Category: Meditation

Our Chattering Mind

Let’s observe our mind for a few minutes. What does it spend its time doing?

We can imagine it is like a chattering monkey, jumping from one thought to the next. Restless, random and unsettled. It might be in the past, it hops into the future and it is rarely on the present moment.

On challenging days there is a troop of them!

Our mind…

  • Worries – we think about fears both real and imaginary
  • Recalls and relives hurtful things that have happened in the past
  • Lists our to-do items
  • Creates catastrophic ‘what-if’ scenarios for the future
  • Judges whats happening in the present

What can we do about this?

Meditation is a way of training the mind to focus. We can learn to tame this animal mind of ours. This can be done gently without forcing the mind to be a different way.

If we are irritable or angry we accept that this is the way things are in this moment. We notice the thoughts and feelings and give the mind some space. Trying to get in there to fix our mind can often make things worse. It can leave us feeling there is something wrong.

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So, we sit patiently with our monkey mind and watch it with a sense of curiosity. We just notice the thoughts and feelings that arise. And most importantly, we do not attach to them…

See Not Attaching to your Thoughts and Emotions

 

Our ‘Survival Mind’

Why does our mind often get stuck thinking the worst?

Back in the days of the caveman, our mind was built for survival. What were we protecting ourselves from and what were we looking out for?

Yes, that’s not a tricky question to answer – it was the potential attack from wild animals! We were at risk of being eaten as we hunted and fished for our food.

So our brain was helpfully designed to look for danger in order to protect us. However, our brain still does this danger reconnaissance today. Which can leave us thinking the worst with a mind plagued by anxiety.

This is why we find it a challenge to stop our mind thinking about possible threats. Even small things – we tend to focus on what might go wrong.

It may only be something tiny that catches our attention… the way a person looks at us, something someone says, not getting something we think we need… and thats it! Our mind is off! We are stuck with these thoughts whizzing around our heads for hours. And our thoughts can dictate our whole day!

And these thoughts can lead to difficult feelings.

We feel stressed, anxious, angry or sad. We find these thoughts and feelings hard to get away from. Sometimes there seems to be no escape.

This is one of the reasons we learn to train our caveman brain or our ‘survival mind’ using meditation. 

We can do this gently without judging ourselves, our busy thoughts and our unsettled emotions. We can do this by focusing our attention using meditation and awareness techniques. We aim to observe our thoughts and let them go by not attaching to them. See Not Attaching to your Thoughts and Emotions if you’re new to this way of thinking.

Not Attaching to Our Thoughts & Emotions

It is estimated that we have between 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day! That is a lot of thoughts to stop, clear or manage!

However, meditation and focused attention are not about having a clear, thought-free mind.

We are not trying to stop or fix our thoughts and emotions or to force them away.

We are aiming to change the way we relate to the thoughts and feelings that show up in our mind. We do this by not attaching to the them.

One way to manage the busy mind is to imagine our thoughts as fluffy white clouds. See any thought that pops into your mind as a cloud in a beautiful blue sky… and just let it drift by.

As your thoughts come and go and do not engage with any of them. Allow them to float away. By not attaching to the thoughts, you can step back to become an observer.

You might prefer to see your thoughts as traffic flowing through your mind?

Some thoughts keep returning so perhaps you could see these thoughts as taxis? You can choose whether to catch a taxi or let it pass by. By not getting into the taxi, you let that thought go, you do not attach to it..

And why do we want to let this endless stream of thoughts go and not engage? One of the reasons is WE ARE NOT OUR THOUGHTS and WE ARE NOT OUR EMOTIONS!

Try this: Close your eyes for 20 seconds and count the thoughts that pop into your head.

How did you do? At least one thought right? So, if you can COUNT your thoughts you cannot BE your thoughts.

Our thoughts and emotions come and go. They are temporary. But they do a great job of dictating our whole day and often ruin our attempts at maintaining a peaceful mind.

As we relive scenarios over and over, our mind rides a rollercoaster of emotions. Thoughts become feelings and we get stuck in worry, stress, anger and frustration.

So what are we if we are not our emotions?

WE ARE AN AWARENESS – A STATE OF BEING!

We are this ‘awareness part’ of ourselves – a part of us that is always there. It is permanent. And we find it within. In the stillness. In the quiet. When our chattering mind stops chattering! And when we become the observer.

Some say this part of us is pure love. It is what we already are, regardless of the external part of us, which is temporary. We are a spark of the Divine. An energy that can never disappear – which we know is backed up by science.

