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Holosync Meditation - Does It Really Work?

Chances are, if you are on a quest for self-improvement, you've already heard of the Holosync Meditation CD's.

What It Is:

Developed by Bill Harris in the late 1980s, the Holosync Solution is an audio program designed to bring your brain waves to the alpha (and lower)levels automatically just by listening to the cds. According to Bill: "Holosync is a way to create deep meditation easily, precisely and consistently."

"What is always speaking silently is the body"

Beyond The Hype:

I thought it was about time someone talked about what it's REALLY like to use the Holosync cds. I've been using the program for 2 years fairly consistently. That means sitting down almost every day, putting on my headphones and doing nothing else for an hour. It's a huge time commitment and there were times I wondered if it was worth it.

In The Beginning:

Unlike the other testimonials you may have read, I did not experience profound changes after listening to the first cd. In fact, for the most part, I fell asleep! But that's okay, because the more I listened, the less sleeping I did. Truth be told, I still doze off when I'm starting a new level. Each new level takes you into deeper meditative states and requires an adjustment.

As Time Goes By:

Here I am, two years later, still making the time and financial commitment to stick with it. Why? Because I'm amazed at the person I've become. Over the course of the two years:

I'm calmer
I rarely get angry.
I have a more positive attitude.
I've become more spiritual.
I'm happier - negative thoughts creep in, but they don't stay.

Would I have experienced this growth without Holosync? Maybe, but I believe it would have taken much longer.

Have I reached the "nirvana" state while meditating? A couple of times I have experienced that deep all-encompassing sense of peace, but for the most part, my thoughts tend to drift. I try to start each session with an affirmation or goal statement, but often I'll end up working out a problem or thinking about other things. It seems to work anyway and I always feel refreshed and calm at the end of a session.

What About Using Other Programs?

Absolutely! I've used and still incorporate other programs into my Holosync meditation. I mentioned affirmations, but other types of releasing programs work well, even different meditation techniques can work with Holosync.

Self improvement should be a never-ending quest. You can usually gain some new insights by listening to a different point of view.

If you are interested in learning more about Holosync meditation, click on the link at the end of this article. You'll be directed to a products review site.

GiGi runs a self help products review site that includes books, audios, movies and software. Many free resources! The Holosync Solution

Mindlessness is a mindset that’s narrow, inflexible, repetitive and automatic. It blocks development. But there’s an antidote to all this – it’s called “Mindfulness.”

Body Talk

How many times have you zoned out in front of the television, only to discover an empty bag/bottle/carton of _______ (substitute your current no-no food) sitting in front of you and you have NO MEMORY of having consumed it, let alone enjoying it?

Come on, we’ve all done it.

It’s OK – well, actually, it’s not OK, but we’ll talk about that in a minute.

Mindless eating is a favorite recreational past time. It fills time and space and those emotional holes that sometimes cry out for attention.

What’s “Mindfulness”?

“Mindfulness,” is a Buddhist term meaning being conscious and aware of everything we think and do ~ from the food we consume to the people we associate with. It is a simple yet profound approach to relating to your food and life and aging.

What are the benefits of Mindful eating?

1. No more Cheetos bags stuffed into the couch
2. Less anxiety around food
3. Reduced amount of overeating
4. Smaller food bills
5. Increased sense of calm
6. A break from negative people and situations
7. Thinking creatively about everyday life

Here are Ten Easy Steps to Mindful Eating:

STEP 1: Make a conscious choice to eat. Eat only when you’re hungry. Sometimes fatigue or dehydration can be mistaken for hunger. Eat to fill your stomach, not an emotional hole. If you’re lonely, call a friend, or put on an old movie and have a good cry or laugh.

STEP 2: Ask your body what it’s hungry for. Be willing to experiment: eat what your body tells you it wants to eat and do it wholeheartedly.

