Spirituality and Personal Development - Part Two- The Begining Journey Of Meditation and Its Benefits

The Path of meditation

If you read the first article,you will already know I've been interested in all things spiritual and esoteric ever since I was a kid. However, since my awakening in 2011, I've dedicated my life to the pursuit of self and professional development, spirituality, and other esoteric interests.

(my qualifications span Meditation, Nutrition,Coaching,Therapy, NLP , Hypnosis, EFT, Parenting, mental health and wellbeing training and others,as well as a practicing yoga for the lafor the last few years)

Just a note- I don't sign up to any one religion, belief system or set of ideas. My view is about exploring what I feel drawn and attracted to and this is a journey of constant discovery.

Self-development – Spirituality, especially the New Age movement, is a massive industry and we need to learn how to be discerning, otherwise there is a risk that we get overwhelmed, are exposed to terrible information, and are swamped by the number of books, videos,, and courses that there are out there.

Yes,, I am subject to this swamping occasionally. However, the more we can notice what we are feeling, what pulls us, what we are reacting to, the more choice we have. We can step back and consider things.

The only reason to do something with speed is if your life is in danger so yes move and think later

or

There is such a force and pull for something you are in the process of creating or the momentum has built up, then you could be using your well developed judgement for the desired outcome that has been in the development phase and is hopefully positive and beneficial. Anyhow that takes us right into the world of decision making, psychology, and the law of attraction , so for this article let’’s keep it simple.

One if the key areas I started to develop a few years ago was meditation . Meditation has has helped me in many ways (as listed below) but for me, which is key, it has helped me develop better intuition, that inner radar to filter or bypass a lot of choice and choose what I might need or desire to learn about or experience right now.

Initially I was interested in finding out what this thing called meditation could do for me. I then wanted to know how I could relax my mind and let all the mental chatter go, at least for a short few minutes. As my work became increasingly stressful, meditation became very important and helped me function day to day . Having the capacity to switch off from the inner and outer noise helped me reduce the amount of stress chemicals pumping through my body which long term can have devastating impact on health.

Thankfully, the massive stress I was under at one point, has diminished. I changed jobs and sought to let go of all that didn't work for me and created a much bigger space in my life (mentally, physically, and metaphorically)

This space enabled me to develop my holistic spiritual lifestyle more fully, of which involves Yoga, Nutrition, Law of Attraction, Music, Cooking, Writing, Researching , adding new experiences, Fun, exploring and my latest interest, photography. In fact,, meditation and photography have evolved well together. There’s something that happens when you slow down your mind, breathe and then look at the scene in front of you through the camera lens.

For an intro to the law of attraction then please check out my link http://melaniegabbi.uk/law-of-attraction/the-law-of-attraction-for-beginners/

Below I write an introduction to meditation. If you have never done it or occasionally dabbled , what I will say that I now feel , is the massive benefit it has on my levels of creativity. From what I do in my day job across to how I choose to spend my "free" time. Meditation and the Law of Attraction also go hand in hand together. The focus in the law of attraction, after learning how to relax your mind, become general and at ease , is to focus on the things that you love, that light you up. This enables the momentum of this good feeling to evolve and generate more and more, so that all your life can becomes one of ease, decisions and next steps begin to flow and opportunities to develop even more of what you love opens up. Please see my website for more detailed info on how to start utilising the Law of Attraction

Back to meditation - Some people meditate on breath, with pure quiet - I love meditation with music. I tend to use music from creators like Jonathan Goldman who created Healing Sounds. He uses music to direct the mind, deepen the experience and tune in to brain waves faster so that you can experience the benefits much quicker. These processes are said to be very affective releasing negative or unwanted states and has a direct influence on the mind and body.

Hence the music itself is incredibly healing and I find I can enter a deep meditation much more easily. At other times I like to use the more guided visualisation material such as what Glen Harrold creates https://www.hypnosisaudio.com.

or you can listen here

I love his voice and his meditations utilise neural processing in our brains .These can be very affective at harnessing new states and ways of being ,so that they become more and more of our daily experience.

I also get bored easily and like to experiment with what’’s out there.

The purpose of Meditation is also still your mind of thoughts and awaken you to the Truth. What this means is who you really are, not how parents and society created you to be. There are many other side benefits along the way. Although there are some who practice meditation and yoga simply for these benefits, it does vary from person to person and sometimes those benefits are profound, deeply personal, and hard to communicate -therefore try it and see what happens when you do. Over time it may well become as everyday as brushing your teeth.