So let’s practise being an observer of our thoughts. Let’s practise being this awareness part of ourselves. And as we disengage with our thoughts and stop our thinking activity we begin to meditate instead! Hooray!

See Our ‘Survival Mind’

 

 

The Healing Benefits of Music

How do you feel when you listen to your favourite tracks?

Music therapy is a well-established, research-based profession that supports the health and well being of children and adults of all ages. There is now a wealth of research that shows music and sound can reduce anxiety, trauma, stress, depression and manage pain.

Numerous studies have reported promising outcomes with cardiac management, PTSD, Alzheimers, quality of life for cancer patients and neurological impairment such as stroke recovery. Doctors are even prescribing music for some of the disorders.

I use to work with patients with HIV-related cognitive deficits – similar to dementia – at a London hospital. Following my research into the benefits of music with dementia, I decided to start a weekly singing group.

After a few months, many of the patients displayed profound changes in mood, session engagement, communicative attempts such as eye contact, and speech. They also showed less anxiety and agitation, really appearing to love the singing and the music. Two patients produced sounds for the first time in years – a rewarding experience for all involved.

The Lancet recently reported results from a review of 7000 patients who listened to pre-recorded music before, during, and after surgery. They found the experience of listening to music could lower activity in the nervous system, reducing pulse rate, breathing rate and blood pressure. They also found pain, anxiety and the need for pain medication were reduced.

Patients who listened to music in the operating theatre, whilst under general anesthetic also benefited. This prompted the researchers to call for all hospitals to offer personalised music selections to people undergoing surgery.
Science Daily reported on a systematic review, published by the Cochrane Library, which looked at 52 trials with 3731 participants. They found significant evidence that music interventions help alleviate symptoms of anxiety, pain and fatigue in cancer patients whilst improving quality of life.

Oxford University in England reported research on lowering blood pressure. They found slow classical music, which followed the 10-second rhythm had the greatest impact. An earlier study suggested listening to our favourite music can strengthen the heart and improve recovery in patients with heart disease.

Music therapy was noted to improve behaviour in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. The study reported reduced agitation, irritability, sleep problems and eating difficulties. For the research see Alzheimers, which also reports on Addiction and Depression.

I am passionate about the transformative power of sound healing and use Tibetan bowls and various chime bars in my guided meditation. More on sound healing in my next post…

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Chakras – A Simple Introduction

The word ‘chakra’ is derived from the sanskrit word meaning ‘wheel’ and translated from the Hindi it means ‘wheel of spinning energy.’ A chakra is a whirling vortex and a powerhouse of energy. Within our bodies we have seven of these major energy centers and many more minor ones.chakras

These swirling wheels correspond to large nerve centers and organs in the body. The well-being of these energy vortices is vital to our mind, body and spirit in many ways.

As we know, everything is energy and that energy is constantly moving or vibrating. It is therefore essential that our seven main chakras stay aligned, cleansed and nourished with the highest of light frequencies.

downloadIf there is a blockage, usually with a more dense energy, our life force cannot flow. It stagnates causing dis-ease which can have a significant impact on our mental, emotional, spiritual and/or physical states of being.

Meditation and energy healing are just two ways of clearing, activating and nourishing our energy fields, allowing for healing, personal growth and transformation.

The 7 Chakras

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1st chakra – Base/Root chakra
Located at the base of the spine. Physical survival, security, energy distribution and practicality.

2nd chakra – Sacral
Located in the lower abdomen just below the navel. Creativity, feelings, sexual drive and exploration.

3rd chakra  – Solar plexus
Located just below the ribcage around the naval. Sense of identity, self-confidence and personal power.

4th chakra – Heart
Located at the centre of the chest. Love, relationships, personal development, direction and sharing.

The heart center is in the middle of the seven and unites the lower chakras of matter and the upper chakras of spirit. The heart is
also spiritual but serves as a bridge between our body, mind and spirit. The heart chakra is our source of love and connection to all that is.

5th chakra – Throat
Located at the throat. Communication, personal expression, speaking one’s truth and the flow of information.

6th chakra – Third eye
Located at the centre of the brows. Perception, intuition, knowledge and mental organization.

7th chakra – The crown
Located just above the top of the head. Cosmic perception, intuition, spiritual connection and inspiration.

Why Balance your Chakras? 