STEP 3: Express gratitude before eating. This can be in whatever form feels most comfortable to you. For some it would be saying grace, for others a brief meditation. Breathing and relaxing the body will allow the food to enter you in a more loving way.

STEP 4: Eat with awareness. Be conscious when you eat and pay attention to all your senses. Chew food completely before swallowing. Pause before taking the next bite.

STEP 5: Listen for feedback. See how what you ate and how much you ate makes your body feel and make note of it. Remember, it takes 20 minutes before your stomach registers fullness.

STEP 6: Stop when you’re satisfied ~ not full, but satisfied. Try to learn the difference.

STEP 7: Release the meal. After the meal, forget about food or anything that has to do with eating for awhile and move on to the next activity. Avoid labeling food as “good” or “bad” depending on your weight or food choices on any given day. By letting go of such judgments, you de-escalate the importance of any one food experience.

STEP 8: Breathe. Be aware of your breath throughout your meal. Take deep breaths, filling your lungs all the way down to your abdomen. Let oxygen nourish you as well as the food.

STEP 9: Drink water. Water is the universal symbol of spirit. Let it flow through you and cleanse your body of toxins by aiding digestion. Some say that it’s better to drink before and after, but not during the meal. See what feels best to you.

STEP 10: Expand your mindfulness by practicing kindness and generosity to others and yourself. Practice mindful consumption by being aware of what magazines, books, plays, TV, and movies you consume, as well as the people you choose to have around you.

Our bodies have an intelligence that’s far superior to our brains. Sometimes the best thing to do is to stop thinking and just listen to our bodies.

Have a happy, healthy and very mindful day!!

Carol Moss, LCSW, Life Coach http://www.CarolMoss.com Sign up now for FREE e-course: "21 Days to Re-Ignite Your Inner Sparkle."

Yoga Meditation For Pain Relief

The purpose of this article is to provide information on methods and techniques on how to cope with pain, or in some instances, possibly even overcoming pain with the use of techniques derived from Yoga meditation.

Chronic pain sufferers spend millions of dollars to find ways of relieving their pain. This article hopes to share a process that is natural, and free.

For many people who suffer from chronic pain, spending quiet time in meditation has proven to be the first step in learning how to cope with their pain.

Meditation: The Most Popular Alternative Pain Relief Therapy

According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, mind-body medicine is the most popular alternative approach for people in pain. And at the heart of mind-body medicine lies the age-old practice of meditation; a quiet, simple technique that belies an extraordinary power that has scientifically been proven to boost disease resistance and maintain overall health.

Over the years, thousands of individuals have sought help at stress reduction clinics that teach meditation techniques to people with pain. Their symptoms vary -from headaches, arthritis, and back pain to anxiety, eczema, and many other conditions- but their stories are remarkably similar: For those seeking help in coping with their problems, meditation works.

How Pain Relief Is Attained Thru Meditation (Why Meditation Decreases Pain)

The human body can produce its own natural chemical self-stimulants called endorphins. Among other things, this group of molecules alleviates stress, reduces pain, and gives a feeling of pleasure.

During meditation, when the brain is in a highly synchronous and coherent state (as measured by EEG brainwave biofeedback machines), it produces large quantities of these pleasure-causing neuro-chemicals, i.e., endorphins, making the whole experience pleasurable, giving an overall feeling of well-being. Many report a feeling of peace, happiness, connectedness, and a sense of wholeness when meditating.

Scientists have found that when the brain is stimulated by a pleasurable experience, it is capable of overwhelming or inhibiting other stimuli. Thus, pleasure can overcome depression or pain.

Yoga Meditation Methods For Coping With Or Overcoming Pain

There are many meditation methods and techniques but they can generally be divided into several categories listed below. You may experiment with each one, and maybe even combine them to suit your needs. It all depends on what works best for you. Meditation is a very flexible tool.

