Not Practicing Meditation? Here's What You're Missing Out On!

By Dr. Christopher Lloyd Clarke

Whenever someone asks me, "What are the main reasons to meditate?" or "Why should I bother with meditation?" I love to surprise them with the simple reply, "Because it makes you feel fantastic!"

Meditation has a reputation for being a bit mysterious, a bit difficult, and perhaps even a bit boring. Most people never stop to consider that it might actually be enjoyable...even pleasurable! In fact, I can think of few other activities that are as rewarding, as healthy and as life-enhancing all at once.

People who meditate know exactly what I'm talking about. Once you start meditating, it's hard to imagine ever living without it. It's hard to imagine what it would be like to no longer have "serenity on tap".

If you do not currently meditate, then you probably don't even know what you're missing out on. Well here are just a few of the benefits that you'll begin to enjoy just as soon as you start...

Goodbye Stress
Meditation reduces stress better than anything else I know of. Not only does it give you much needed "down time" to rest physically and mentally, it also has a very direct effect on your entire nervous system by reducing your body's production of stress related chemicals like cortisol. On the flipside, it increases your production of natural mood enhancing chemicals like serotonin. That's why some people refer to meditation as a "natural high".

Improved Health
Meditation will improve your health by strengthening your immune system, reducing your blood pressure and lowering cholesterol levels.

People with debilitating or life threatening medical conditions like cancer will sometimes turn to meditation as a means to enhance the process of healing and recovery. While meditation should never be used as a substitute for proper medical care, in some cases it can lead to healing breakthroughs, even when traditional medical treatments have been unsuccessful.

Of course, you do not have to be terminally ill to benefit from the healing effects of meditation! Even if you have just come down with a case of the flu, meditation will enhance the function of your immune system and help to you to rest more deeply, leading to a speedier recovery. Meditation also happens to be a wonderful way to alleviate headaches and to prevent them from recurring.

Improved Sleep
Sleep is a totally natural human function, and it's something we need every day. But if you have a busy mind or if you are stressed then you may find that your sleep is not as restorative as it should be. Meditation dramatically improves the quality of your sleep, and it is one of the most powerful natural treatments for insomnia. A great reason to meditate.

Slowed Aging
Studies into the effects of meditation have shown that the regular practice of meditation can slow the aging process. In fact, the biological age of long term meditators is generally less than those of people who have never meditated. It is believed that the physiological cause of this is due to the fact that meditation helps to reduce the body's production of free radicals - organic molecules that are responsible for aging, tissue damage, and possibly some diseases.

Emotional Stability and Positive Thinking
Meditation is a very powerful natural prescription for people who suffer from anxiety and/or depression, and it is also taught to people who have difficulty controlling their anger. However, you do not need to have a serious psychological condition for meditation to be of benefit to you! Every-day people who meditate generally enjoy a lot more...

Happiness!
People who meditate are less stressed, healthier, they sleep better, and they have a more positive outlook on life. Simply put, meditation makes you a happier person!

Success and Quality of Life
Think about this for just a moment...

Everything you achieve in life is the result of your actions.

The actions you choose to take are the result of your decisions.

The decisions you make are the result of your thinking processes.

Your thinking processes are completely dependent on the quality of your mind.

If you really dwell on this you will begin to see how the entire course of your life is affected by the quality of the thoughts that circulate in your mind.

Sometimes the difference between a great success and a monumental disaster in life is a seemingly insignificant little moment in which you give birth to a thought, and make a decision. It happens in that moment when you decide to turn left instead of right...in that moment where you choose between a peaceful response to a situation, or an angry one...in that moment when you notice the attractive smile of the person across the room, or the moment when you miss that smile, that chance meeting, that new love. All of life if filled with these "opportunities to choose". Some are more significant than others, but all of them add up to the path that you will one day call "my life story".

Meditation will help you to make wiser, more peaceful choices on a consistent basis. This inevitably leads to a life that contains more positive opportunities and fewer problems. Of all the reasons to meditate, this one is perhaps the least obvious, but it is also one of the most significant.

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too!
Unfortunately, even though meditation has so many wonderful benefits to offer, many people still view it as a mundane task, or as "something I should do, but don't have the patience, time or energy to get around to."

To many people, it's kind of like dieting. Heck, we could probably all benefit from eating a little better and from doing a little more exercise, but who has the time these days? Who wants to put in all that effort? Besides, I LOVE chocolate cake WAY too much!

But the fact is, meditation requires almost no effort, it doesn't take a lot of time, it doesn't involve restriction or self-denial, and it certainly doesn't involve sweat!

Meditation is relaxing, effortless, pleasurable, healthy, life-enhancing, and it makes you feel great!

So what's your excuse?
Give meditation a try and soon enough you'll be wondering, "How on Earth did I ever live without this?"

Meditation really is one of the most powerful ways to experience inner peace and to improve your quality of life. For more information about meditation and to learn how to meditate for free, please visit The Guided Meditation Site.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Christopher Lloyd Clarke is the founder of The Guided Meditation Site. He holds a batchelors degree in Biological Science and a doctoral degree in Metaphysical Science. Christopher has 15 years of experience with meditation. He is also an ambient music composer, and he often works with other meditation teachers to help them create guided meditations.

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Please visit my Spiritual Transformation Store for books, music, and DVD's: MY STORE
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Thank for your time and have a wonderful day!! --Larry

“The Earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.” --Baha’u’llah

Meditation

By Melissa Marcy

Even before you fully master the art of meditation, you begin to open yourself up to the insights and guidance your soul has to offer. If you truly want to find happiness, you need to stop looking outside of yourself and sit down, slow down and learn to look within. The answers are not outside of you, but within you. Once you can do that, you open yourself to a world of beauty, joy and peace.