  • To increase your vitality
  • To cleanse, activate and nourish your energetic channels or meridians
  • To support you in breaking free of conditioned patterns and deep-rooted behaviours by shifting the dense energy that keeps you stuck in old habits
  • To release anything from the past, stored within your emotional pain-body. See Eckhart Tolle´explain the pain-body.
  • To allow your creativity to flow or to develop specific positive traits by releasing that which no longer serves you
  • To tap into your higher wisdom allowing your full potential to blossom
  • To support your spiritual and meditation practise
  • To support you through any transition with ease and clarity
  • Enliven your inner intelligence,

Come and see me for chakra balancing with energy healing. Or join me to experience a guided meditation where we cleanse, activate and nourish your chakras. See 1-to-1, Sessions or Contact me.

Lake Owassa, Sussex County, NJ
My ‘Peaceful Meditation Spot,’ Lake Owassa, Sussex County, NJ

Tips on Guided Meditation & Sample Meditation

“I just can’t stop my mind from thinking…”

Piedras zen

… is the usual response when I mention that I have a passion for meditation. People often believe they will only benefit if they sit for long periods with a chatter-free mind achieving buddhist monk status.

If you are working towards calming your ‘monkey-mind’ and extending your practice, just a few minutes daily will produce better results than a lengthy practice performed infrequently.

Tips to assist your meditation practice

  • reflect_000007706240resizedFind somewhere you won’t be disturbed. If possible, choose a regular spot each time. This supports your mind in building positive associations. We are aiming for calm relaxation with a gentle focus
  • Take a few deep breaths to center yourself
  • Use your out-breath to relax your muscles and let go
  • As you breathe out empty your lungs completely for the first few breaths
  • You can say a prayer or call upon your Higher Self/Guides/Source/God to bless and protect you as you meditate
     A simple guided meditation for clearing and connecting…
Codrington College, Barbados, Meditation Retreat
Meditation Retreat, Codrington College, Barbados
  • Imagine you have roots or cords emerging from the soles of your feet. Visualize them descending deep into the earth, perhaps through layers of rocks and crystals
  • In your mind’s eye, anchor these roots at the centre of the earth’s core
  • Using your out-breath, send any excess energy along these roots and into the earth… negative thoughts, frustrations, anxiety. Visualize them and just let them go
  • Then imagine you are drawing up the beautiful energy from Mother Earth. Let it flow up through your feet to fill your whole body. Feel these earth energies relaxing your ankles, calves, knees, up through your thighs to your hips etc
  • You can visualize this energy flowing through, nourishing and activating your first three energy centers or chakras – root, sacral, solar plexus – and anchoring in your heart centre (see image below or find more information at What’s a chakra?)

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  • Now visualize a brilliant golden / white light beaming down from above. See it flowing in through your crown chakra
  • Draw this light down into your third eye, your throat chakra, your heart
  • See it infusing and bathing every cell in your body
  • Imagine this light expanding out from your heart and forming a cocoon of golden/white light around you
  • Call your Higher Self, your Guides or Source into your protective cocoon or bubble of light
  • You can imagine yourself connecting this golden/white light from the heavens with the Mother Earth energy, forming a pillar of light within you that allows you to be both grounded and connected to the Divine

  • Bring your attention to your heart chakra in your chestheart-chakra-1
  • Start by generating feelings of gratitude, joy or other positive emotions. As well as bringing you calm and focus, this practise can help raise the vibration of your energy field, assisting connection to your higher self and the Higher Realms, which vibrate at a faster frequency

When you visualize and meditate this way, you allow yourself to be infused with high frequency light from Source or the Divine, filled with wisdom, codes and spiritual information. It is this light that protects, nourishes and cleanses us whilst we meditate.

If I am guiding a meditation for others, I will now take the group or individual on a beautiful journey using guided imagery.

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Your 7 Energy Centers or Chakras
  • You can bring your attention back to your chakras at any time, seen in the diagram above
  • As you focus on each one in turn, visualize each chakra wheel opening and spinning, allowing the light to activate and cleanse these powerful vortices of energy. You could also imagine breathing in the corresponding colour for that chakra, depending how long you want to spend in meditation
If your mind wanders…
  • As unwanted thoughts creep in, which they will, just observe without judgement. Let them go without attaching to any one in particular
  • You can use your breath to focus your mind by locating the entry/exit point of the breath. Can you focus on the small sensation point where the air arrives as you inhale and leaves as you exhale? Each time your mind wanders, bring yourself back to this point at your nostrils
  • You could also focus on a mantra to calm your thoughts. A word or phrase: ‘love,”peace,’ ‘I am calm,’ ‘I am that I am’
  • Remain in this state, observing your breath, until you are ready to come back
Closing the meditation…
  • Starting at the crown – see above, the chakra at the top of the head – one by one, imagine each of your chakras closing, like the petals of a flower
  • Visualize your cocoon of white light around you and into this protective bubble draw in your precious energyimg_2184
  • Imagine disconnecting from Source / the Light above
  • You can keep your roots descending into Mother Earth, to ensure you stay grounded
  • Bring your attention to the sensations in your body, wriggle your toes and become aware of the sounds around you
  • Welcome back Beautiful Soul!