Category 1: Breathing

One of the first steps in meditation is being aware of your breath. This method involves the use of specific breathing patterns to bring about relaxation. Essentially, as you slow your breathing rate, the body relaxes, and the mind calms down, as well. Based on my own personal experience, the more relaxed you are, the less pain you will feel.

Category 2: Transformational Life View

Meditation does not only involve breathing awareness. Many meditation traditions ask you to ponder on life-changing concepts such as what reality is and who you really are. Understanding your True Self, and experiencing your True Self directly thru meditation causes practitioners to undergo a profound transformation of view. This transformation of view leads them to a different way of looking at themselves, namely from a perspective of wholeness. With this change of perspective, a new and profound coming to terms with their problems and their suffering begins to take place. From feeling out of control, helpless, and beyond help, they develop a sense of inner peace and acceptance, and even a sense of the possible, a feeling of calm confidence, and control. This attitudinal and emotional transformation plays a major role towards better health and often causes a reduction in physical symptoms and improvement in a person's physical condition.

This transformational life view brings about an ability to act with greater balance and inner security in the world, especially when encountering stress, pain, or illness. This category includes the popular mindfulness meditation which is used extensively by stress reduction clinics that have helped thousands of chronic pain sufferers and people with illnesses.

Category 3: Visualization/ Imagery

Visualization or imagery is a commonly used technique to relieve anxiety and pain. It involves imagining a pleasant and relaxing, or even exciting, place or activity that has brought you happiness in the past or is appealing to you. Mentally exploring this place or activity in great detail can help induce a sense of calm.

Category 4: Prana/ Chi / Life Force

It is said that a life force flows through our bodies, invariably known as prana or chi, and that this energy flows through the body within a psychic nervous system composed of subtle channels. There is an intimate relationship between our mind and this subtle nervous system and we can control or direct this energy for improved well-being, such as for pain relief.

You can also visualize blue, white, or pink healing light having a positive effect on the painful area.

Conclusion

These Yoga meditation techniques have been used for centuries for spiritual purposes. However, they can also be used as natural pain relief methods. By applying the meditation techniques specifically for pain control, practitioners are able to have a positive effect on such severe kinds of pain.

I hope these methods help those of you with chronic pain so that you can use meditation to lead better lives.

Raj K. Norbu is founder of a site that shows you how to experience your True Self thru Yoga meditation, enabling you to increase pain threshold and perform amazing feats. Ebooks available include The Yogic Method For Developing Supernormal Powers and The Ultimate Yoga Meditation Course. To know more, visit: http://www.PainRelief-Meditation-Yoga.com

Can Cognitive Fitness Be a Workout for Your Brain?

There is growing interest to exercise your brain using something called "cognitive fitness."

It’s a known fact that exercise and meditation reduce anxiety, ease depression, and give you a general feeling of wellness. Can ideas about the brain be discovered from these practices to help create an emotional fitness tools?

Can biofeedback games like Wild Divine help beginner brains look more like enlightened brains without a lifetime of dedication?

Numerous articles published by the Mayo Clinic Foundation for Education and Research, the New England Journal of Medicine and other resources, cite the importance of regular “brain work-outs” in helping individuals maintain a vital and healthy lifestyle. Solving crossword puzzles, playing card and board games, and participating in other mentally challenging tasks, are specifically mentioned as activities that can delay the onset of age-related cognitive problems. A great site for this is Acuity Games.

Engaging in mental exercises for the purpose of increasing cognitive fitness is gaining popularity for Baby Boomers and their parents. The research is not definitive regarding the prevention of brain deterioration by rigorous mental exercise, but psychologists, neurologists, and other educators are designing cutting-edge programs for the public’s desire to stay mentally sharp.

Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist in Manhattan, has offered programs since 1999 for patients who have been diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. “I have been increasingly impressed by a growing body of relevant research literature, both animal studies on the positive effects of species-appropriate stimulation on the brain and more recently the human literature that demonstrates positive effects of structured cognitive stimulation on mental functions in aging,” said Goldberg, who reviews this work in his new book, The Wisdom Paradox.

