Harmony Garden Meditation

30/04/2019

https://www.businessinsider.com/neuroscience-50-year-olds-brains-of-25-year-olds-habit-2019-4/?r=AU&IR=T

You can see significant positive changes in just 15 minutes a day.

26/04/2019

WIPE AWAY THE GRIME OF RESENTMENT

Holding on to bitterness of resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. According to an article published in October 2000 in the international medical journal 'Cancer Nursing', "Suppressed anger can be a precursor to the development of Cancer, and also a factor in its progression after diagnosis." Even if resentment doesn't lead to disease, it can damage your relationships with other people and block your own happiness.

This meditation helps you to cleanse resentment's obfuscating effects from your thinking, so you can see other people and your situation with clarity. You can also perform this meditation mentally with eyes closed.

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1) Collect the materials needed to wash a window.

2) Select a dirty window in your home (Or in another place where you feel safe and where you will not be disturbed for at least 10 to 15 minutes).

3) Call to mind a person and or a relationship situation toward which you harbour unresolved anger and resentment.

4) Stand before the window; feel your resentment well up in your chest, stomach, or another part of your body. Look at the window as if it were a portal through which to view a problem that is troubling you. See the dirt and grime on the window as representing your feelings of resentment. Notice how the grime on the glass interfers with your ability to see clearly your own situation, which lies just beyond the window.

5) Begin washing the window. Spray cleanser on the glass and start wiping away the dust and dirt with your cleaning cloth. As you work, imagine you are wiping away the grime that inhibits your ability to accurately see a troubling relationship. Each swipe of your cleaning cloth enables you to view the situation with greater clarity.

6) Keep your mind focused on your task. If unrelated thoughts pop into your consciousness, gently ease them aside for the time being. If any insights or emotions related to the situation emerge, take note of them.

7) Continue washing the window, wiping away the grime of resentment that blocks your understanding, until you feel you can see the situation and the person(s) involved more clearly.

Repeat this practice as often as necessary, for as long as it's comfortable for you.

26/04/2019

GAIN APPRECIATION FOR OTHERS THROUGH CULTIVATING LOVING-KINDNESS

Buddhist tradition teaches an ancient concept known as "loving-kindness", which involves compassion and appreciation for all living creatures. As the Dalai Lama explains, "My religion is kindness". Buddhists say that through cultivating the practice of loving-kindness, known as the Metta Bhavana, we can solve the barriers between us that perpetuate fear and suffering in the world.
The loving-kindness meditation that follows helps you gain a greater appreciation of the people in your life so you can share their joy, rather than feeling jealous, competitive, or alienated. You can use this meditation to engender compassionate feelings and understanding towards the people closest to you.(family, spouse, friends), someone you respect (a wise teacher, for instance), a neutral person or someone you don't know, or an enemy (someone with whom you experience difficulties or challenges).

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1) Sit quietly in a place where you feel comfortable and close your eyes. Take two deep breaths and exhale. Do this two more times. Relax using whichever method you prefer. Focus on your breathing until your mind and body grow quiet.

2) Begin contemplating the kindness and generosity other people have shown to you, beginning with your parents, who gave you your body. Consider the people who provided food and shelter for you, before you were capable of obtaining these yourself. Think of those who educated you, who taught you the skills you needed to function in the world.

3) Now contemplate all the people whose efforts contribute to your daily wellbeing: farmers who grow the food you eat, road crews who maintain the highways on which you drive, oil workers who provide fuel for your car, garbage haulers who collect your trash, doctors and nurses who care for you when you're sick, and so on. Consider how you rely on other people for virtually everything in your life that you usually take for granted: the books you read, the movies you enjoy, the clothing you wear, the music you listen to, the electricity in your home, the running water from your taps, and so on.

4) Even though these people may not intend to perform a kindness for you when they do something, you benefit from their labours nonetheless, and therefore they are worthy of your gratitude. Focus on the benefits you receive, not on their motivations (which you can't possibly know anyway).

5) Even people who test you offer you a service. They enable you to grow stronger and develop essential qualities such as patience, perseverance, and forgiveness that are necessary for your enlightenment. Acknowledge that you can not separate yourself from others or exist without other people. We are all interdependent upon one another.

6) Make a commitment to cherish other people and appreciate innumerable ways in which they contribute to your daily wellbeing, whether or not you are aware of their contributions.

7) Dedicate the positive energy raised during this meditation to maintaining the welfare of all beings. When you feel ready, slowly open your eyes.