Meditation and Relaxation

One of the best ways to get in touch with yourself and your intuition become calmer and more peaceful, let alone it’s amazing health benefits, is to begin meditation.

If you’re new to meditation, I suggest you start with doing some stretches, Pilate’s or yoga, to loosen your muscles. Tight muscles, especially lower back, make it hard just to sit as you will feel the pull of your body.

Although I do a yoga class I also practice at home and currently use https://secure.dailyom.com/cgi-bin/courses/courses.cgi

If your new to it you need a beginner’’s class, otherwise you can be completely put off. Simple stretching and Pilates can make whole heap of difference.

The morning, which is usually an excellent time before the day begins, sit in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, even if this means getting up five minutes earlier to start your day well.

The simplest approach is to sit still, notice how your body feels and your mood. Then breathe in and out.

Note, where your breath can go, is it shallow or can you already feel your belly rise?

Just focus now on breathing in and out, slow long and deep breaths.

Concentrate on the air coming in as a beautiful pure mountain air and when you breathe out let go of any stresses and toxins that accumulate in your body.

Continue to breathe in and out, feel your stomach expand slowly, as you breathe in and fall as you breathe out.
That’s it!

Try for five minutes each time per day, to begin with, and then move towards 10 minutes focusing on your breath is a great start.

Try it whilst listening to any of the music that relaxes you or from the links above.

What meditation is good for:

Good Health & Stress Reduction:

Doing meditation will almost certainly improve your health and physical wellbeing. It does this for a myriad of reasons and should not be underestimated. The meditations (especially the basic meditations) put the mind-body complex in a state of relaxed alertness which is ideal for self-healing to take place. In this state, the body’s natural healing capability is vastly enhanced, thus being able to work its magic more efficiently.

Much of the spontaneous, miracle like healing that takes place in the unwell who turn to spirituality, can be attributed to this phenomenon. Also, during meditation when the conscious mind is silenced, psychological wounds and other negative emotions that are kept locked up in the subconscious mind are allowed to rise and be released. This prevents these unresolved negative feelings from expressing themselves as disease and illness which is often the path they take if they remain suppressed.

Finally, over time, reduces anxiety and stress by teaching you to live in the present and this state of peaceful, happy living is the biggest boon to good health.

Excellent Brain Function:

Meditation is a very active and powerful tool for improving one’s brain functions significantly. The demands of meditation sharpen intelligence and awareness considerably, along with honing one’s logical and analytical systems. One’s memory and retrieval pathways are also improved, and overall one finds the mind clear and precise. The improvements are sometimes gained in a very short time and are often unmistakable. One way to gauge these changes is by observing the eloquence in your speech and clarity in your dialogues.

Balance:

As time passes, you will find that you are not tripping over the same bad habits and personality flaws as you had been in the past. You will see clearly better psychological and emotional balance emerge over time.

Confidence:

One of the key components of meditation is confidence and work to increase it as well as the related attribute of willpower. When you come to the point of having to jump out of the known, meditation would have built in you the necessary courage and self-belief to do so.

Charisma:

This is one of the really nice side affects of meditation. Like some of the other changes you will find in yourself, the emergence of a charismatic personality is unmistakable. Some of this charisma can be attributed to your being at ease with yourself and being self-sufficient and happy. Being thus relaxed and not needy you will be at the giving end of the spectrum, able to respond fully to the requirement of the moment and others.

Discover Your Purpose & Gifts:

As you start to drop those aspects of you that are artificial and pretentious, you will get a chance to see the real you. The parts that are not put on but are natural. This will give you insight into who you really are and what you really love in life. That is the secret of mastering the art of living and discovering your true talents, gifts, and purpose. That which you love, you do for its own sake without the need for the reward of accolades. Once this is discovered, life can be lived with passion, zeal, and independence.

Improved Relationships:

The attributes of sensitivity and non-attachment are so helpful in the complex world of relationships. Sensitivity is obviously a necessary component in having good relations. It promotes thoughtfulness, affection, and forgiveness, but equally important and perhaps a little more subtle is the need for non-attachment. Non-attachment does not mean apathy, non-attachment means not being dependent on the other for personal fulfilment. Being dependent will lead to fear. The fear of loosing the pleasure or security that the other provides or of the pain the other can impart. This fear creates an underlying resentment that prohibits love from flowering and allows for relationships to be based on love and adoration instead.