How meditation helps. Meditations to attract a loved one: execution technique

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word "meditation"? Surely, this is calmness, peace, zen ... We know that meditation helps to clear our mind, improves concentration, calms, teaches us to live consciously and provides other benefits to both the mind and body. But what does meditation actually do to our brain from a physiological point of view in order to have such an effect? How does it work?

You may be skeptical of how others sing the praises of meditation and extol its benefits, but the reality is that 15-30 minutes of daily meditation has a huge impact on how your life goes, how you react to situations and how you interact with people.

It's hard to describe in words unless you've at least tried it. From a technical point of view, meditation allows us to change our brain and do just magical things.

Who is responsible for what

Parts of the brain affected by meditation

• Lateral prefrontal cortex. This is the part of the brain that allows you to see things more rationally and logically. It is also called the "Assessment Center". It is involved in modulating emotional responses (that come from the fear center or other parts), automatically redefines behavior and habits, and reduces the brain's tendency to take things "to heart" by modulating the part of the brain that is responsible for your "I".
• medial prefrontal cortex. The part of the brain that constantly refers to you, your point of view and experience. Many people call it the “Me Center” because this part of the brain processes information that is directly related to us, including when you daydream, think about the future, think about yourself, connect with people, empathize with others, or try to understand them. . Psychologists call it the Autoreferral Center.

The most interesting thing about the medial prefrontal cortex is that it actually consists of two sections:

• Ventromedial medial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). It is involved in the processing of information related to you and people who, in your opinion, are similar to you. This is the part of the brain that can make you take things too personally, it can make you worry, cause anxiety or make you stressed. That is, you drive yourself into stress when you start to worry too much.
• Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). This part processes information about people whom you consider different from yourself (that is, completely different). This very important part of the brain is involved in empathy and social bonding.

So, we are left with an islet of the brain and a cerebellar amygdala:

• Island. This part of the brain is responsible for our bodily sensations and helps us keep track of how much we will feel what is happening in our body. She is also actively involved in experiences in general and empathy with others.
• Cerebellar tonsil. This is our alarm system, which has been running the “fight or flight” program for us since the time of the first people. This is our Center of Fear.

Brain without meditation

If you look at the brain before a person started meditating, you can see strong neural connections within the Self Center and between the Self Center and the areas of the brain that are responsible for bodily sensations and for the feeling of fear. This means that as soon as you feel any anxiety, fear, or bodily sensation (itching, tingling, etc.), you will most likely react to it as anxiety. And this is because your Self Center processes a huge amount of information. Moreover, dependence on this center makes it so that in the end we get stuck in our thoughts and get into a loop: for example, we remember that we already felt it once and whether it could mean something. We begin to sort out situations from the past in our heads and do it again and again.

Why is this happening? Why does our Self Center allow this? This is because the connection between our Evaluation Center and the Self Center is rather weak. If the Evaluation Center were at full capacity, it could regulate the part of the brain that takes things to heart and increase the activity of the part of the brain that is responsible for understanding other people's thoughts. As a result, we would filter out all unnecessary information and look at what is happening more sensibly and calmly. That is, our Evaluation Center can be called the brakes on our Center I.

Brain during meditation

When meditation is your regular habit, several positive things happen. First, the strong connection between the Self Center and bodily sensations is weakened, so you are no longer distracted by sudden feelings of unease or physical manifestations and do not fall into your mental loop. That is why people who meditate often have reduced anxiety. As a result, you can look at your feelings no longer so emotionally.

Second, stronger and healthier connections are formed between the Evaluation Center and the bodily sensations/fear centers. This means that if you have bodily sensations that could indicate potential danger, you begin to look at them from a more rational point of view (instead of starting to panic). For example, if you feel pain, you begin to observe them, for their declines and resumptions, and as a result make the right, balanced decision, and do not fall into hysterics, starting to think that something is definitely wrong with you, drawing in your head a picture of almost his own funeral.

And finally, meditation connects the beneficial aspects (those parts of the brain that are responsible for understanding people who are not like us) of the Self Center with bodily sensations that are responsible for empathy, and makes them stronger. This healthy connection enhances our ability to understand where the other person comes from, especially people you can't intuitively understand because you think or perceive things differently (usually people from other cultures). As a result, your ability to put yourself in the place of others, that is, to really understand people, increases.

