remain calm in the middle of extremely high anxiety inducing situations.

Certain studies have shown that meditation can also help some people when overcoming addictions with smoking and also other more intense addictions like drugs and alcohol.

It has been shown to improve memory by organizing information stored in your brain in a more efficient way.  As well as helps to strengthen your ability to concentrate and focus on tasks, which help in all areas of life. 

The impact is not just about how it can help you in the current phase of your life, but also seems to have the ability to improve the future of your life as well.  Studies have indicated that it can help keep the brain elastic during the aging process, as well as, actually helping to reduce the loss of grey matter which occurs as we get older.

It also has been found to increase your empathy and compassion for others through helping you feel more connected to the world at large. Connected to this, studies indicate that meditation can rewire the part of the brain that helps you relate to others which can help with relationships and family dynamics not to mention work place stressors.

It isn’t just mental and emotional ways that meditation has been found to help people.  Because your mind, body and emotions are all connected it has been shown to help people with their physical health as well.  There have been several studies that have shown that it can improve your heart health as well as enhance your resistance to illnesses through increasing your immune system’s ability to protect you.  Research has been done recently that shows that meditation can even help people deal with pain better than some medications.

These have been just a few of the many results recent studies into meditation have found about the ancient practice.  Indications seem to point to there being even more benefits that will be uncovered in the future.

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Meditation for Beginners

Meditation 101

What is meditation? While Merriam-Webster’s definition of meditation mentions reflection, contemplation, and heightened spiritual awareness, there’s so much more to meditation than that. When you meditate, you should gain a healthy sense of perspective and learn to observe yourself, your thoughts, and your feelings without self-doubt or judgment, so you can learn to understand yourself better. With time and attention, you can improve your mindfulness, reduce stress and anxiety, and regulate your sleep patterns.

Meditation Techniques for Beginners

It’s easy to learn to meditate. However, it does take commitment, and many first-timers feel a little daunted by the idea of sitting with their innermost thoughts and feelings. Many practitioners start with the basics, such as chakra meditation. You’ll find that simpler is better, and balancing your chakras is straightforward, thanks to easy-to-follow breathing and chanting techniques.

Consider using a meditation app to help guide your mind. Some of the best meditation apps include Calm, 10% Happier, and Inscape. Specifically, Calm is often mentioned as a top mediation app.

Clearing Your Mind

What do you think about when you meditate? Many novices report that they are concerned about clearing the mind. While this does seem challenging, the goal isn’t to stop thinking. The purpose of meditation is to practice focusing your attention. If your mind wanders, rein it back in and keep at it. With time and attention, you’ll master this technique.

If you’re like most first-time meditators, it may feel strange to sit in silence. Take advantage of these tips so you can get started.

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What Is Meditation?

What is Meditation?

To understand what meditation is, let’s start with a basic definition. If we go by Merriam-Webster’s definition, meditation is the act of engaging in contemplation or reflection in order to reach a level of heightened mental clarity and spiritual awareness.

History of Meditation

People have been practicing meditation for thousands of years. Developed in India around 5000 B.C., ancient wall art depicts people with half-closed eyes, seated in meditative-like postures. The oldest written record is a set of Hindu religious texts from 1500 B.C. However, it’s believed the knowledge was passed down as an oral tradition long before healers inscribed it.

Different Types of Meditation

There are endless variations of meditation techniques. However, the basic types include mindfulness, spiritual, focused, movement, mantra, and transcendental. Exploring any one of these types can lead you down an intuitive path of clarity.

Mindful Meditation Techniques

Learning this ancient tradition is easier than you might think. Start by sitting in a comfortable position with your hands in your lap. Sit up tall and keep your back straight, if possible. Close your eyes and breathe through your nose. Focus on the sound of your exhalation, and if anything interrupts your meditation, make a note of the sound or physical sensation, then return your concentration inward.

Benefits of Meditation

Practicing meditation comes with many benefits, from relaxation to reduced stress and anxiety. It can enhance sleep, enhance self-awareness, and improve memory. However, meditation isn’t just about finding inner peace. Use it to create a focus for your life and to help manifest your desires.

Meditation is a powerful tool for self-exploration and wellness. Use this guide when you want to introduce meditation to your daily life.

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Manifest Abundance With Affirmations

Affirmations can be powerful tools of recognition, achievement and inspiration when fully utilized. This can be part of your Reiki healing sessions, or can be done separately. Take a moment to pause and dream about what you truly desire, and even why you really want it. One way to work through your ideas is to start writing it out on paper. Once you are clear and focused, you can create or find one or more affirmations that sing to your soul. 

Focus on messages that are concise and to the point — no long paragraphs. Then creatively make visual reminders of your messages. Write the words on paper, or on your bathroom mirror, of create posters with images and words. Place these around your home life and your professional life, so you are reminded of your affirmations frequently for maximum effect. Move them around to keep things fresh, so they don’t blend in with the background. 

Examples include: 

“Everyday, I feed my mind. body and spirit for unlimited abundance”

“I live an abundant life”

“Money and spirituality can co-exist in harmony” 

You can fine tune your affirmations as you reach them or change your desires. Another option is to create a vision board with visuals and words from your efforts that you put into creating your Abundant Affirmations. Have fun with this. Contact advisors that call out to you or those who specialize in Manifesting Wealth to help you on your journey. 

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Manifesting Abundance Meditation

Meditation doesn’t have to just be about becoming zen and finding inner peace.  It can be much more than that for you.  Through meditation you can create a focus for your life, or bring about positive changes for yourself as well. 

The following is a mediation to help you manifest abundance into your life.