Perform this meditation often, especially when you feel irritated, isolated, or fearful where other people are concerned. As you go about your day to day activities, keep in mind that everyone you meet is inherently important, that his or her happiness and well-being are important.

28/02/2019

Stress can adversely impact our relationships with the people in our lives, so it's no surprise that meditation, reduces stress which in turn helps us get along better with loved ones coworkers and friends. A study of employees in both large and small companies, published in the journal, Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, found that meditation improved employees relationships at home as well as on the job.

28/02/2019

https://youtu.be/mDX8QrcDI_o

◢ Using a complex pattern of binaural beat and isochronic tone frequencies dedicated to help you achieve good sleep and have lucid dreams, this 8-hour music ...

28/02/2019

IMPROVE FOCUS, PERSISTENCE, AND FOLLOW-THROUGH

A 2007 study conducted at University of Pennsylvania examined students over an eight week period to determine how meditation might impact their cognitive abilities. At the end of the study, participants took computerized tests. The students who meditated demonstrated greater focus and accuracy and the ability to manage tasks and prioritize goals better than the control group.

Meditation shifts your focus to the here and now, it can help you stick with a task and see it through to completion. This has positive implications for job satisfaction and performance-whether you're doing repetitious, routine tasks or making executive decisions-and for producing outcomes as well. The following meditation uses a Zen technique of emphasizing the process instead of the goal. By keeping your attention on the task at hand, the meditation strengthens your focus, patience, and persistence.

1) Get a piece of rope, cord, string, or lacing at least 61cm in length. Sit in a quiet place where you feel comfortable. Near one end of the rope, tie a loose knot. Focus your attention completely on the process of tying the knot. When you've finished, tie another loose knot about 5 cm further up from the first knot. Then tie another.

2) Work slowly and methodically, keeping your attention on your task.

3) if your mind starts to wander or you catch yourself becoming bored, take a deep breath and exhale. Then bring yourself back to the details of your task at hand.

4) Appreciate your dexterity with which your fingers function. Notice the numerous movements you must make to create each knot.

5) Continue the process until you've tried as many knots as possible.

6) Now, reverse the process and begin to untie the knots one at a time.

7) Work slowly and methodically, keeping your attention on what you are doing.

8 ) When you have untied all the knots repeat the process.

Continue in this manner for as long as you like, but at least two repetitions (tie and untie all the knots twice). The practice will also help ground you in the moment and increase your attention span.

If you prefer, you can substitute another task that emphasizes the process instead of the outcome. For example, collect small stones and pile them one by one into a mound then move them to form another mound. Rake sand on the beach, then let the waves wash away the marks; use a cup to transfer water from one container to another and back again. Maybe create a Zen sand painting. The purpose is to strengthen your ability to focus your attention by learning to stay in the moment, rather than thinking about the future.

28/02/2019

TURN OFF OTHER PEOPLE'S JUDGMENTS

Our success-or lack of it-may be linked to the judgments other people made about us when we were too young to assess those judgments. If people we respect criticize us, put us down, or are unsupportive of us, their influence may limit what we accomplish in life. If they encourage us, however, we're more likely to succeed. According to a study released by the cooperative Institutional Research Program at UCLA in 2007, nearly half of first generation college students said parental encouragement was the main reason they went on to pursue higher education. Another study of black students, published in the Canadian Journal of Education in 2007, found that students who received support and encouragement from their parents achieved academic success, despite adversity in other areas of their life.
The following meditation helps you to detach from the limitations of someone else's judgment.

1) Sit or lie comfortably, with your eyes closed. Relax using whichever method you prefer. After you are somewhat relaxed mentally, count down from seven to one, relaxing more deeply with each count. When you are ready, imagine you are sitting in a comfortable chair, across from a television set.

2) Pick up the remote control and turn on the tv set. On the screen you see a person who discouraged, criticized, or belittled you in the past. Observe this person as he or she says negative things about you. Notice that he/she keeps saying the same things over and over, like a rerun you've seen many times before.

3) Simply observe the person on the Tv screen. Don't let your mind form other images or scenarios that "change " the subject of his or her commentary. You realize this person can do nothing to harm you -he/she is merely a two-dimensional image on the tv. He/she has no power over you. You feel no reaction to the person's incessant monologue. You understand that he/she is expressing his/her opinions, nothing more. He/she could be talking about anyone- you remain completely detached.

4) Use the remote control to turn the volume down until you can only see the person's lips moving soundlessly.

5) When you grow tired of watching this person, pick-up the remote control and press the OFF button.

6) When the screen goes blank, mentally count from one to five.

7) Open your eyes on the count of five.

