How Meditation Reshapes the Brain: Insights from a New Study

 Researchers have found that people who practice mindfulness meditation have different brain activity than those who never meditate.

Using electroencephalography, neuroscientists have observed differences in brain wave activity in the theta, alpha, and gamma frequency ranges between meditators and non-meditators.

Long-term meditation practice produces lasting changes in neural processes that may underlie the cognitive and emotional benefits associated with mindfulness.

Mindfulness meditation is the act of observing your breathing, body sensations, sounds around you, or your thoughts. In recent years, the method has gained popularity as a tool for combating stress, improving emotional well-being, and improving cognitive function...<<<Read More>>>....

Quiet Please!

 Daily OM: It’s been called the monkey mind – the endless chattering in your head as you jump in your mind from thought to thought while you daydream, analyze your relationships, or worry over the future. Eventually, you start to feel like your thoughts are spinning in circles and you’re left totally confused. One way to tame this wild creature in your head is through meditation – although the paradox is that when you clear your mind for meditation you actually invite the monkey in your mind to play. This is when you are given the opportunity to tame this mental beast by moving beyond thought – to become aware of a thought rather than thinking a thought. The difference is subtle, but significant. When you are aware of your thoughts, you can let your thoughts rise and float away without letting them pull you in different directions. Being able to concentrate is one of the tools that allows you to slow down your thought process and focus on observing your thoughts...read more>>>...

The Secret Science of Mind: How Positive Thinking Became a Force in the Modern World

 If there is a central religious doctrine for the New Age, surely it is this – the belief that positive thoughts can bend reality to their own shape. It is an alluring concept. If it’s true, we don’t need to act or work or perform in the world. All we need to do is change our thinking. But is there anything to this idea?

To understand something about the doctrine of thought power, it’s helpful to look at its history. The father of the religion of positive thinking was an obscure New Englander named Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802–66).

Quimby, like many men of his time, was a jack of all trades. He started as a clockmaker, but eventually became fascinated with alternative methods of healing and learned the art of mesmerism or animal magnetism, a forerunner of hypnosis. Quimby found that if he put an assistant into a trance, the assistant could diagnose and prescribe a remedy for a patient’s disease (much like Edgar Cayce, the celebrated “sleeping prophet” who lived a couple of generations later)....<<<Read More>>>...

The Happiness of Not Thinking

 One of the most well-known phrases in philosophy is, “I think, therefore I am,” from the 17th-century French philosopher René Descartes. The statement is usually taken to mean that the act of thinking generates our sense of identity, and that without thought we would cease to exist. But strictly speaking, Descartes was arguing that the only thing in the world we can be sure of is that we exist, because we have the ability to think. We can doubt everything else—even that the sun will rise tomorrow morning—but so long as we are thinking, we can’t doubt our existence.

It seems impertinent to disagree with such a revered old philosopher, but in my view, Descartes was wrong to put so much emphasis on thought. More broadly, this is true of our culture, too. Western cultures tend to extol the act of thinking, valuing thought over instinct and logic over intuition. We associate thought with civilisation, and its absence with barbarism and savagery. But I believe that, in many ways, it would be better if we thought much less.

We don’t cease to exist when we stop thinking. In fact, we exist in a more authentic sense. Incessant thinking creates a superficial and even illusory sense of identity. Thought obscures our essential nature, and the well-being and spontaneous creativity which arise from it. To be conscious without thought is an ideal state, one we should aspire to....<<<Read More>>>...

 

When the Mind Stops: How Mental Quietness Leads to Wellbeing

How often is your mind quiet? If you’re a typical human being, the answer is probably very rarely. For most of our days, our attention is immersed in external things—the tasks of our jobs, our hobbies and chores, or TV programs, magazines, or blogs or social media interactions. In the moments when our attention isn’t immersed externally, we’re usually immersed in what I call “thought-chatter’—a stream of mental associations consisting of anticipations of the future, memories, daydreams, replayed fragments of conversations and songs, and so on.