Why daily practice is important

If we look at how meditation affects our brain from a physiological point of view, we get a rather interesting picture - it strengthens our Appreciation Center, calms the hysterical aspects of our Self Center and reduces its connection with bodily sensations and strengthens its strong parts responsible for understanding. others. As a result, we stop reacting so emotionally to what is happening and make more rational decisions. That is, with the help of meditation, we do not just change our state of consciousness, we physically change our brain for the better.

Why is constant meditation practice important? Because these positive changes in our brain are reversible. It's like maintaining a good physical shape - it requires constant training. As soon as we stop practicing, we return to the starting point again and it takes time to recover again.

Just 15 minutes a day can completely change your life in ways you can't even imagine.

Very often, people, having started meditating, quit the practice, because they do not get the expected life changes after a few months. Others do not understand why this should be done at all. Why is such a seemingly simple practice capable of bringing any changes to life at all?

This article is a detailed answer to the question: "why you need to meditate". Exactly. Why set aside special time just to consciously concentrate on one point, whether it be breathing, internal sensations, or whole words and phrases? “Are there no more useful and interesting activities? And anyway, how can such a primitive exercise change my life?- you ask.

“And very, very strongly,” I will answer you, “up to a global reassessment of values, improving the quality of life, getting rid of addictions, fears, depression, developing intellectual and personal qualities, deep self-knowledge and gaining inner harmony(no matter how trite it may sound).

Thanks to meditation, I quit smoking and drinking. And . I left my job and organized my own business, which allows me to do interesting and valuable work and travel. I solved many other personal problems, understood where I was striving and what I want to achieve.

People who are more skeptical will say:

“Yes, it's all nonsense. How can my life change from the fact that I just stare at one point for half an hour a day? Sounds even less realistic than the "shop on the couch" suggestions.

And others, more enthusiastic, will gratefully pick up this idea:

“Where is this magical exercise that in just 30-40 minutes a day can solve all my problems and change my life!? Give it to me soon! I'm about to get started!"

But my task is to “ignite” the first ones a little and cool the “second ones”. Because both have unrealistic expectations. The first do not understand why this should be done. And "enthusiasts" are more likely to quit the practice when it doesn't bring the expected magical changes.

“Fuh, take it easy, guys! Just by sitting on your ass and watching your breath, your life will not change much. Yes, you will relax, but you won’t have to wait for cardinal changes. In order for meditation to work, it must be integrated into life, embodied in many daily activities, and its skills must be used in everyday life.

Albeit very effective, but not a panacea. But, nevertheless, this tool, if used correctly, is able to unlock many of life's locks.

The second purpose of this article is to explain how to apply this tool to get the maximum effect.

Lovers of mysticism and esotericism will have to be upset. There is no magic here. I'm not going to perform mind-blowing stunts, juggle fireballs, and pull a rabbit out of a hat. Watch my hands carefully. Now I'll show you everything."

Is meditation necessary for relaxation? Or…

If you ask any person who is superficially familiar with meditation why you need to do it, he will most likely answer:

“Well, probably to relax, relieve stress.”

Yes, many people associate meditation with bearded yogis, who are in a sublime serenity, a deep trance.

But to say that meditation is for relaxation is like saying that the value of a car lies in storing things in its trunk. The machine is needed not only for this, also as Meditation is not just for relaxation. This is not the main function at all.

Of course, mindfulness practice has been proven to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, decrease amygdala activity, stabilize blood pressure, decrease heart rate, increase alpha activity in the brain, and trigger other physiological aspects of deep relaxation.

But this is only a small part. Yes, and I can not say that it can seriously motivate someone.

When you choose a car, you are primarily interested in the characteristics of its behavior on the road. It is unlikely that anyone can be attracted to buying a car only for considerations of trunk capacity.

Also with meditation.

“Why meditate to relieve stress? This is a boring job! I’d rather have a beer and turn on the TV!”(Of course, beer and TV cannot be called complete relaxation, but that's another story)

Therefore, my last live seminar, which I held in the spring, was called: “Meditation is NOT as a relaxation technique.” This does not mean that I forbade relaxing on it =) No, relaxation is just obvious. In explaining the value of meditation, I prefer to focus on other less obvious aspects of the practice.

And then I am going to answer the question of how and due to what simple observation of the breath (internal sensations, the work of consciousness, the body, mantra, etc.) is capable of help you solve many life problems. Why is it necessary to be aware at all?

So what is "meditation"?

