Introduction
Sitting quietly, doing nothing, stilling the mind and calming the body, has never been the western way and seems to run counter to coaching and goal-oriented achievements in business and sport. For centuries, meditation has been regarded by Europeans as an esoteric, oriental practice of little practical value. However many working in a business and a competitive environment have now turned to this ancient technique for the many benefits it brings to its users particularly in the area of:
- Creativity in business & life
- Physical & Mental Rejuvenation
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What is Meditation?
It is an intentional quietening of the conscious mind using various techniques so as to acquire the considerable benefits available for mind and body. Quietening one’s thoughts is a skill that needs to be learned and can be challenging for many, however with some persistence, it can be achieved.
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness or mindful-awareness, is a state of present moment attention where you can clearly perceive your thoughts, physical sensations, emotions and events at the moment they occur without reacting in an automatic or habitual way to them. This means you can make choices as to how you respond to things, people and events in a conscious and intentional way, even when experiencing difficult circumstances. It is a giant-leap in one’s level of increased awareness. Remember, that which you are aware of you can control. That which you are not aware of controls you!
Benefits of Meditation
Medical science has proven what a growing number of people in the West have discovered for themselves: that the deep mental relaxation achieved by true meditation has measurable beneficial effects on all levels of our being, with no damaging side effects.
Because of the introduction of meditation into the west in the mid-60’s, much research has been doneon its benefits and verifiable results confirm the following:
- Aids Physical and Mental Rejuvenation
- Reduces Stress & Improves Quality of Sleep
- Creates Greater Awareness & Increases Creativity
- Lowers High Blood Pressure & Cholesterol (UC Berkeley)
UC Berkeley in California has also done much research over a large number of years on two control groups, with one meditating and one not. The following are some of those results;
- The group meditating showed that there were some 83% less visits to hospital for heart illnesses.
- There were 53% less cancers.
- They also found that no other life-changing discipline was as effective in reducing blood pressure and cholesterol as did meditation.
- When meditating on a regular basis over a three-year period, one’s method of thinking changes. Even if one stops meditating after this period, the change remains in place.
- The group meditating also showed they were biologically some twelve-years younger than the other non meditation group.
Some of the benefits of meditation will be immediate, from the first session: but the deeper levels are reached gradually, as the practice progresses. The letting-go is the key to penetration to those deeper levels. For the most part, we have been taught to strive for what we want, so that it becomes habitual to struggle towards an end. In meditation, it is necessary to drop any effort that carries the quality of struggle.
Attuning the Conscious Mind to Higher Levels of Awareness
As beneficial as the above-mentioned are to the conscious-mind and the physical-body, they are still merely by-products of true meditation. The real objective is to increasingly attune our conscious-mind to our highest level of consciousness. We can learn to set our normal, everyday selves aside and allow this to flow to our conscious awareness and guide our every-day decision making process. Some call this in-tuition and correctly so as it is “tuition” coming from within and not some external source such as a book or another person.
When the mind is quiet (as in meditation) is when we allow this higher-consciousness to flow to us, it increases our capacity to be calm, focused and more aware, an awakening to our true state. Clarity of thinking increases along with an ability to see life-issues from a different perspective and which allows greater choices. A peaceful attitude reflects more accurateley one's natural state. It is in this natural sate you will experience more clarity.
Haing a mind that is quiet is much more effective in focusing on whatever it is you are seeking to achieve in your life. if you have decided on a certain life-path or to achieve a particular life experience, then a mind that is not allowing a thousand other jumbled and sometimes conflicting thoughts fly through it will be essential to your success. Unfortunately many do not have a conscious perception of these jumbled thouhts and this lack of awareness prevents them from doing anything about it.
They also wonder why they don't succeed with many of their life-goals because of a failure to link the power of thoughts to creating one's reality. However, you do have the power to determine what will be in your mind and the first-step is of course "awareness".
In the true meditative-state, there develops a conscious awareness of the subtle energy that exists within us all and a spontaneous connection with the inner mechanism by which it is governed. This integration cannot be forced. It happens as a natural awakening; in just the same way the body grows and maintains itself without any conscious effort on our part. With the practice of meditation techniques, one becomes increasingly aware of one's thoughts, feelings and actions. This then allows for conscious and intentional choices.
The most creative people in business and art have developed this skill, an ability to draw from higher levels of awareness.
Meditation Techniques
There are many techniques to engage in the practice of meditation and several will be discussed and practised on our one-day course.
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