I hope you've all had a great weekend. One thing I'm working on is I'm trying to make the most of every day - even Mondays. We've had some dramatic storms here with plenty of damage recently. I guess more and more that's common in most places. Stay safe out there. I also caught that summer cold going around on Sunday. While I was in recovery mode on Sunday - I watched an interview with Deepak Chopra, by Oprah Winfrey. It was quite interesting and focused a lot on meditation. I thought I'd share some of the highlights.
For those of you who may not be familiar, Deepak Chopra is a medical doctor, scientist, and author. He combines spiritual practice reflected in scientific data, and writes and lectures about it. He also has been meditating for 40 years.
He describes meditation as a progressive quieting of the mind that takes you to God. Meditation is quieting the mind and allows you to open the door to the Spirit and creativity. Prayer is where you're talking with God - Meditation is where you listen. However - in his opinion - it's not a part of any particular religious practice. It works with whatever your spiritual practice or specific religion.
A meditation practice is a great way to control stress in your life and can bring about physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing for the person with a regular practice.
Physical care of ourselves is important also, according to Deepak Chopra. Important elements include getting enough sleep, some exercise, food with phytochemicals, keeping our weight at an optimal level, and being emotionally free. The last element includes practicing forgiveness and not holding any resentments or grievances - none.
Another important piece of meditation includes being present. Bring yourself to present moment; don't allow yourself to dwell on the past or think about future wants or events. Just Be, and be still. Relax and breath naturally. Observe thoughts that pop into your mind and let them go by. In this way you can also be present while awake as well.
He also discussed mantras. He breaks down the word like this; "man" means mind and "tra" means instrument...it's a mind instrument. A mantra is a tool to help us go where we need to go in meditation. Some people have specific mantras, some use short passages from the Bible or other religious texts. Other folks use "Om." Repeat your mantra in the rhythm of your breathing.
Dr. Chopra meditates 2 hours in the morning and also meditates for a period in the afternoon. He recommends morning meditation and a period of mediation before the evening meal. Periods of meditation 15-20 minutes long will be fine - you don't have to do 2 hours. Just sit in a comfortable position, (or lay, if you don't fall asleep), and then breath. A mantra you can start with is "soul" on the inhale and "hum" on the exhale. Just keep repeating to yourself with your breathing and relax.
There are many ways to meditate. Many different techniques, guided meditations, you can listen to music or nature sounds - - the important thing is that you relax the mind. However you meditate - just do it. Make the time for you, even if you start with 15-20 minutes a day.
Good luck with the meditation everyone. I've been meditating for over 30 years and I'll attest that it helps me have peace and serenity in my life on a daily basis. It energizes me, refreshes, and keeps me centered and balanced.
Have a great week. Take care of yourselves. Watch out for those summer storms - they can be potent. Be good to all those around you - even if they're different than you.
Peace,
Tom
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