Before I continue, I will write what I generally understand by meditation. In general, a more appropriate term is mindfulness, but I will use both here. For simplicity of presentation, let's agree for a while that these are synonyms. The topic of the article does not require clarification of all the subtleties of differences and nuances of terminology.

“meditation is not just sitting on your ass cross-legged and looking smart…”

Consciousness is directing attention intentionally, in the present moment, without judgment. I borrowed this definition from Viktor Shiryaev.

I fully agree with this definition (although “non-judgmental” raises questions, but let's not talk about it for now), moreover, I consider it exhaustive. I will not go into explanations for now, for now I will only ask if you see something unusual in it, something that does not correspond to the stereotypical ideas about meditation?

Think.

True, nothing is written here about the "lotus position" (and any other posture), nor about closed eyes, nor about breathing. That is, the attributes most inherent in meditation (meditation, as it is seen in the public consciousness) are not affected here.

I mean, really, meditation is not just sitting on your butt with your legs crossed and looking smart. Mindfulness is just a certain quality of our attention, which can be realized in different ways: both as concentration on the breath while sitting with eyes closed, and in the form of directing attention to the sensations of the body while walking. And not only on the sensations of the body: on thoughts, emotions, any other internal phenomena.

When you swallow food consciously during lunch, focusing on its taste, on other sensations in the mouth - this is also meditation. Moreover, meditation is no less than the "classical" - in the lotus position or in Turkish. Each act of attention directed intentionally and in the present moment to any sensations, external and internal phenomena is meditation.

Meditation (mindfulness) is a very broad term and covers many different techniques and different ways directions of attention.

But here, in order not to clutter up with unnecessary meanings for the time being, I will understand as a basic meditation technique a technique that uses concentration on breathing. And, yes, this particular type of meditation involves sitting on the floor with your eyes closed - just as you imagined.

It's just that I couldn't help touching on the aspect of the breadth of the concept of meditation here. I decided that without this the information would not be complete.

Short exercise

To answer this question, I will ask you to do a little short exercise. Yes, exactly where you are now. Do not do anything strange that other people could notice - do not worry.

You may or may not close your eyes (especially if you are sitting at work and are busy imagining a lot of activity and involvement in the work process).
If you stoop, sit crooked - straighten up. Now bring your attention to the abdomen. Try to notice all the sensations that arise there when you breathe. When inhaling, the stomach swells a little, when exhaling it falls. This gives rise to certain sensations, just try to realize them. What are they there.

Noted?

Now I'm going to ask you for a minute to just watch these sensations. Direct all your attention there, without being distracted by extraneous thoughts. And if you notice that you have begun to think about something and “lost” the sensations in your stomach that arise when you breathe, just calmly return your attention back to these sensations.

Doesn't sound difficult, right? Now try it. About a minute. It is not necessary to pinpoint, according to your feelings.

Have you tried? Well, is it as easy as it seems from the beginning? How many times have you been distracted by thoughts? One, two, ten times? And that's in a minute! (And even if you are not distracted now, you will notice that this will happen all the time during longer sessions).

I will say right away that this is normal and natural. This is how our mind works. Like a fussy monkey, he is constantly rushing about, running back and forth. Clings to thoughts, plans, memories. Not subject to any control.

But we can train this mind through the practice of meditation. So the important premise of this article is that we see meditation as a workout, not just a way to feel more calm.

If so, then what are we exercising by concentrating on the sensations of the breath?

We train concentration!

"Loading" the biceps - we train the biceps. And by “loading” our attention, we train attention. It is obvious. Why develop concentration? This is also kind of obvious, but not always. Our ability to concentrate is connected not only with our ability, say, to do work without being distracted, but also with willpower. Which I will talk about a little later.

“This knowledge will often be much more reliable and accurate than the information in the psychological literature, because during meditation you are working directly with the mind…”

Where will it be useful?

You are preparing for an exam at the institute. You can’t concentrate: either the computer is distracting, or Facebook, or some kind of fuss on the street. But because you started meditating, you already know how to deal with it. You understand that external stimuli, of course, interfere, but you cannot always take them and remove them.

But you can ignore them, just as you do not pay attention to extraneous thoughts during meditation, concentrating in spite of them. Calmly note that you began to think about how great it would be to launch a new computer game, remember that you need to prepare, that you will be expelled if you fail the subject and calmly turn your attention to the textbook.

