Research
According to this Research Site more than 600 research studies have been published on the Transcendental Meditation program (alone) in more than 160 scientific journals in 33 countries.
And Doctors are increasingly being found to recommend it as a healing tool and research has shown that its good for us in the following areas to name but a few …
- Decreases Medical Care Utilization and Hospitalization
- Reduces Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
- Lowers Blood Pressure
- Decreases Cholesterol
- Reduces Congestive Heart Failure
- Decreases Free Radicals
- Reduces Metabolic Syndrome/Pre-Diabetes
- Decreases Depression, Anxiety and Insomnia
The many benefits medically proven to occur from the simple action (or non-action) that is taken when we engage in the process of withdrawing into ourselves continues to be scrutinized equally by western medicine and alternative treatments far and wide. There is resounding agreement that the body at rest (once or twice a day) provides vast benefits and this is what gives Meditation such a great reputation.
The Range
And Transcendental Meditation, which I learned back in the 1980’s, is just one of many meditation practices. I prefer to free-fall and draw on a raft of hypnotic deepening tools and visualization techniques to get into a meditation. Its all about personal choice and will soon be providing a range of suggestions. Its simply a matter of finding the best ‘fit’ for you and really is each to their own, so it may involve testing out a few different methods until you find one you really like. As with all things keep at it until you find one or two that work well for you.
If You Don’t Go Within You Go Without
I heard this phrase from a wonderful Yoga teacher, James Jewell www.yogamountainyogasea.com – whose very memorable Yoga Retreat, in Andalusia, I attended almost 3-yrs ago.
Meditation is increasingly being recommended as a place of personal retreat … to find our inner connectivity with what I would consider to be a universal energy grid, similar to how electricity works. It can be so deep and restful, where the mind can clear, and often a wonderful nugget of clarity will just drop in there to play out as intuition.
The Release
The act of meditation simply requires a peaceful environment, it need not be a santuary, and 5-minutes is better than nothing at all. The 1960’s hippy image of eating macrobiotic foods, dancing round a fire waving Tingsha bells is wholly acceptable but by no-means essential. Meditation now has a modern image, possibly hanging on the coat-tails in association with Yoga, which itself is experiencing great popularity and re-invention. And as with lots of great complementary remedies, Meditation is beginning to take its deserved position as yet another ancient practice that has been revived, as we begin to open our hearts and minds to the ancient past of perceived wisdom.
The beauty of Meditation, is the simplicity of its gift to ourselves. And you can always burn an oil (in a water diffuser), an incense stick or an oil to enhance the experience.
Jane
I’ve got some great links to recommend to you … I hope you find them useful … And likewise if you have any references to share please feel free to get in touch with those.
There is nothing like a scented candle to draw us back into a room and make direct contact with our senses …
Candles were used long before the power of electricity was discovered and therein lies an aspect of how remarkable they are to have withstood the test of time. And they continueto make their presence felt today despite modern technology.