Meditation: How to Find Focus and Relieve Stress Naturally

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Meditation: How to Find Focus and Relieve Stress Naturally

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Are you tired of feeling stressed no matter how much positive

thinking you attempt? Sick of self-help books whose subtle

message is, " you should be ashamed of yourself if you're not

happy. " What if you could cultivate a genuine focused sense

of well being no matter how you're feeling or what's going

on around you?

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Distribution Date and Time: 2006-06-07 11:00:00

Written By: Janna L. Chan

Copyright: 2006

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Meditation: How to Find Focus and Relieve Stress Naturally

Copyright © 2006 Janna L. Chan

A Few Seconds Calm

http://www.a-few-seconds-calm.com

Are you tired of feeling stressed no matter how much positive

thinking you attempt? Sick of self-help books whose subtle

message is, " you should be ashamed of yourself if you're not

happy. " What if you could cultivate a genuine focused sense of

well being no matter how you're feeling or what's going on

around you?

Mindfulness Meditation: Accepting What You Feel in the Moment

Once considered an exotic and exclusively spiritual practice,

expert doctors and scientists now credit meditation with

alleviating a host of physical and mental ailments such as

anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, and chronic fatigue.

But what comes to mind when you think of meditation? Is it monks

wearing enlightenment on their sleeves, drinking super

caffeinated green tea, levitating at will, and disappearing into

tree-lined monasteries for days, weeks, or years at a time? Is it

gym yoga classes complete with $22.95/pair purple pastel blocks

and trendy attractive people in the front row? The gazillion ads

for guided meditation CDs that pop-up whenever you put

" meditation " into a search engine?

Clearly, the word meditation conjures up some interesting images,

but arguably the general idea behind mindfulness meditation is

inherent in all forms of meditation. 99.9% of the time, our

mental processes are dominated by a never-ending stream of angry,

anxious, and reactive thoughts that rob us of our inherent

ability to feel at peace and focused in any given moment.

By contrast, during a meditation practice, you encourage yourself

to feel aligned with whatever is happening in the present moment,

instead of getting caught up in habitual perceptions of what has

happened in the past or may happen in the future. By meditating,

you gently turn off the never-ending and very popular " what if

THIS happens " channel in your mind and just exist in the here

and now. As Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, renowned meditation teacher,

psychologist, and facilitator of the Stress Reduction and

Relaxation program at the University of Massachusetts Medical

Center says in Full Catastrophe Living:

Simply put, mindfulness is moment-to-moment awareness. It is

cultivated by purposefully paying attention to things we

ordinarily never give a moment's thought to. It is a systematic

approach to developing new kinds of control and wisdom in our

lives, based on our inner capacities for relaxation, paying

attention, awareness, and insight.

Kabat-Zinn, Jon. Full Catastrophe Living. Dell Publishing,

New York, 1990, 2.

So if we accept the premise that feeling centered in the present

moment can be beneficial to our physical and mental well being,

how do we learn how to meditate?

While there are many ways of introducing yourself to meditation,

three simple methods come to mind:

1) Taking a meditation or yoga class with a teacher and other

students.

2) Using guided meditation tapes or CDs to create your own

practice.

3) Cultivating focused awareness through short " spot "

meditations, even if you can't commit to a full fledged

meditation practice.

Taking a Class with Others

Your local gym or YMCA probably sponsors yoga classes which can

function as a kind of meditation-in-motion practice, even if you

don't have a full-fledged yoga school in your area. Typing

" online meditation class " into a search engine also yields

virtual classes encompassing many different time zones and

meditation philosophies compatible with almost anyone's belief

system or schedule.

Using Guided Meditation CDs

Using guided tapes and CDs can be a great starter program for

anyone unsure about beginning a meditation practice on their own.

Meditation for Optimum Health: How to Use Mindfulness and

Breathing to Heal Your Body and Refresh Your Mind, by Drs. Jon

Kabat-Zinn and Weil, is an excellent meditation starter

program for anyone (especially those interested in scientific

validation that meditation works).

Radical Self-Acceptance, by renowned meditation teacher, Buddhist

lay priestess, and psychologist, Dr. Tara Brach, combines

psychological awareness with Buddhist teachings about compassion

in exploring how mindfulness meditation can alleviate the shame

or " the trance of unworthiness, " so common and destructive in

modern life.

Belleruth Naparstek's guided imagery series frequently gets rave

reviews from individuals using guided meditation/visualization in

working with specific issues such as post traumatic stress

disorder, weight loss, or insomnia.

Cultivating a Smidgen of Meditative Awareness: Spot Meditations

Meditations designed to be done in 5 minutes or less may not

bring instant enlightenment, but they can still provide a taste

of feeling calm and focused in the present moment. Flip the

Switch: 40 Anytime, Anywhere Meditations in 5 minutes or Less by

on, is an excellent resource for anyone who can take a

few deep mindful breaths while waiting for a red light to change

or a meeting to start. Meditation from Thought to Action by

and Annellen Simpkins, also contains many short

exercises designed to focus the mind in a few minutes.

Conclusion

Most people who have tried meditation usually agree that simply

having the intention to meditate has a profound effect on

anyone's mental/physical health and personal development. So

what not order a book or CD about meditation right now, and make

an investment in your well being?

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Looking for a Zen-like focus to improve your life, golf

game, etc? Janna Chan and others provide articles and fun

resources on a variety of personal development subjects

including meditation, goal-setting, and mindful gift

giving at: http://www.a-few-seconds-calm.com