The next day, you successfully pass the exam and with a calm soul, with a sense of accomplishment, launch a new toy on your computer.

Less obvious use:

Did you decide . Everything is already ripe for this decision in you: you no longer experience great pleasure from tobacco, you do not see much point in continuing to follow a bad habit. It remains the case for the small. Pick up and drop. Resist temptation until withdrawal occurs. You set a goal: not to smoke under any pretext.

And within hours of this self-dealing, the withdrawal-sensing brain begins to tempt you to break it: "come on, let's smoke, throw in New Year, then! ”,“ How can you cope without cigarettes, because such a difficult period at work!

But you already have experience of meditation. You are ready to face the temptation. These thoughts come to you, but you have already learned to treat any thoughts during meditation as distractions. Not as orders that you can't disobey, but as suggestions that you can consider and then either accept or reject.

That's why you don't follow them, but stay focused on your goal just like you keep your attention on the breath during meditation. And follow this goal in spite of all that distracts you.

You quit smoking and within a few months the whole smoking story seems like a nightmare. The cough goes away. From the hands, body and clothes, from the mouth it stops smelling, health and breathing improve, you feel more odors. You are grateful to the practice for supporting you in this difficult task.

Meta observation:

The practice of meditation is the practice of working with consciousness. And the result of this work is not only the restructuring of consciousness and the emergence of new skills. As well as the emergence of a better understanding of how everything in our mind functions.

If we are engaged in repairing cars, then through this work we begin to comprehend the structure of the car more deeply, enrich our mind with knowledge and experience (This will be a “meta-observation”).

The same can be said about working with consciousness. We see what results this or that influence on our mind leads to, fix it and note it, keep this knowledge in mind so that it will be useful in further work.

This knowledge is the result of observing one's own mind. It will often be much more reliable and accurate than the information in the psychological literature, because during meditation you are working directly with the mind.

And under the heading "meta-observation" I will collect the conclusions drawn personally from this observation. To demonstrate how we can develop not only skills but also gain knowledge through meditation.

And when we develop concentration during our practice, we begin to see that:

• The ability to concentrate is directly related to willpower. It helps to be collected and disciplined.
• Attention is also associated with relaxation. We notice that concentrating on one subject calms our mind. Makes problems look less significant.
• Scattered attention is a rather energy-intensive thing. When we are concentrated, we use less energy. Our thinking takes on a frame and structure.

We develop mindfulness

Mindfulness is another quality of our attention that is more related to memory.

(Please do not get attached to the terms that I use. Other meditation teachers may use other terms and a different classification. Classification is most often a rather arbitrary thing: the terms and classes within it can be considered differently, as well as interact and intersect in every possible way. .

I introduce this terminology not in order to somehow “approve”, “legitimize”, but only as an auxiliary way to convey my idea to the reader. Direct his attention in the right direction, so that he, having taken note of this, will draw his own conclusions on the basis of his own experience of practice.)

What is the difficulty in keeping attention on one subject during meditation? That it is constantly distracted. But if you look at this process under a magnifying glass, you will notice that it has more to do with memory.

You “remember” for a while to focus on the sensations of your breath. And the fact that you are distracted from this means that you have forgotten about your goal! And returning to concentration means nothing more than the act of remembering that you are now meditating and must observe the breath!

"Why do I dream of ice cream, because I need to watch the breath!" It's like a sudden flash of memory.

Renowned meditation teacher Allen Wallace compares this to a state of permanent mini-amnesia. We forget our goal and remember it again. Then again. And again. But it normal. This is how our mind works.

But we can teach our mind to more quickly “remember” its tasks and goals, notice that it is distracted by extraneous thoughts and transfer attention back to the subject of concentration. And this is important!

This is what we do during meditation: we learn to notice as quickly as possible that we are distracted and “remember” our goal. Gradually, through regular training, these flashes of memory begin to appear at smaller and smaller intervals in ordinary life.

And where can it be useful? Oh, so many places!

Where will it be useful?

You haven't been able to sleep for hours. Anxious thoughts come to mind tomorrow: what if your project at work fails? What if you stay awake and your presentation crashes?

Your mind runs through hundreds of scenarios of how bad and catastrophic tomorrow could be. But then you remember that at the beginning of your meditation practice, you are also attacked by whole swarms of disturbing thoughts that seem very important and urgent, not tolerating being put off until later.