A private grant underwrites the foundation of Goldberg’s “mental gym” that offers computer-based cognitive exercises that the client can practice in his center two or more times a week under the direction of a private cognitive fitness trainer. Following a neuropsychological evaluation, the client follows an individualized protocol of brain workout exercises that focuses on verbal and visual memory, divided attention, language, or spatial and verbal problem-solving. In addition Goldberg and his staff hold discussions about cognitive changes to allay anxiety triggered by mental slippage and to increase a sense of empowerment.

“Our program is geared toward patients with mild cognitive impairment because this is where evidence is the strongest, the need is most obvious, and the likelihood of success is the greatest.” He said that in principle, the programs will work for healthy older adults, but “my impetus has been to help those truly in need, rather than to offer the program as an amenity.”

In Hartford, Conn., the non-profit New England Cognitive Center (NECC) offers programs for healthy older adults as well as those with early onset dementia. “People are becoming aware that fitness does not stop at the shoulders and neck,” said the Director of the NECC, Patti Said, M.A., health educator. Their most requested program is a series of a four-, six-, or eight-session “memory tune-up” workshops consisting of psychoeducation and memory strategies provided in senior centers and other community agencies. According to Said, because some older adults feel uncomfortable around computers the NECC offers a series of 24 paper-and-pencil memory exercise sessions in addition to individualized computer based cognitive training.

Ken Savage is a Webmaster employee who writes about what is going on in the Tech industry usually days before it breaks to the rest of the world. He can be found at http://www.kensavage.com

Meditating - Staying Awake

Why is staying awake while meditating important? Falling asleep is certainly relaxing, and can be good for you, but to get the full range of benefits from your meditation you need to have your brainwaves in the alpha and theta ranges. When you are asleep, your brainwaves range from theta to delta. Meditation should be a state of relaxed alertness (primarily alpha brainwaves). Try the following tips to stay awake.

1. Don't lay down. Laying down may be the comfortable way to meditate, but it is also the surest way to have trouble staying awake. Find a comfortable posture for meditating, but not TOO comfortable.

2. Don't meditate where you sleep. A comfy chair may be a great place to meditate - unless its the one you fall asleep in while watching TV. Anyplace where you regularly sleep is likely to trigger a sleep response in your body.

3. Create slight discomfort. If you are too comfortable to stay awake, try turning the thermostat down, sitting in a harder chair, or otherwise creating a minor irritation that will be enough to keep you awake, but not distract you too much.

4. Try meditating in a new place. Using a chair set in the back yard, or doing your meditation in the car at a nice park can be a good way to get out of a rut and wake up your mind.

5. Use an automatic wake-up position. Rest your elbows on the chair arms and have your hands comfortably up in the air. If you begin to sleep, your arms will fall, waking you up. Many meditators have used positions that prevent sleep in this way, without being uncomfortable.

Sleep is good, but meditation is more than relaxation. It should help you develop a sense of peace and relaxed alertness. If meditating has become nothing more than your favorite sleeping aid, start using these tips today to get back on track.

Steve Gillman has meditated and studied meditation for over twenty years. Visit his website and subscribe to The Meditation Newsletter at: http://www.TheMeditationSite.com/newsletter.html

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Free Relaxing Music - The dentist and the assistant continually asked me if I was okay – I’d slowly nod then zone out again, drifting away and closing the door to the sounds and movements of where my physical body was.

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White Noise Machine - There are many forms of meditation. I feel that meditation happens when we sit silently in a garden in the presence of nature or when we are perfectly still in the silence of prayer.

Yoga Booty Ballet - This is not unlike the person who attempts to plumb the depths of oriental scriptures. Right away it becomes evident that they consist of incalculable layers, nearly all symbolic in nature.

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Multiple Black Belts - There is an instinctive fear to take start this task. Hence, the reason why there are professionals for psychological analysis.

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