Meditation
Simple meditation causes brains to grow larger and more healthy according to a study done by researchers at Harvard, Yale and MIT. Meditation does not have to be religious or even spiritual. If you should concentrate on your breathing in a calm and peaceful environment then that should be good enough.
The research involved 20 experienced. long times and 15 non-meditators. Non-meditators were asked to relax while meditators concentrated on doing “insight meditation”. The conclusion was that the meditators most involved in the meditation showed the greatest change in brain structure while the non-meditators experiences no changes. “This strongly suggests,” Lazar, leader of the study and a psychologist at Harvard Medical School, concludes, “that the differences in brain structure were caused by the meditation,
rather than that differences in brain thickness got them into meditation in the first place.”
[ Source ]
Now that the benefits of meditation have been established, it would be a good idea to actually learn the proper way of meditating. The following are some great resources for learning meditation:
This web site teaches the basics of meditation. Of course, if you do not want to do “om” chants then you don’t have to. The Harvard article above mentions that the meditations worked equally well with or with out the chanting.
“The first stage of meditation is to stop distractions and make our mind clearer and more lucid. This can be accomplished by practicing breathing meditation. We choose a quiet place to meditate and sit in a comfortable position. We can sit in the traditional cross-legged posture or in any other position that is comfortable. If we wish, we can sit in a chair. The most important thing is to keep our back straight to prevent our mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy.
“We sit with our eyes partially closed and turn our attention to our breathing. We breathe naturally, preferably through the nostrils, without attempting to control our breath, and we try to become aware of the sensation of the breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils. This sensation is our object of meditation. We should try to concentrate on it to the exclusion of everything else.
“At first, our mind will be very busy, and we might even feel that the meditation is making our mind busier; but in reality we are just becoming more aware of how busy our mind actually is. There will be a great temptation to follow the different thoughts as they arise, but we should resist this and remain focused single-pointedly on the sensation of the breath. If we discover that our mind has wandered and is following our thoughts, we should immediately return it to the breath. We should repeat this as many
times as necessary until the mind settles on the breath.”
Introduction To Insight Meditation
Another web site is Introduction to Insight Meditation. If you recall the Harvard study only tested the people who were doing “Insight Meditation”. The purpose of Insight Meditation is not to create a system of beliefs, but rather to give guidance on how to see clearly into the nature of the mind. In this way one gains first-hand understanding of the way things are, without reliance on opinions or theories — a direct experience, which has its own vitality. It also gives rise to the sense of deep calm that comes
from knowing something for oneself, beyond any doubt.
The purpose of Insight Meditation is to develop calm and insight through reflection. You will explore your thoughts and feel at ease.
From the site:
“If the chin is tilted very slightly down this will help, but do not allow the head to loll forward as this encourages drowsiness. Place the hands on your lap, palms upwards, one gently resting on the other with the thumb-tips touching. Take your time, and get the right balance.
Now, collect your attention, and begin to move it slowly down your body. Notice the sensations. Relax any tensions, particularly in the face, neck and hands. Allow the eyelids to close or half close.
Investigate how you are feeling. Expectant or tense? Then relax your attention a little. With this, the mind will probably calm down, and you may find some thoughts drifting in — reflections, daydreams, memories, or doubts about whether you are doing it right! Instead of following or contending with these thought patterns, bring more attention to the body, which is a useful anchor for a wandering mind.”
Finally, there is an online book called Mindfulness in Plain English, written by Ven. Henepola Gunais is actually a very lengthy e-book so I suggest that most people should go ahead and start with the two links I posted above. After you feel the need to go into more detail then check this ebook out. I have not read all of it so I cannot comment on it.
From the ebook
“ The clothes you wear for meditation should be loose and soft. If they restrict blood flow or put pressure on nerves, the result will be pain and/or that tingling numbness which we normally refer to as our ‘legs going to sleep’. If you are wearing a belt, loosen it. Don’t wear tight pants or pants made of thick material. Long skirts are a good choice for women. Loose pants made of thin or elastic material are fine for anybody. Soft, flowing robes are the traditional garb in Asia and they
come in an enormous variety of styles such as sarongs and kimonos. Take your shoes off and if your stockings are thick and binding, take them off, too.
” Also we feel the expansion and contraction of our lungs, abdomen and low abdomen, as the fresh air is pumped in and out of the lungs. The expansion and contraction of the abdomen, lower abdomen and chest are parts of the universal rhythm. Everything in the universe has the same rhythm of expansion and contraction just like our breath and body. All of them are rising and falling. However, our primary concern is the rising and falling phenomena of the breath and minute parts of our minds
and bodies.”
I hope this post was helpful in compiling some helpful Insight Meditation resources in to one place. Enjoy and I hope this benefits you and you guys feel better 
Popularity: 1% [?]