Reduce Stress - What makes us stressed or anxious or angry or fearful?

(For more information and help with stress consider our audio CD: Relaxation Techniques for Stressful Times)

Sometimes anticipating an event in the future or dwelling upon events from the past, causes us stress right now.

• Maybe you’re scheduled to go to the doctor ….or for surgery in a few days, and as a result today you feel fearful or anxious.
• Or maybe you get stressed just thinking about going to work tomorrow.
• Or you cant get that conversation from yesterday out of your mind

Events that don’t happen until way off into the future, or have already long gone are causing your mind to be filled with discomforting thoughts and a sense of anxiety today.

Another kind of stress can be triggered in the moment,

• A conversation with a loved one or an interaction with a coworker doesn’t go well and you find yourself irritated or offended and insulted.
• When you open up your monthly bills you may be conditioned to feel anxious or angry at how much you owe.

Our mind is also conditioned to react in the moment we are faced with triggers.

And finally, many of our own thoughts themselves are an unhealthy reaction to the thought that preceded it. And since in the course of one day, we can think thousands of thoughts, often times our own thought process is the trigger for how we feel in that moment.

Through daily meditation we can stop the cycle of the conditioning that causes us to feel these different types of stress. We can be happier and healthier through meditation, slowing our chatter, reducing our trigger reactions and naturally retraining our conditioned mind gently and slowly…leaving in its place a sense of peace and joy.

Physical Health Benefits – Numerous studies show that consistent meditation practice reduces our blood pressure, reduces risk of heart attack, normalizes our hormones, as well as certain chemicals in the brain. It has also been shown to relieve pain associated with many illnesses. It has been shown that many of our illnesses results from stress. When stress is reduced these illnesses will sometimes dissipate.

Peace of Mind – Very simply put – if you meditate, you will gain an inner calm. When all is stormy around you, as a result of your daily meditation practice, you will be able to feel a sense of inner peace. You will feel more centered, without being part of the drama and stress that most people get involved in.

Over time you will see results by being able to handle situations better, and not feel like you are at the mercy of situations and people around you.

Drawn to It – Some people are drawn to it, without knowing any specific reason why. We might hypothesize that this is the result of a strong connection from a past life (if you believe in reincarnation), or in a desire to get closer to their spirit, the universal energy, or their God.

Improve Concentration
(For more information and help with concentration or focus consider our audio CD: Meditation for Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) )

Scientific studies of the brain show that meditation increases metabolism and blood flow to the parts of the brain that regulate attention. In other words by meditating, you are able to actively improve your ability to pay attention.

People with Attention Deficit Disorder may have an imbalance in their brain of certain chemicals, such as Dopamine – which can lead to hyperactivity, impulsivity and more. And the good news is that meditation has been shown to increase the levels of these chemicals.

In essence it has been shown that by practicing meditation the brain can be trained and modified, in the same way that we exercise with weights to grow the muscles in our arms or legs.

Improve Creativity
Once we are able to slow down or reduce the myriad of thoughts and undesirable emotions that we feel daily, we are able to naturally use the part of our mind that is creative and in touch with ourselves and what surrounds us. Creativity and spontaneity become a natural more pervasive part of our lives, when we are not clogged up with anger, annoyance, hatred, jealousy, or constant chattering in the mind.

Control What our Mind Thinks About
The average person has up to 10,000 thoughts in an average day. Unfortunately, many of those thoughts bring with them feelings such as anxiety, anger, or irritation …Many of these thoughts - or conversational chatter that we have with ourselves - result from what is called a conditioned mind.

Over the course of our lifetime we have developed a conditioned mind that reacts very predictably to many events or triggers that come into our daily lives.

• If someone talks to us in a way we are not accustomed to, we may get offended and angry.
• If another driver cuts in front of us while driving, often we get annoyed.
• Some conversations we have with others leave us feeling anxious.

Our minds can be highly predictable in how we react to triggers in our daily lives. In some ways we are like a highly trained animal who after years of practice is trained to react immediately upon command. Our minds have become conditioned to feel and react to certain types of people, situations, and even to our own thoughts

Through meditation we are able to loosen the grip our mind has from its years of conditioning and reduce a lot of the chatter that goes on non-stop in our mind. Through meditation we will experience a greater sense of contentment, calm and inner peace.

Discover a Deeper Meaning to Life
As a result of meditation, we are able to peel away the layers of conditioned thought that can prevent us from seeing and feeling who we are, and what meaning might exist to our lives and this universe. Meditation allows us glimpses into this world. And sometimes, those glimpses are the essence of our lives and give you energy to keep you going and feeling.