When you feel you've freed yourself from the negative opinions of one person, do they same meditation with someone else who also disparaged you.

03/12/2018

CHOOSE POSITIVE OUTCOMES FOR THE FUTURE

The future may be a crapshoot, but you can always load the dice. Although you never know what lies ahead, you can exercise the power of choice to ensure a more favourable outcome. Nothing is etched in stone until you chisel it there. No medical diagnosis is a death sentence until you sign it. And no outcome is certain until you choose it.
The Ohio Longtudinal Study of Aging and Retirement, which involved 1157 people, who were fifty plus years, over a twenty year period, found that individuals with positive attitudes lived nearly eight years longer on average than their pessimistic counterparts. A 2008-2009 University of Missouri study of 327 jobs seekers determined that people who maintained optimistic attitudes while searching for employment were more likely to receive job offers than those with less positive attitudes.

When you are faced with a future event that is uncertain and perhaps frightening (a medical procedure, an exam, an important meeting or interview, a legal decision), the following meditation increases your chance of a favourable outcome by helping you release anxiety and let go of your attachment to a specific result.

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1). Before doing the meditation, think for a moment of the worst possible outcome this event could have. Don't worry you aren't increasing that possibility by considering it. You will give your fear more power by repressing or ignoring it. Now, think of the best possible outcome. When you are ready proceed with the meditation.

2). Sit ot lie comfortably, with eyes closed. Take a deep breath and exhale. Do this two more times. Relax using whichever method you prefer. After you are relaxed, mentally count down from seven to one, relaxing more deeply with each count.

3). On the count of one, find yourself in your safe place. Feel the beauty, love, blessed solitude, or enchantment of this place.

4). Invite your higher self to join you. Sit together. Talk of this future event. Feel the emotions - worry? Anxiety? Doubt? - that came up as you talk about it. When you are finished, your higher self draws a mist or fog into your safe space. It becomes so thick you can't see anything around you. Your higher self gently takes you by the hand and guides you through the mist/fog to the other side. On the other side you find yourself standing in a candlelit room before two doors. Behind one door isthewirstpossuble outcome; behind the other door is the best. Your higher self points to the door that leads to the worst possible outcome. Enter it.

5). Once inside, watch the worst possible outcome play out. If the future event is an interview, observe yourself being rejected. If the event is a medical test, observe the doctor informing you of what you fear the most. If it is an important meeting, see it becoming a disaster, notice yourself in the event, but don't be that person that person. Just observe it from the third person perspective. It is important to feel what you would feel. Don't hold back. Notice how much energy you are expending to this possible outcome. Take a moment to draw that energy back into yourself. Feel it's power and strength. Feel how energised you are. When you are restored of energy exit the scene and find yourself standing once again at that door. With your mind, dissolve the door and everything behind it. Watch it fade until its total gone.

6). Now enter the door that leads to the best possible outcome. Once inside, experience the best possible outcome. Experience yourself getting the job. Experience the doctor informing you of your perfect health. Experience the important meeting as a remarkable success. Feel what you would feel - joy, relief, excitement, celebration. Don't hold back. Feel the energy and vitality you retrieved earlier. Allow this positive energy to flow into this space, filling it with joy and excitement.

7). When you are finished, exit the scene and find yourself standing once again at the door. With your mind, illuminate the door and the best possible outcome. Watch it become luminescent and vibrant.

8). Say to yourself, "This or better." Thank your high self, then close your mental eyes and mentally count from one to five. On the count of five, open your physical eyes and return.

Do this meditation whenever you feel anxious or doubtful about a future situation or event.

30/08/2018

TRANSFORM INADEQUACY INTO EXCELLENCE

Feelings of inadequacy often stand in the way of our success. Discouraging words, as researchers at North Carolina State University discovered, can also adversely effect our ability to perform. In a study of 153 people aged sixty to eighty-two, published in Experimental Aging Research in 2009, subjects performed more poorly of memory tests when printed with words such as confused, feeble, and senile then they did with words such as accomplished, dignified, and distinguished. Lead researcher Dr. Thomas Hess told BBC News, "It may be that if people can suppress these negative thoughts then they will do much better, and that a positive attitude can promote effective functioning."

The following meditation uses words to let you replace negative thinking patterns with positive ones, in order to improve your performance in any area of your life.

1.). Sit or lie comfortably, with your eyes closed. Take a deep breath and exhale. Do this two more times. Relax using whichever method you prefer.

2.). Bring to mind a word that stirs up a feeling of inadequacy for you, such as cowardice. Now think of a word that expresses the opposite, such as courage.