Being immersed in thought-chatter usually isn’t very pleasant. It creates a sense of disturbance inside us, and often gives rise to negative emotions such as anxiety (when we think about the future), guilt or bitterness (when we think about the past) and frustration (when we daydream about alternate realities in which our lives are better). In fact, the reason we are so keen to immerse our attention in tasks and distractions is because of an impulse to escape from our thought-chatter. We like to focus our attention outside so that it isn’t focused inside our minds.

But from time to time, we all experience moments when our thought-chatter quiets down, or even disappears altogether. In these moments, we experience a sense of great well-being. We feel a sense of inner spaciousness and harmony. Our inner energy seems to be intensified, as if we are glowing inside. We feel as if we’re free of problems, and feel satisfied with our lives as they are.

The strange thing is, though, that most of the time this happens unconsciously. There are many activities that have the effect of quieting our minds, and so produce a state of well-being. But we usually don’t associate this well-being with a quiet mind. And we usually don’t think of a quiet mind as the aim or result of these activities....<<<Read More>>>....

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness. It’s a pretty straightforward word. It suggests that the mind is fully attending to what’s happening, to what you’re doing, to the space you’re moving through. That might seem trivial, except for the annoying fact that we so often veer from the matter at hand. Our mind takes flight, we lose touch with our body, and pretty soon we’re engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened or fretting about the future. And that makes us anxious.

Yet no matter how far we drift away, mindfulness is right there to snap us back to where we are and what we’re doing and feeling. If you want to know what mindfulness is, it’s best to try it for a while. Since it’s hard to nail down in words, you will find slight variations in the meaning in books, websites, audio, and video....<<<Read More>>>...
 

Learn How Walking Mindfully Can Improve Your Health

[Wake Up World]:Walking, like breathing is something we do every day and is easy to take for granted. That is until something happens that hinders this ability.

Basically, the lymphatic system is like the sewage system of the body. It helps to remove damaging toxins that are largely reasonable for the development of inflammation. And as you may already know, stress is the leading cause of inflammation, thus making for a definite connection between stress, the lymphatic system, and inflammation. But here is some good news! Did you know that:

- Walking encourages the lymph fluid to flow and eventually enter the bloodstream.
- Walking in combination with slow deep breathing helps the body to release damaging toxins from the blood into the lungs.

When you exhale, the toxins are then expelled from your lungs. This combination is priceless for the restoration of your health. An increase in energy and an improved sense of well-being are some of the first positive effects you should experience.

Allow nature to help heal your body and mind....<<<Read More>>>...

How to Practice Mindful Self-Compassion:

[Wake Up World]: Imagine you are in a theater watching a movie. It’s a suspense thriller. You have attached emotionally to the main character. You have seen the struggles the character has been through. You identify with her story. You are on the edge of your seat, waiting desperately to see how it all ends — to see the grand finale when everyone lives happily ever after.

When the movie ends, you know it is not real and that it never was. You are able to walk away, liberated from attachment to the movie.

The personal story of ‘me’ is much like a movie. ~ Scott Kiloby

ur lives are much like movies and we are the unknowing participants sitting in that theater. Throughout our days we become so involved in this movie that we forget that we’re just witnesses.

Memories, reenactments of past experiences, mental chatter, triggered emotions, beliefs, presumptions, judgments and future worries constantly play through our mind. And among all of this clutter, we cling to a story of us; of how bad, stupid, selfish, ugly, lost or messed up we are.

This constant stream within us is so subtle and elusive that we aren’t usually aware of it. Most of the time, this storyline stream is just below our consciousness, and because of that, we mindlessly carry out its bidding....<<<Read More>>>...

Struggling with Mindfulness? Essential Tips for Beginners

[Wake Up World]: Mindfulness meditation can change lives. From an enhanced sense of oneness with the world to the easing of depression and anxiety, through to the physical benefits on physiological stress levels, heart health and healing, there are a thousand and one reasons to practice mindfulness. But if you’re a total beginner, is it really as easy as ‘just sit there for a few minutes and day and be aware of your surroundings’? Nope. Not at all.

Getting started with mindfulness can be tough. There’s always something else to worry about it, something else to do, somewhere else to be. You might sit to meditate once in a blue moon and then wonder why it’s not working, or you might constantly put it off, deciding to start your mindfulness practice ‘tomorrow’, ‘next week’, ‘once this project is done’. The truth is that the only good time to start a mindfulness practice is NOW – and here are some top tips to help you get started and stick at it....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>>....

