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7 Reasons to Start Meditating Now

Share photo credit: Joel Bedford I have always wanted to meditate.  I read many self-help books that suggest meditation as part of everyone’s spiritual practice.  However, my attempts to sit still whilst thinking nothing proved to futile.  I could no more get my mind to shut up than I could shepard a herd of cats.  Frustrated with my lack of progress, I stopped.  Until I heard of a new meditation programme that promised I could meditate like a  zen monk Huh?  And how, exactly, was I going to do that?  I couldn’t get my mind to sit still; it was as restless as a four-year old child on a sugar high.  How was I going to achieve that impossible goal? Enter Holosync In late 2008, I found Holosync.  I read and read the website at least seven times before I ordered the free demo.  I was impressed enough with the demo to order the first programme in the Holosync series, Awakening Prologue.  The Holosync programme uses binural beats to slow down the brainwaves to the Alpha levels where, it’s believed, that the mind is in a more resourceful and relaxed state.  Free of the clutter and shatter of the wakening state; aka, the Beta level. And, I’ve got to say, that I am loving it. First of all, my busy bee of a mind can buzz all over the place without me resisting it, and I still feel myself gradually relaxing to the point that I feel my mind let go.  Brilliant!  And wicked, besides! That was about 2 years ago, and I have progressed to the next level, Awakening Level One.  Which is also wonderful! However, I am not writing this post as an endorsement for Holosync.  Because I believe that Holosync is not for everyone.  Any more than any other system of meditation is for everyone. Whether you choose to work in your garden, take walks on the beach, surf in the early morning hours, or just take a walkabout round the neighbourhood.  Meditation takes as many forms as there are people populating the Earth. Please do not feel the need to force yourself to sit in the lotus position for hours while chanting some mantra, if you don’t feel any joy at all doing it.  Meditation is supposed to be restful.  And if you are not feeling relaxed and peaceful then you are practicing a form of meditation that’s not for you.  I encourage you to cease and desist right now, if you like.  Explore and discover other form that might appeal to you more.  Transcendental Meditation, Holosync, Mindfulness meditation, or Japa meditation (a form of mantra-based mediation) are all great starting points. You can even tool about in your garage, fixing things if it quiets your mind and lets you hear the voice of your spirit, intuition, or Inner Authority.  Or whatever you desire to call it. The point is, that meditation has many wellness benefits that are helpful on all levels from the physical to the spiritual. 7 Reasons to Meditate Decreases the negative effects of stress. In a University of Massachusetts study, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D recorded the brain waves of  employees of a Madison, Wisconsin high tech firm.  These employees were highly stressed.  The employees were split randomly into two groups with 25 of them being trained to meditate for eight weeks.  Whilst the other group of 16 were left alone as the control group.  The participants had their brains scanned three time during the experiment; in the beginning of the study, at the eight week mark (the end of the study), and four months after that.  The researchers discovered that the mediators were calmer and happier.  (Psychology Today, April 2003, Colin Allen). Leads to greater physical relaxation. Did you know that when you are in a state of enhanced stress all of the blood in the body tend to flow towards the arms, legs, heart and lungs; whilst a bit less to the digestive system? This is because the body believes there is danger, and you need to run away when in danger. Decreases muscle tension. A reduction in muscle tension means more blood and oxygen flow to the muscles, making them more relaxed.  And creating a happier body experiencing less pain due to muscle tightness.  And when the muscles relax so do the joints, ligaments, and bones. Lowers heart rate. Meditation slows down the brain waves Alpha (the relaxed brain waves) from Beta (the more stress-inducing waves, depending on how high the Beta waves are).  Lower heart rates (in healthy people) can result in less adrenaline and cortisone hormones in the blood stream.  With less of these hormones in the system, you don’t over eat to medicate yourself.  Or run down your immune system.  And a lower heart rate (in healthy people) can be beneficial to the cardiovascular system; for example, an athlete in peak physical condition (such as Lance Armstrong) can have a resting heart rate of 47 beats per minute.  This is helpful because it means that the heart doesn’t have to work so hard to circulate blood, nutrients, and oxygen to the body. Gives your immune system a boost. The immune system get repressed sometimes when we maintain overly stressful states of being for long periods of time.  This sometimes the reason why you might be prone to catch a cold more easily when you are experiencing more stress. Produces beneficial changes in brain activity, harmonising the endocrine and nervous systems. This is because the brain switches over from the busy right frontal cortex to the calmer left frontal cortex resulting in calmer and happier brains and emotional states.  When you are relaxed and calm, your body’s systems tend to work more in harmony than in more stress-inducing states. Increases creativity, focus, and concentration. Have you ever been fixing a car, planting in a garden, walking along the beach or your neighbourhood and noticed all the really wicked ideas that occur to you during these times?  While the mind is occupied consciously doing another activity, your subconscious mind gets a chance to come out, talk to you and play. 10 Minutes Per Day to Increased Creativity, Focus, and Concentration, etc.. As you can see, you don’t have to retreat to a Buddhist monastery and devote 30 years of your life to the solitary pursuit of enlightenment while meditating facing a bare wall.  You can just go to your garden or other sacred place (even if it’s your favourite meditation chair) and reap the benefits of meditation. It only takes about 10 minutes per day to enjoy increased creativity, focus, and concentration.  You’ve got nothing to lose, and everything to gain by taking the first step. Start right where you are.  Go out in the garden.  Go to the beach.  Get out in nature and take a walk.  Let your mind clear.  And I’ll see you right back here to tell me what you got out of meditating. Let me know about your meditating experiences in the comments. Vibelicious comments: Be excellent to each other.  Only kind and respectful comments are welcome. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "7 Reasons to Start Meditating Now", url: "http://seanstargazer.com/?p=917" });Related Posts:Embracing Your Shadow Selfthe Gift of Anger the Wacky Magickal Power Of Being Yourself5 Creative Things for the New Yearthe Blessing of Uniqueness