And… repeat – regularly!

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Science-Based Meditation Research

“Meditation is listening to the Divine within” – Edgar Cayce
meditation-bliss
Image courtesy of ‘Hartwig HKD’ at flickr.com

There are now over 3000 studies on the benefits of meditation. A few of the research papers below might wet your appetite…

‘The Genie in your Genes’  by Dawson Church, 2014 is a great book on how our state of mind affects our body, as discussed in my blog post here.
electric-body_0Dawson Church, PhD, links consciousness to genetic change. He discusses the remarkable science in the field of Epigenetics that demonstrates our body’s potential to heal. Whilst citing hundreds of scientific studies, he shows how our beliefs and emotions can trigger the expression of specific DNA strands.

I think it is safe to say that as a society, we are now aware of some amazing benefits associated with meditation and a calm or joyous mind…

So lets spend that time learning how to meditate or deepen our practise!

Just like anything worth doing, meditation takes commitment and perseverance. But the rewards are both tangible and beautifully backed by science!

And should you need any more reminding, check out the infographic below…

Benefits of Meditation Infographic
Thanks & gratitude to liveanddare.com for some smashing info.

Blessings on your journey of meditation, mindfulness and heart-centered living. You may find my post with a sample guided meditation may also be helpful.

 

 

Why Meditate?

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“One conscious breath in and out is a meditation” – Eckhart Tolle

50 years ago there were no research papers on meditation. It was viewed in the Western world as a ‘feel good’ practise, something enjoyable, a little esoteric but not worth studying.

Today, our mainstream media – 60 Minutes, TIME, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Huffington Post, The New Yorker and Scientific American – frequently report on the benefits.

There are now hundreds of papers including randomised control trials, showing that what we think and how we feel have a profound effect on our body.
istock_000001850571xsmallAnd not just: ‘Oh how lovely, I feel much calmer now I’ve meditated, recited a couple of joyous affirmations or completed my deep breathing exercises.’

Research shows that when we shift our thinking and regulate our emotional state, we can affect our body on a genetic and cellular level.

Hard science now provides evidence to show that when we calm our mind using skills like meditation, heart-coherence or Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), our body down-regulates or switches off certain genes and switches on others, resulting in an abundance of healthful changes.

beingdivineAnd we are not just talking about a couple of molecules or proteins that are affected…

Throughout every system in our body, genes that regulate inflammation, immunity response, respiration, cell lifespan, uptake of oxygen, reproduction and digestion etc can be affected, resulting in significant biological changes.

So, developing the ability to relax and shift ones consciousness into a state of joy, love or bliss – and I have experienced this at times during meditation – seems to be a positive move. It takes time and practice but even a few minutes daily can be the start of something more profound.

The ability to maintain these skills to regulate emotional states in daily life is a mindful, present-moment practise in itself… I will leave it to Ekhart Tolle and his teachings, to go into more depth on this.

IMG_2107Having spent 6 months on sabbatical, deepening my own practise whilst in the power spots of Sedona in Arizona, Mount Shasta in CA, Machu Picchu in Peru and Glastonbury in England, meditation comes highly recommended! (There I am soaking up the vortex energy in the wilds of Sedona!)

  • Balance, relaxation, self-control and the development of consciousness are the promise of what awaits us when we meditate
  • Long term meditation leads to anatomical changes in the brain that can be measured by MRI, functional MRI, EEG
  • Meditation reduces the stress hormone cortisol and increases melatonin which changes the pattern of gene expression. For example, this study shows that the genes responsible for producing inflammatory molecules can be reduced by meditation

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  • Specific regions of the brain are activated through meditation, changing brain cell connections and body chemistry. This  promotes lower blood pressure and heart rate, increased attention, faster recovery from injury, emotional stability and resilience

Meditation is not just about sitting in the lotus position, clearing your mind of thoughts. I have tried different approaches at various stages of my journey with a variety of teachers. Check out my next post for a collection of research on meditation.

Further info: Ted talk by Harvard neuroscientist, Sara Lazar on the brain benefits of meditation