Get into a comfortable position in a spot where you won’t be disturbed for a few minutes.  Focus on your breathing.  Take slow deep breaths in and then let them out slowly.  Try to match the length of time for your exhale as what it took for your inhale.  With each new breath, focus on relaxing a different part of your body. Release any tension you are holding in your shoulders, your back, and even in your jaw.  Just breathe.

Feel your body in the room where you are.  Then realize you are a part of the larger whole of existence.  You are made up of the same stardust that has been here since the beginning of time.  Feel your body and mind becoming one with the energy of the universe around you.  Breathe in slowly, and then let that breath back out, in and out.

Now as you continue to breathe slowly, begin to think about abundance and what that means to you.  Does it mean having lots of tangible items? Does it mean being rich or famous?  Or does it mean having enough financial stability to have the freedom to travel?  Or is it simpler than that, like having plenty of food on your table and your bills paid with a steady job?  Whatever the idea of abundance is for you, focus on what your life would look like filled with that abundance.  Allow your mind to flow and experience the happy emotions that would manifest in your life.  Feel the positive happiness flow over you and visualize what you would be doing and how you would experience that abundance in your life.  Live it in your mind as vibrantly as if it has already happened.

Now settle your mind back into how your body feels sitting quietly, while breathing slowly in and out.  Picture a magnet inside your solar plexus and with each breath in, imagine that magnet is attracting all that abundance you desire into your life.  With each breath out, release any and all thoughts or ideas that might be holding you back from achieving the abundance in your life.  Each breath in the magnet pulls and draws happiness and abundance towards you, and with each breath out let go of barriers blocking that achievement.

Sit quietly, just breathing, allowing the magnet to work and attract all the abundance into your life, and know in your heart, all you have to do is accept it.  Work on allowing your mind to believe you deserve to receive this.  Open your mind to the belief that you will get the happiness and abundance that you desire.

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Why Is It So Hard To Love Ourselves

Why Is It So Hard For Us To Love Ourselves?

There is something about our society that over time has shown women that they have to be nurturers or caregivers.  This not only gives women a skewed self worth ideal, but also sets them up for years of self sabotage for not being enough to someone else. 

The opposite is true of how, for years, society has set up men for emotional failure.  For men, they are seen as weak or as less than if they show any emotions at all. 

Both of these stereotypical ideals of what people are supposed to be and strive for, sets both genders up for burnout, isolation, and a sense of failure.

How do we fight against this?  Self love is a good place to start.  It is easy to say, “love yourself” and one of the hardest challenges a person can face.  Childhood obstacles and trauma, unrealistic expectations of perfection, and measuring people by Hollywood standards make looking yourself in the mirror and saying “I like who I see,” let alone, “I love myself,” an uphill battle.

Where can one begin fighting against this near impossible challenge?  Small steps are the best way to attack any journey or mountain that seems too big to undertake. 

Make a list of things you like or admire about yourself.  Even if there is only one item on your list, start there.  Do more of whatever it is that makes you feel that positive way about yourself.  If you are proud of your artistic ability, then take a small amount of time each and every day to do something artistic.

If you think you have beautiful hair, then make sure to pamper yourself with special shampoo or a salon visit more often than you have been doing.

Whatever it is that is on your list, embrace it and celebrate it.  Once you start focusing on the good things you view about yourself, and feeding into that feeling about you, it will grow and branch out.  After a while you will start to see that maybe you have other things you like about yourself too. 

The second step to loving yourself is to begin to have compassion for you as you are right now.  So many people say “I would be happy if only…” about themselves or who they are.  It is an incredibly hard thing to think about yourself and have compassion for who you are right now this minute.  The reason for this is because we have unrealistic expectations about ourselves, so much moreso than we do of anyone else. 

Think of something you don’t like about yourself, whether it is your body-shape, or your inability to be as strong or as smart as you think you should be.  Now imagine your very best friend has those same qualities, I bet you would love them exactly as they are in whatever body, or abilities they have, because you see their worth, not for their body or the capabilities, but because of who they are.  Try turning that lens towards yourself.

Loving yourself and what makes you special and a unique individual is a wonderful way to fill your tank for the hard things you have to do every day.

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Rituals For Finding Love

Rituals for finding love

If you’re feeling a little lost in love, you may be asking hopeful questions like, “What is a love spell”, and “Do love spells work?” Simple love spells or rituals are mindful activities intended to attract love into your life. These can work as long as you’re not targeting a specific person. You can’t change an individual’s emotions, but you create positive energy that will naturally attract love from the right person.

Mindful Meditation

Manifest the love story of your dreams by meditating on what your life will be like when you’ve found your true love. Don’t give your lover a specific face or name. Simply sense their presence and focus on manifesting a partner that has the right qualities.

Visualize an ordinary day as it would play out with your ideal partner. Do you linger over your morning coffee in the dining room or spend extra time snuggled in bed? Do they send you supportive messages during the day or meet you for lunch on your break? Drawing up a clear image of the life you want will help you manifest it.

Love Spells With Crystals

Certain crystals are known to support self-love and help attract loving relationships. Rose quartz is the most popular of these. Keep a piece under your pillow or bedside the bed, wear rose quartz jewelry, or simply carry one in your pocket. This has the perfect vibration for attracting love.

Gratitude Love Rituals

It’s easiest to attract love when you have a deep well of self-love in place. The best love spells aren’t really spells as much as they’re natures way to attract. Begin a gratitude ritual where you write down the things you’re thankful for and the qualities that you love about yourself every evening. This will draw similar feelings of love and appreciation from others.

Simple rituals can support your own sense of self-love and help love grow with others.