And then you just try not to react to them, not to pay attention, and they gradually lose their power. They cease to seem so significant and frightening, passing simply into the category of simply "marquee in the head" which is no longer a concern.

And now, lying in bed, you decide to try the same principle. You simply try not to react to these thoughts, shifting your attention to your breath. At first it goes very hard, you constantly forget that you should watch the breath, you are again sucked into the maelstrom of disturbing thoughts. But you notice it, “remember” that you want to sleep now, and not think about tomorrow and pay attention for something else.

Gradually thoughts lose their power. You start drifting off to sleep. And just before falling asleep, you realize how much you have inflated the problem by constantly thinking about it. That, in fact, tomorrow's presentation is not so important and scary, because it will only concern an intermediate project, and not a key one. And in general, not even a single high boss will be present at it.

You wake up in the morning fresh and rested, satisfied with yourself. You realize that now you will be able to use the “mindfulness” skill anywhere when you are attacked by intrusive, disturbing thoughts. And it is not at all necessary to transfer attention to breathing. You can translate it into anything: sounds, environments, your work that needs to be done now, your affairs!

Meta observation

• Often obsessive thinking about a problem does not bring us closer to its resolution, but only confuses us even more.
• It is impossible to get unpleasant thoughts out of your head by telling yourself not to think about them. This leads to the opposite result. But we can simply not react to them, noticing each time they come and transfer our attention to something else. Then they subsequently lose their power and stop bothering us.
• Mindfulness is an important skill that underlies the development of self-control and the destruction of automatic behavior. In order for us to let go of destructive emotions, not to follow the lead of obsessive harmful desires, we first need to learn to notice the moment when our mind began to “fall into them”, fall under their control. Mindfulness is a necessary pause, to notice: “Aha, those emotions come again.” Pause to make a conscious choice whether to follow them or just not follow them. When there is no such pause, then there is no choice: we obey all our thoughts, emotions, desires blindly, automatically.

We develop an observer position (“I am in context”)

If mindfulness and concentration are some “quantitative” parameters of our ability to concentrate (how long we keep our attention on a point, how quickly we notice that we are distracted). That position of the observer is the "qualitative" aspect of attention, which affects exactly what our attention becomes during meditation.

We can direct all our attention to watching a movie, empathize with its characters, follow the plot, but this will not be meditation insofar as we do not watch the movie from the position of an “observer”, observing “equanimity” and "no value". If we were to watch the film without getting involved in what is happening, or if we were to observe our emotions and feelings from the "observer's position" that arise while watching the film, then this would be meditation.

When we simply observe our sensations that arise during breathing, our attention becomes, as it were, detached, not involved in all internal experiences, feelings, thoughts, emotions. We look at emotions and even thoughts as if “from the outside”.

This is called the "observer position" or within the framework of acceptance and responsibility therapy (ACT - Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (English) - a modern direction of psychotherapy) is called "I am in context."

Agree, this is something new. If people who have never meditated are reading this, they are probably already interested in: “How is it to observe your emotions from the outside, especially thoughts?”

Indeed, it seems not obvious and contrary to common sense. However, this only becomes clear through regular practice. The ability to be aware of experiences from the position of an observer is an important and unique skill. This is a completely new way for many people to relate to the inner world, which is able to bring a lot of new things into their lives.

Where will it be useful?

Example 1

You are tired of having your senior work colleague constantly lash out at you, yell and criticize you for every slightest mistake. You are new to the team and, moreover, the youngest. That is why your colleague chose you as the outlet for his anger. Mutual responsibility: he receives a portion of resentment from family members and his boss, keeps it to himself, and then takes it out on you.

It bothered you from the very beginning. At first, you simply tried to contain your anger, to suppress it, because it seemed to you that your position as a new, inexperienced employee did not allow you to respond to his attacks in the same way.

You silently sat, enduring moral slaps in the face, then went home spat on with a vile inner feeling.

The anger was piling up until you vented it back at a colleague a month ago. It was like a frail dam being blown away by a powerful stream of water: so much irritation had accumulated that it simply washed away all the barriers. You screamed, fought hysterically, left in the middle of the working day, loudly slamming the door.

And it did not have any positive effect: from the outside, everything looked like you were fooling because of your own mistake, lost your temper and lost control. Burnt out, in short. The colleague went unpunished and continued to bully you.

So it was doubly embarrassing. From that day on, you decided that you needed to deal with your anger, so you decided to do the meditation you read about on the Internet. Naturally expecting that anger will simply become less.

