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So, just what IS meditation?

Look it up!  According to the dictionary:

meditate [L. meditari, to consider.]
to consider thoughtfully; to intend;
to ponder, esp. on religious matters.

While there are many misconceptions about meditation,

simply put, meditation means "TO THINK"

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“How does meditation work?” 

the novice asked his guide in an effort

to understand meditation more clearly.

“How does meditation work?”  the guide repeated.

“Everybody asks me, 'how does meditation work?' and I ask,

‘how does electricity work?’  Most of us don’t know

how electricity works but we still use it.”

A few reasons why you may want
to consider using meditation:

• Meditation is something your body and your mind already know how to do, and it is a natural state.
  
• Meditation reduces stress levels and alleviates anxiety; a life without stress and anxiety is much healthier.
  
• Meditation can be an intense form of prayer.
  
• A clear and focused mind makes you feel better and makes you more productive. Regular deep meditation changes the brain in positive ways.
  
• Meditation helps us learn how to see things more clearly, and separate important things from those which are not.
  
• Stress and anxiety induce the "Stress Response" - fight or flight. Meditation helps to induce the "Relaxation Response."
  
• Meditation brings about the release of serotonin - the 'feel good' chemical produced naturally in our bodies - and boosts the immune system.
  
• Meditation enables you to better know your self, your inner force, and how to use it.
  
• Meditation brings you the the Theta brain wave level which is associated with intuition, inner peace and relaxation, super-learning, creativity, inspiration, dream recall, imagery, visions, memory, spirituality. Overall, a positive and expansive mental state.
  
• Meditation is a great workout for the mind and body; the brain benefits from the mental exercise and the body benefits from the deep relaxation.

Meditation

The term meditation refers to a variety of techniques or practices intended to focus or control attention. Most of them are rooted in Eastern religious or spiritual traditions. These techniques have been used by many different cultures throughout the world for thousands of years.

Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings as a form of mind-body medicine. Many claims have been made about its value in promoting or improving health and wellness. Research on these claims, as well as on how meditation might work, is important for NCCAM and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

- National Institutes of Health,
National Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine
http://nccam.nih.gov/

Did You Know:

• In 1998, the healing benefits of prayer were alluded to when a group of scientists in the US studied how patients with heart conditions experienced fewer complications following periods of "intercessory prayer."

• At a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, scientists from Stanford University detailed their research into the positive affects that hypnotherapy can have in helping people cope with long-term illnesses.

• Dr. Andrew Newberg, University of Pennsylvania, conducted studies using brain imaging to pinpoint areas of the brain involved when Franciscan nuns pray and Tibetan Buddhist monks meditate. Scientific study of both the physical world and the inner world of human experiences are, according to
Dr. Newberg, equally beneficial. "When someone has a mystical experience, they perceive that sense of reality to be far greater and far clearer than our usual everyday sense of reality." He added: "Since the sense of spiritual reality is more powerful and clear, perhaps that sense of reality is more accurate than our scientific everyday sense of reality."