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Sean Stargazer’s N.O.W List

Posted by Sean Stargazer | Posted in Personal Growth, Uncategorized | Posted on 09-12-2009

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to the light
Creative Commons License photo credit: alicepopkorn

Every once in while I need to remind myself where I am in life when I feel confused.  Or worse.  Just out of control.  (N.O.W. means No Opportunity Wasted.  Go here for more information.)

Questions like:

Am I closer to my passions?  Or farther away? start ringing through my mind.  After all, we are at the end of another year.

For me, this was a year of change, growth, exploration, and discovery.  Sometimes scary.  Sometimes filled with great joy.  But always worth the journey.

Right now, I feel like a butterfly working mightily to escape from its cocoon in spring.

When a butterfly emerges from its cocoon, it’s a weak, shriveled up thing.  The butterfly is unable to fly because its wings are still not completely formed.  As it does the exhausting work of ripping its way out of the chrysalis, it flexes its wings, strengthening them.; making our little friend strong enough to survive in the physical world.  Anyone watching the butterfly during this process may be tempted to help by removing the butterfly.  This would be a fatal for the butterfly. It would die.

At times, I feel like I am dying.  I feel out of control and lost.  It’s all I can do to not be pulled under by life.  In these moments, all those nasty negative recrimination thoughts rise up out of the depths of my subconscious:

“You shouldn’t have spent so much money.”

“Yeah, you’ve been here before.  Doesn’t mean you can get out of this situation this time.”

“You should be safe and secure.  That’s what’s really important.”

I have to remind myself that what’s really important isn’t that I have made mistakes that I now have to dig myself out of.  The important thing is that I know that these situations are temporary, and will change.  Nothing stays the same forever.  I draw comfort from the knowledge that in any moment I can choose a different choice.  This empowers me as well.

Now, what does this have to do with a N.O.W. list?

Good question!

My N.O.W. list reminds me that I have a whole lot of life left to live.  And I can choose in favour of those things that bring me the greatest joy, adventure, and magick into my life.

I think everyone should have a N.O.W. list!

Take a look at mine below.