SAGE, Black Magic Witchcraft and Mindful Immunity

The actions of the 40+ behavioural psychologists at SAGE (Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) have had a devastating, and far reaching, effect on the UK public. Thanks to these determined and deliberate strategies, a large percentage of the UK public have been reduced to gibbering wrecks! 

They are fearful of each other, and truly believe that a supposed virus with a 99.8% survival rate is going to kill them! Not only that, they have been programmed to believe that everyone is a carrier of this 'deadly' virus ... even if you have no symptoms you are a carrier of the virus.

It is trauma based mind control, and also black magic ... classic witchcraft. Huge sways of people are under the spell of these black magicians and will willingly do the bidding of these death cult satanists ... sadly. The are partaking in a black magic ritual ... and have freely given their souls over to the death cult!

BUT, not everyone has been affected by the persuasions of these behavioural psychologists. No matter WHAT has been put out there, a proportion of the UK public appear to be immune to the witchcraft! We are part of that group ... and find it interesting that nothing is scaring us. Nothing is swaying us toward the social distancing, or mask wearing or the gene therapy jab. Nothing SAGE has the government do ... or have the Media announce ... affect us. And we know of so many who are all the same. 

We are seemingly immune to the witchcraft ... and it would be interesting to find out the common denominator that creates this immunity (And we're pretty sure that SAGE would love to know why too). I'm sure, with me personally, that a life working as a Psychic Medium has helped. I use mindfulness and know my own mind, and my own thoughts. I cannot be hypnotised and find it hard to get intoxicated; I understand altered states of consciousness ... and understand the mind games that SAGE are employing.

It is really frustrating to go to local supermarkets and be surrounded everywhere by the brainwashed human sheeples that are under the SAGE spell. No matter what is said to them ... no proof or independent research will break them free ...

For real change to happen ... there needs to be a comprehension of how to become immune to the black magic persuasions and compulsions put out there by the death cult. Their techniques are many and are in full force everywhere. Somehow I remain immune ... but for how long?

How Changing Your Thoughts Changes Your Life

[Wake Up World]: How many thoughts do you have every day? How many of these thoughts are ones you are consciously aware of? How many of them are helpful to you or others? How many of them are harmful? Taking this path of self-inquiry can help you perform a “thought audit” where you assess whether your current life circumstances are being improved or worsened by your thoughts.

Self-responsibility is the mark of an evolved person who takes ownership of the way they feel and what they experience. Your thoughts are the most powerful form of energy in the multiverse. They can create something from nothing, which is a remarkable feat when you think about it. Everything you see in the world that is both tangible and intangible emerged out of thoughts. You can also expand this out on a macrocosmic scale and say that the Earth, solar system, galaxy, universe, and multidimensional multiverse were also created thanks to conscious creative thoughts....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...
 

Mindfulness: Is it Enough?

[Daily OM]: Of course we know about mindfulness, and of course we believe it’s a good thing…  being in touch with what is really happening intuitively seems a benefit… not being distracted by thoughts about what we ought to be doing or what we have done or we might do, thoughts which take us away from the job in hand – that must make for better productivity… likewise not being permanently afloat on some cloud of make-believe – doesn’t day-dreaming bring its own share of guilt?

Though for all that, fantasy can be ok so long as we know it’s fantasy and we know we’re doing it, and there have certainly been plenty of times during this pandemic when a dose of fantasy will have brought some much-needed relief.

But yes, mindfulness is a good thing – let go of thoughts, focus, centre, be aware, connect with what’s really going on and connect with yourself… but then what?  Is that it?  Some sort of end-state?...<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...

 

Mindful Walking

[Daily OM]: Many of us take the benefits of walking for granted. Each day we limit the steps we take by driving or sitting for long periods of time. But walking even a few blocks a day has unlimited benefits – not only for our health, but our spirit as well, for as we walk, we connect with the earth.