During the practice of observing the breath, you learned not to get involved in your emotions. Anger, irritation, thoughts of an insult came, you simply shifted your attention to breathing or sometimes concentrated directly on these emotions and, as it were, watched them from the side.

It was an amazing and new experience for you! Until now, you thought that your emotions left you no choice. If anger comes, then you must, supposedly, immediately follow it or suppress it diligently, which, again, can lead to disaster.

But in practice, you've learned a whole new way to respond to emotions: just observe. Do not try to remove the emotion, but at the same time, do not follow it. Then, as you have seen, they lose their power.

And the next time a colleague started yelling and lashing out at you because of a small mistake in an interim report, you again noticed a powerful wave of anger in yourself: flaring nostrils, tension in the head, burning cheeks ...

You expected meditation to make your anger less, but it didn't. On the contrary, you began to feel it, as if even brighter ...

But something did change. There was a pause. And there was detachment. Yes, the anger was still there and it was very strong. But it seemed that now he seemed to be passing a little away from you, not covering you with his head, subordinating you completely to himself.

(A suitable metaphor. A novice surfer is covered by waves, sucked in and twisted. But a more experienced surfer rides a wave, can maneuver on it or simply “dive” under it and let it pass over him. Waves with an increase in his skill, at the same time, don't disappear)

You have already been able to notice this moment of the wave coming at you. "Yeah, now it's starting again". You remembered what a disaster it led to last time.

But instead of following the anger and throwing tantrums or trying to suppress it, you let it be. You directed all their attention to this emotion. And they just started watching. How this wave grows in the body, how it breaks out of the chest, as if it goes to your head.

You did not try to suppress it, you quietly watched. Thanks to the fact that you stopped “feeding” your anger, either by resisting or encouraging it, the “wave” quickly subsided. Yes, you were still awkward and uncomfortable, but you felt that you were already in control and could somehow control yourself.

You have decided how you will act. Neither the reciprocal outburst of anger, nor kind words had any effect on the colleague. So you choose a different tactic. You breathe a little, pause. Then take your colleague aside and calmly say that this was the last time he lashed out at you. And if this happens again, then you will take certain measures.

I am like man of natural sciences, I will try not to touch on religious, "spiritual" aspects in the matter of meditative practice. I am not qualified in this area. It is not that I am completely alien to this, but I try not to go beyond the scope of directly observable phenomena that can be registered with the help of instruments and sense organs. I also see no point in describing everything in unknown esoteric terms. I'm interested in meditation context of its applicability to life and development
western man, i.e. us with you.

A person who goes to work is burdened with worries and experiences constant stress. A person who wants to learn how to cope with problems, not succumb to emotions and live in harmony with himself and others, to develop his potential. Rest assured, this is greatly facilitated by the practice of meditation.

Meditation Benefits What You Get

So what does meditation do?

As a result of scientific research, the following series of positive effects from meditation have been identified (I also observe these effects on myself).

Some physiological effects of meditation include:

• Stabilizing effect on blood pressure
• Decreased heart rate and breathing
• Decreased levels of stress hormones in the body
• Improving mental activity
• Strengthening immunity
• Stabilization of brain wave activity
• Charge of energy and cheerfulness

Some psychological effects of meditation include:

• Reduced levels of stress, anxiety and depression
• Reduced fears, phobias, fear of death
• Improved mood, ability to enjoy life
• Mindfulness Improvement
• Improving the ability to concentrate
• Strengthening the power of emotion control
• Increasing the level of intelligence and organization of thinking

Benefits of Meditation and the positive impact of practice on the psychological and physical health of people is devoted to a lot of scientific research in the West. It is rapidly gaining popularity in the Western world due to its positive impact on human well-being. According to the same Wikipedia, according to the results of a study conducted by the US government, in this country, about 10% of the population is (or has ever been) involved in meditation. That's about 20 million people!

“Since 1950, about 3,000 studies have been done in the West on the effects of meditation on people's health. In more than 1,000 of them, various meditation methods are associated with changes in metabolism, blood pressure, brain activity and other physiological processes. Meditation is used clinically as a method to reduce stress and pain."

Taken and translated from the English Wikipedia. Article "Research_on_meditation"

I hope that in our country an increasing proportion of citizens will meditate. Therefore, I will try to make my modest contribution to this matter. Again, I emphasize that meditation greatly simplifies the path of self-development and self-improvement and prepares you well for it.