1.   visit Antarctica

2.   tour the world with my own soul revue

3.   visit Machu Picchu

4.   visit Minonian Crete and the ancient goddess sites

5.   go jet boating & white water rafting in New Zealand

6.   opening my own reiki academy online

7.   touring the world with my own alt. soul band

8.   being a world famous transformational speaker

9. go to the Oneness University in India to be a deeksha giver

10. swim with sharks

11. go skydiving

12. compose & self-produce my debut album

13. visit  Stonehenge

14. learn to snowboard

15. adopt a eurasian baby girl

16. have an animal sanctuary

17. visit the Egyptian pyramids and the Sphinx

18. start a philanthropic organisation devoted to helping people live their dreams

19. tithe 25% or better of my gross monthly income

20.live in New Zealand for a year

21. write and self-publish a book of my own poetry

22. write and self-publish a modern day fable

23. teach workshops and seminars on the law of attraction

24. have a spiritual website a la Hay House Radio

25. have a Hay House Radio programme

26 .have own transformational PBS programme

27. marry husband/soulmate

28. make $150,000 net income from four streams of income in 2009/2010

29.learn to sing an opera aria

30. learn to play the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s song catalogue

31. make $1 million in 2013

32. start own online record company and marketing websites for DIY artists

33.speak Korean, Portuguese ( Portugal ), Mandarin Chinese, Italian, Spanish, French, Swedish

34. learn one Shakespearean monologue/soliloquy

35. recite the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe by heart

36. learn to dance the tango

37. learn chinese calligraphy

38. learn to play bass guitar, drums

39. learn to play the piano and keyboards

40. learn to play the Hammond b3 and b6 organs

41. learn to play a twelve string flamenco guitar

42. learn to play flamenco guitar

43. visit Bora Bora and Tongo

44. visit the Taj Majal

45. visit Thailand   to study at Wat Po at Bangkok

46. visit Vietnam

47. continue a four time a week pilates practice

48. dye my hair bright plum

49. forgive the past

50. have a vintage guitar and accessory collection worth over $20 million

51. get a scuba diving license

52. learn to skateboard

53. learn to draw people and objects

54. learn to sail

55. have a one-woman exhibition of my artwork at three or more prestigious art galleries and sell my work for $2,500+

56. write and direct a horror/thriller movie

57. meet Shawn White

58. meet Laura Day

59. meet Barbara Sher

60.  meet Tony Alva

61. meet the Red Hot Chili Peppers

62. meet J.K. Rowling

63. meet Diana Wynne Jones

64. meet Denise Linn

65. P J Harvey

66. be a member of B.B King’s band as his lead guitar player a year

76. meet Deepak Chopra

77. meet the dailai lama

78. meet the “hugging saint” of India

79. learn to write renku

80. a new york times best-selling author of books for child of all ages

81.meet oprah winfrey

82. have full time alternative healing and wellness studio

83. release an indie soul album

84. release a prog/soul concept album

85. meet maya angelou

86. meet toni morrison

87. have dinner at the white house with president barack obama

88. create a vedic garden like Findhorn

89. compose and self-produce my debut album

90. visit Ireland

91. visit Sartorini , Greece

92. study reiki in Japan

93. study zen shiatsu in Japan

94. become a certified reflexologist

95. become a certified thai massage therapist

96. study myofascial release techniques

97. open my own massage, bodywork and pilates studios in Santa Monica and Redondo Beach/Hermosa Beach , CA

98. become the massage therapist to the stars with such celebrity clients as Halle Berry , Brad Pitt , Angeline Jolie , Matt Damon , Ben Affleck , Jennifer Garner to name a few

99. visit Costa Rica

100. meet Quincy Jones

101. meet Stevie Wonder

102. meet Aretha Franklin

103. meet Etta James

104. commit to eating 75% raw food

105. swim with dolphins

This list has been revised several times since it was oringinally written.

This list is by no means comprehensive.  As I grow and change, so does this list.  Often, I delete some things and add others.   Things that were once important to me become less so over time.

And that’s just right with me.  I would grow bored with my life if I (and it) stayed just the same.  What about you?

Vibelicious comments:  what’s on your No Opportunity Wasted list?

Remember to be excellent to each other!

Resources: http://www.noopportunitywasted.com/

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