Even when walking on concrete, the earth is still beneath us, supporting us. Walking lets our body remember simpler times, when life was less complicated. This helps us slow down to the speed of our body and take the time to integrate the natural flow of life into our cellular tissue. Instead of running from place to place or thinking about how much more we can fit into our day, walking allows us to exist in the moment.

Each step we take can lead us to becoming more mindful of ourselves and our feelings. Walking slows us down enough not only to pay attention to where we are in our body, but also to our breath. Taking time to simply notice our breath while we walk, through the length of our inhales and exhales, and becoming attuned to the way in which we breathe is taking a step towards mindfulness. When we become more mindful, we gradually increase our awareness of the environment around us and start to recognize that the normal flow of our thoughts and feelings are not always related to where we are in the present moment. Gradually we realize that the connection we have with the earth and the ground beneath our feet is all that is. By walking and practicing breathing mindfully we gain a sense of calm and tranquility -- the problems and troubles of the day slowly fade away because we are in the 'now'....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...
 

It’s Time to Step Outside the Conditioned Mind

[Wake Up World]: You are probably being conditioned on a daily basis. The conditioning could be done by the media, entertainment industry, government, education industry, corporations, family, friends, religion, and others.

All those layers of conditioning placed over our true Self lead to the creation of an artificial persona that is a combination of things others want us to be and reflect.

To embody and reflect your true inner being, you need to step outside the conditioned mind and see reality face-to-face.

Nobody in their natural mind enjoys being manipulated. However, most people who are being conditioned to think, speak, and act a certain way don’t even realize that they are being manipulated. They believe that they have come to be that way by using their own free will. Sure, the tacit agreement could have been made, since nobody can truly violate your free will without your agreement to being violated, but a lot of this occurs subconsciously. That is why practicing mindfulness meditation to expand our awareness is so vital to staying sovereign.

The Cure to Conditioning Is Mindfulness. Meditation can still the mind, penetrating all the artificial layers until we can see more clearly. When we are still, we can locate our true Self. If we don’t practice mindfulness, then it is easier for us to get caught up in participating in illusions. Oftentimes, mind manipulation happens unconsciously. When you become still and expand your awareness, you become aware of whenever someone is attempting to condition, program, or manipulate your thoughts, words, and deeds. You no longer get caught up in using your energy to actualize their desires. You maintain your sovereignty.

Be mindful not to get so caught up in things that end up distracting you from living a Self-actualized and fulfilled life. Those conditioning you are not acting out of a wish or intent for you to attain this state of being. Instead, they are looking to control or influence you in a way that benefits them....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...

Neuroscience Learns What Buddhism Has Known For Ages: Mindfulness

[Collective Evolution]: In its most basic form, Mindfulness means to pay attention to what’s happening, on purpose, in the present moment, and to do so without judgement. Originally from Buddhist roots, it was introduced into the West by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zin and the University of Massachusetts. Since its appearance in the West around twenty years ago, many people have participated in the Mindfulness based stress reduction course and similar programs. Research shows that participants may experience profound benefits such as reduced stress, a greater sense of well-being, increased clarity and focus, and improved sleeping patterns.

According to Dr. Kabat-Zin, by paying attention in a certain way, we can switch off our so-called autopilot mode, in which we often go through life unaware of what’s happening within and around us. Living on autopilot not only means that we miss out on a lot of the richness of life, but we are also more likely to be stressed. Stress and autopilot are linked because when we are on autopilot, we are much more likely to act out unhelpful or even damaging patterns of behaviour. In other words, we react instead of respond to challenging experiences in our life. Mindfulness helps us to become aware of these habitual patterns and gives us a choice to change how we relate to challenging experiences. It’s not about taking stress away or hoping to live a life without any stress, but rather fundamentally changing how we relate to the things we experience.

On the other hand, many of us spend much of our time living in our heads. We live in a kind of virtual reality consisting of thoughts and inner dialogue, and thoughts tend to relate either to the past or to the future. Mindfulness helps us to learn how to return to the present and to what’s actually happening rather than our perceptions of what’s happening, which are often inaccurate. We practice it by cultivating greater somatic awareness — that is, awareness of the body, because the body is always in the present moment....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...