There are many ways to meditate and there is no wrong way or right way, just do whatever works best for you at any given time. There are some days when I prefer to just sit and be silent, and there are others when I like to listen to meditation CDs or music. Find or make a place in or around your home where you can go to be quiet - a place that connects with you, makes you feel at peace and allows for you to be undistracted.

When you are meditating the goal is to keep your mind still, but that is next to impossible for most people to achieve at first. Meditation tends to bring to the surface some of the issues that people try to bury or distract themselves from. While it can almost be painful to have to face some of these issues, in order to heal and move forward you will need to clear out any negativity that is stuck within you. As you notice certain things rise to the surface, either write them down so you can work on clearing them later, or just take a big deep breath in and release the emotions as you exhale. Being able to achieve total silence and peace during meditation comes with practice. As you begin to clear out all of your past pains, the meditations will gradually become more and more peaceful and quiet. Silence. It is all about the silence. In the silence you can hear your soul speak.

Meditation Exercise:

This is a very simple, but extremely effective meditation for clearing your mind and going within. Sit or lie in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Focus your attention on your breath. Notice it as you breathe in and breathe out. If any thoughts sneak into your mind, just take a deep breath in and exhale the thought out through your mouth to release it. Then bring your attention back to your breathing and continue the meditation for as long as you like.

That is all there is to it!

From the book, The Manifestation Guidebook By Melissa Marcy. Virtuality, Inc. (2009).

Disclaimer: this article is intended for inspirational purposes only and the techniques and ideas described herein are not to be used as a substitute for professional medical or psychological treatment or without prior consultation with, approval of, and under the supervision of your physician or therapist. Application of the information, techniques and ideas in this article is at the sole risk and discretion of the reader.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Melissa Marie Marcy is an author, artist and Reiki practitioner. She is the author of The Manifestation Guidebook and How To Be In Tune With The Infinite, and has produced a series of Reiki charged nature meditation videos and mp3's. For more information or to schedule a Reiki session, please visit her website at http://www.virtualitystudio.com.

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I feel that the disclaimer included at the end of the above article was totally unnecessary because all the recent scientific evidence shows that meditation benefits the person as a whole. There are no dangers in using meditation as an aid to gaining better physical or mental health. How could it be possible to harm yourself by relaxing your mind and body? Meditation has been of the greatest value to mankind since the dawn of our present civilization.

Please visit my Spiritual Transformation Store for books, music, and DVD's: MY STORE
(for music click on DVD's.)

Thank for your time and have a wonderful day!! --Larry

“The Earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.” --Baha’u’llah

An Aquarium for Wealth and Abundance

By Rebeca Rambal

Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese practice of achieving harmony with the specific placement of certain objects in your home or office, which affects the flow of energy in your surroundings, the Chi (Qi), and this can be positive or negative. Obtaining luck, health and prosperity is usually the main focus of using feng shui. My own theory is that feng shui creates such harmony in your surroundings, that everything that you look at gives you a feeling of well being. If you look at a broken TV screen or that radio that's been sitting there for the last 2 years, you will not feel good, right? Feng Shui cures are used whenever some area of our lives is not going as well as it should, like Romance, Family, Health, Wealth, etc.

Now, what does this have to do with your fish tank? Well, it's always good to add an aquarium to obtain wealth and abundance. Having a fish tank can help increase positive Chi in your life. When you are thinking of using a feng shui fish tank, you should also think about putting 8 goldfish (since gold symbolizes wealth and luck) and 1 black fish (to supposedly absorb any bad luck). However, if you can't place such a big tank in your house, just keep an odd number of goldfish. I believe that just having a nice, clean fish tank with a good balance of all the elements is enough.

Aquariums are auspicious because they present a harmonious combination of wealth attracting feng shui factors, and a perfect balance of all 5 feng shui elements:

Water element (the water in the aquarium) Wood Element (the plants in the aquarium) Metal element (use some white and gray rocks in the fish tank, or a round aquarium) Earth element (the rocks and gravel at the bottom of the fish tank) Fire element (gold /yellow, orange and red colors of the fish, as well as the aquarium light)

The best area to place your feng shui aquarium is in the Wealth and Abundance area of you Bagua map; the Career area is also a good place to position your aquarium and so is the Health and Family area.

If one of these areas turns out to be in your bedroom, the kitchen, or another unsuitable area, choose the room where you want to put your tank and place it in the Wealth and Abundance area of that room. However, do not place an aquarium in the bedroom or the kitchen. These are the two places where a fish tank can stimulate the Chi too much, making you eat in excess and sleep restlessly (plus the noise of the filter would not let you sleep). The entrance to your home is a nice place to put it if it represents the Career area.

In order to get a good flow of Chi, your tank has to be clean and well taken care off, with happy and healthy fish. A dirty tank and sick fish can emit bad chi and it will do more harm than good. You can use real plants with almost all kinds of fish; just keep them healthy and beautiful. I do not recommend them with Goldfish because they eat them, so you can use plastic plants. It's the appearance that counts. They have to be clean and pretty.

Remember what I told you about looking at things that make you feel good? Using a Feng Shui Fish tank will always give you a good feeling.

Give it a try. Sometimes just believing that things will change, changes them. But with a feng shui fish tank, I can tell you from my own experience, you will be surprised and shocked by the changes you will feel almost immediately.

If you want to learn more about Feng Shui and find more ways to improve the energy in your life, please visit me at http://www.lifewithfengshui.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebeca started practicing Feng Shui over 12 years ago and it has changed her life in many ways. She likes to share what she's learned with anybody that is looking for a change in their life.

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Please visit my Spiritual Transformation Store for books, music, and DVD's: MY STORE
(for music click on DVD's.)

Thank for your time and have a wonderful day!! --Larry

“The Earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.” --Baha’u’llah