3.). As you inhale breathe courage into yourself. With every in breath you are becoming courageous. Allow the word courage to resonate in your mind as it fills your mind and body. As you exhale, think the word cowardice and let cowardice go from yourself. Feel the unwanted conditioning dismiss as you release it with your out breath.

4.). Think of another word that brings up inadequacy for you, such as clumsiness. Now use grace as the opposite of clumsiness. As you inhale breathe grace into your body and mind. Exhaling and letting go of clumsiness. With every in breath you feel more gracefull and every out breath you eliminate clumsiness from your being.

5.) Feel the unwanted conditioning releasing as you let it go with your out breath.

6.). Continue in this manner, choosing up to 10 words that represent negative qualities you wish to transform into positive ones. Inhale the positive quality and exhale the negative one.

7.). When you have finished working through your list. Sit still and focus on your breathing. Feeling the effects of these positives words resonating in and through your body. When you are ready slowly open your eyes.

*. Prepare your negative and positive words before meditation begins.

14/06/2018

RELEASE PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

Does your heart beat faster, your hands sweat, your mouth go dry, or your stomach tie itself in knots when you are in the spotlight? If so, you are not alone. Approximately 75 percent of us experience some type of performance anxiety. Even accomplished professionals experience stage fright. An eight week study of musicians, published in 'Psychology of Music in 2008', found that Meditation improved participants performance anxiety as well as their performance quality.

Whether you have stage fright, interview anxiety, first date jitters, or any type of performance anxiety, the following meditation will help you feel grounded, protected, and confident.

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1) Sit quietly in a place where you feel comfortable and close your eyes.

2) Imagine a shaft of light, like a laser beam, descending from above you. Sense it entering the crown of your head and travelling down through the centre of your body.

3) Feel the light move through each chakra and then exit your tailbone region (this experience may give you quite a rush). Imagine the shaft of light continuing its descent, all the way down to the very centre of the Earth. See or sense the beam grounding you as it anchors you to the Earth.

4) Now, imagine a sphere of luminescent light forming around you, like a cocoon. This sphere shields you and provides a sense of security.

5) From your place within the sphere, ask your Higher Self to remove the anxiety you are experiencing.

6) Feel the sphere drawing the anxiety and tension out of you and away from you.

7) Remain in the meditation for as long as you like. When you feel ready, open your eyes.

Freed of the anxiety and tension, you can now enjoy your performance, the date, the interview. Periodically notice that the shaft of light is still anchoring you and the luminescent sphere is still shielding you.

03/06/2018

PURSUE YOUR GOALS ONE STEP AT A TIME

An eight-week study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania in 2007 determined that meditation improved participants' ability to prioritise and manage their tasks and goals. As Richard J. Davidson, PhD, a researcher and neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin who has been studying meditation's effects for two decades, explains, "Meditation can help you train your mind in the same way exercise can train your body."

This waking meditation draws upon a saying "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" (attributed both to Taoist sage Lao Tsu and to Confucius). Use it to help you reach your goals.

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1) Take a walk to a destination you have predetermined. Ideally, your destination should be one you are confident reaching, but the walk should offer a few challenges (hills, for instance).

2) Begin walking at a comfortable pace. Hold your goal or objective in your mind as you walk. Pay attention to each step you take. Feel the path beneath your feet. Sense the sun on your shoulders, the breeze on your face. Notice your body's motions, how your muscles work together to take you to where you want to go. With each step, see or sense yourself moving closer to your goal.

3) As you approach hills or other places along your walk that challenges you, equate them with challenges you face in pursuing your goal. You know you can master these challenges, just as you know, without a doubt, you can walk to the top of the hills. Each time you crest a hill (or other challenge), feel a growing sense of strength and confidence.

4) Release any uncertainty or anxiety about achieving your goal. Just as you are confident about reaching your destination on this walk, know that you will reach your life goal you set for yourself.

5) Don't rush or push yourself too hard. As you continue steadily putting one foot in front of the other, know that you can reach your goal in life by taking it one step at a time. Stay present as you walk. Even though you are headed toward a specific destination, enjoy the sights, sounds, smells, and other experiences along the way.

6) Continue walking until you reach your destination. When you arrive at your journey's end, acknowledge your success in achieving this aim. Feel a sense of accomplishment and pleasure at having reached your destination.

7) Connect your present feeling of accomplishment with what it will feel like when you achieve your life goal you set for yourself. Now step into that feeling fully and live as if you have already achieved this goal and the action to attain it will follow.

Repeat this waking meditation whenever you wish to reinforce your determination or confidence.

03/06/2018