The World is Your Canvas

[Wake Up World]: The world but is an empty canvas for the mind to cast into form. Life itself is a canvas waiting for you to create your own masterpiece. Since all thought is creative energy, you have an extraordinary opportunity to create a world for yourself that is ideal for your journey, in this life, and at this time.

We are not as powerless as we may fool ourselves into believing sometimes. Sure, there are massive constructs that exist within society, but those only exist because people have collectively agreed to them and have co-created them in some way. What you have is the total freedom to change the way you think and perceive your personal experience of the world. That experience is created by you, from moment to moment, by your thoughts. It can only be changed by you, by changing your thinking.

Vibrations. Everything is vibrating, all the time. There is perpetual movement. Nothing is static. Also, nothing “is” until you add structure to it. When you have a focused intention, such as visualizing a scenario as if it already exists, you create and shape your world. This reinforces it and gives is structure. Each one of us has the ability to engage with the world’s canvas in whatever way we wish. We can paint whatever kind of scene we want onto the fabric of the universe. What do you want your canvas to look like? ...<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...

Silent Witness Contemplation – A Simple Tool for a More Mindful You

[Wake Up World]: Have you ever reached a destination with no recollection of how you got there?

It is quite frightening, when you think you’ve driven without consciously being at the wheel! Periodic blanks of unconsciousness begin very early in life.

Unless consciously checked, these grey periods of subconscious behaviour become a way of life.

It’s an easy technique to get started with, and you can try it out with just a few spare minutes a day....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...

What Is Body Scan Meditation and How Can It Help You Relax?

[Wake Up World]: The purpose of a body scan meditation is to simply notice different parts of the body in order to relieve tension. It’s a type of mindfulness meditation, which is a mental exercise that helps you be more aware of your surroundings, body, and mind.

The definition of “body scan” gives away how it works: You “scan” your body sequentially by focusing on individual parts and paying attention to how they feel.

Some people like to simply become aware of bodily sensations, while others prefer to relax each part of the body sequentially. In some versions of body scan meditation, you tighten muscles in different parts of the body and then relax them. Do what works for you! The amount of time you spend on a body scan is also up to you. You can spend as little or as much as you want....<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...

Lonely in Lockdown? Mindfulness Can Help

[Wake Up World]: In this strange covid-19 world, tens of millions of people around the world are currently in lockdown of some kind, allowed to leave the house only for essential shopping or exercise.

Many are lucky enough to be living with their families, loved ones or friends, but for those who live alone, or whose relationship with their household is strained, loneliness is a very real result of social isolation.

Factor in that most people also feel anxious about the current situation and its uncertainties, worried about their health and their family’s health, and stressed about the financial impacts of covid-19 – and you have a truly toxic psychological cocktail for those who also find themselves feeling lonely and vulnerable...<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...

Struggling to Deal with Your New Normal? Mindful Acceptance is Key

[Wake Up World]: For many of us around the world, life feels like it’s been put in a blender. As countries across the globe struggle to react to the covid-19 pandemic, everything has changed. Adjustments to life which would have seemed unthinkable just a few short weeks ago – remember February, anyone?

Those were the days! – are now looming and apparently inescapable.

Depending on where you live, you may be facing travel and transport restrictions, curfews or lockdowns. Your shops may be closed, or you may be struggling to find what you need in the store. Your kids may be home from school for the foreseeable future, anxious and restless themselves and needing your help. You may be having to work from home yourself, or perhaps you’re a keyworker on the frontlines, facing exhaustion.

If you run a small business, your livelihood may be on the line. If your job is low paid or insecure, you may be worried about how you’re going to pay the rent or the mortgage or the bills for the next several months, and of course, you’re worried about your vulnerable loved ones.

Change of any kind stresses us out. We’re hardwired that way, because our very survival once depended upon being hyper-aware of our changing circumstances, able to adapt to danger and to react to the unpredictable.

Enforced change, on such a huge scale, backed by an undercurrent of fear, stresses us all out probably beyond the kind of stress we’ve experienced before. The good news, however, is that mindfulness can help to ease the stress – and you don’t need to have practiced it before to feel the benefits, either...<<<Read The Full Article Here>>>...