Through meditation, people get rid of bad habits(to me personally she helped quit smoking), strengthen relationships with others, achieve better results in life, stepping over external difficulties, inner fear and insecurity. In general, there are a lot of pluses. With regular classes, these bonuses will be available to everyone.

A little about how meditation works

Now I remember how skeptical I was at first about meditating. Meditation seemed to me some kind of shamanistic practice or a fashionable trend in alternative medicine. Due to my materialistic views, I have always been suspicious of such movements. But still I decided to try, and certain reasons contributed to this. And after a while, I realized how useful this exercise is.

No, I haven't changed much in my views over time. I still treat the practice as an exercise in concentration. A meditating person learns to keep his attention on his internal processes, looking at them as if from the outside.

Gradually, such a detachment appears in the normal state, you abstract from what is happening inside you. For example, some kind of emotion appears (anger, irritation). And instead of immediately succumbing to it, you fix its occurrence and stop this impulse. Anger does not consume your attention, because there is a part of you that calmly watches what is happening inside. And you have the opportunity to resist this feeling.

And it will always be so, in any situation: when you are shy in front of another person, you experience shyness, discomfort, when you are nervous, doubtful, afraid. Meditation will help you learn to always catch unnecessary emotions that prevent you from living and achieving your goals. life situations and extinguish these impulses by willpower. As a result, as a result of practice, such things as anger, fear, insecurity, timidity, shyness in front of people, the desire to drink or smoke will occur less and less. And there is no need to stop them. You will find peace and confidence in any situation!

A person under stress is like an overclocked car: the more it accelerates, the more difficult it is to manage.
Meditation gives you the confidence that you can control yourself no matter what. It will help to maintain iron calmness in conditions of psychological pressure. During important meetings, you will stop feeling nervous. You will become the master of the situation. Let others be nervous!

This is an amazing feeling when a feeling of anger or resentment shakes you from the inside, and your whole being is seized by the desire to break loose, be rude, sarcastic. Instead, you stretch out a friendly smile and say a couple of pleasantries. It's not about being hypocritical, hiding your true feelings, but in the ability to control oneself, to suppress internal negativity. Together with a smile, not only the external mine of anger disappears, but also inner relaxation comes and good mood. The irritation subsides. (I call this the “feedback principle”, I will definitely write a separate article about this. It works great in practice).

The ability to control oneself an amazing sense of confidence, control and willpower. It comes to understanding that everything is in your hands. You stop feeling like a puppet of external circumstances, strong feelings and momentary desires. A person no longer perceives himself as a being conditioned by upbringing, the influence of habits with a set of rigidly prescribed innate qualities and talents. Meditation gives you the feeling and knowledge that everything depends on you, that it is in your power to make yourself the way you want to be. This is the self-consciousness of an independent person, in whose hands are the levers to control their life and their destiny!

Conclusion

Of course, one benefits of meditation not enough. You should not expect that everything will happen by itself without your intervention. Self-development requires constant work on yourself, and practice only contributes to this work, preparing you for it.

My system of self-development implies that you will hone your personal skills and develop as you face life's circumstances directly. You will react to them, and then analyze your reaction, and on the basis of this you will have an understanding of which direction to work in and how to eliminate the shortcomings of your personality. It will become easier for you to analyze your actions, abstract from emotions and draw conclusions about yourself. And that's not all what does meditation do.

I hope this site will become a guiding thread for you at the beginning of the path of self-improvement. Good luck!

If you want to start meditating, you need to know what is meditation for and what does it give.

Answers to these questions are necessary for many people who have heard about meditation, and even would like to start meditating, but cannot, for unknown reasons. Not understanding, what meditation does the brain resists and finds excuses: I can’t visualize, I can’t stop the continuous flow of thoughts, I don’t have time, I don’t have the opportunity to retire, my relatives won’t understand me, etc ...

Currently, millions of people of all ages and different faiths in many countries practice meditation daily, both in ashrams or special centers, in group seminars under the guidance of an instructor, and on their own at home or in cars, while fishing or washing dishes, waking up in the morning or rocking the baby. And those who have never practiced meditation, as a rule, treat with understanding and interest, and even want to try it one day too, in order to learn firsthand, but from their own experience what meditation is ...

What is meditation for?

The answer to this question has been given by great meditation masters such as Osho, Sri Aurobindo and others.

Meditation is an ancient spiritual practice, initially accessible only to initiates, is one of the ways spiritual development and has existed in the East for many centuries as the art of connecting with the Divine, realizing the Divine nature of one's soul, one's true "I". In the West, the art of meditation began to gain popularity around the 60s of the XX century, as a practice of changing consciousness, allowing you to be happy here and now, regardless of life circumstances.

Nowadays, with the help of meditation, they get rid of stress, chronic fatigue syndrome, excess weight, from a financial or creative crisis, etc., achieve happiness, peace, harmony with the Universe.

Today, it is no longer necessary to prove that stress is the cause of many human diseases and premature aging, and meditation is one of the best healthy ways to relax, eliminate nervous tension, prevent the effects of stress, and increase stress resistance. By releasing tension and irritation, calming the mind through meditation, we allow the body to direct the liberated vital energy for the treatment and restoration of physical, mental and mental reserves.

Meditation is needed to free the mind from unnecessary information, opening up opportunities for development and creativity. Many people, when practicing meditation, notice an increase in the ability to concentrate, an improvement in memory and speed of thinking, an improvement in mental balance, and even a decrease in sensitivity to pain (increased pain threshold).

What does meditation give?

This question can be answered by the results of scientific research.

Since the second half of the 20th century, when Eastern practices began to spread in the West, scientists began to study the effect of meditation on human health. As a result of these studies*, a positive effect of meditation in general on general state human health and in particular on the following body functions:

• metabolism,
• blood pressure,
• brain activity and memory,
• mental processes,
• cardiovascular activity,
• disease resistance.

For example, as a result of an experiment by American researchers led by Herbert Benson, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine at Harvard University, it was proved that during meditation the brain of Tibetan monks plunges into a special "altered" state, which gives a feeling of complete peace and unity with the world and allows you to redistribute forces in a few minutes. and energy in such a way that they are enough for the whole day *.

In the course of research by other American scientists from the Medical College of Wisconsin (USA), it was found that transcendental meditation, namely meditation on the Om mantra or another mantra, helps to reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases. In a group of patients with cardiovascular diseases practicing transcendental meditation twice a day for 20 minutes, death from stroke, heart attack, or any other cause 48% lower compared with participants in the control group who followed the traditional recommendations (healthy diet and exercise). In the group of meditators, a decrease in the level of stress and irritability was noted, and a decrease in pressure was recorded. According to the head of the study, Robert Schneider, meditation turns on the hidden resources of the body, and it begins to heal itself. The researcher claims that more people meditates, the lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.

It is also worth mentioning the studies that have established how meditation affects the health of older people. It turned out that meditation helps a person manage their stress and deal with loneliness- such a conclusion was made by American specialists led by Dr. David Kresswell based on the results of a survey of men and women aged 55 to 85 years. After a medical examination, a group of elderly people began to learn meditation and yoga under the guidance of an instructor. After two months of regular meditative practice, the participants of the experiment were re-examined, the results of which were compared with the initial data. As it turned out, meditation had a beneficial effect on the health of the participants in the experiment. According to the results of the survey, in the blood of people who meditated, the activity of substances that provoke inflammatory processes. In addition, the general well-being of older people improved, they did not feel calmer and coped more easily with feelings of loneliness.

Thus, scientific research data allow us to reasonably state that meditation gives positive dynamics:

• mental balance,
• mental development at almost any age,
• physical health, youth and beauty, and therefore:
• financial well-being (just imagine how much you can save on medicines and treatment),
• quality and life expectancy.

Be persistent!

All beginners have difficulty concentrating, the tireless brain does not allow them to concentrate and stop the “inner chatter”. In this case, images (for example, a picture, photograph, flower, stone, candle flame or other object) help very well. But if you know why do you need meditation, difficulties will not prevent you from reaching your goal. If you know, what does meditation do Are you ready for change.

Meditations are now available to everyone! Of course, it is ideal to start practicing meditation in a special center under the guidance of an experienced master, and then move on to independent practices. But if you are ready for self-knowledge and work on yourself, then the absence of such an opportunity will not be able to stop you. I myself started to practice meditation at the age of 17 after reading several books. Then in the city of my childhood there were no centers, and I did not have mentors. Then, of course, there were classes with an individual mentor and group trainings and meditations in the ashrams of India. But that very first experience of meditation left an indelible impression, because it was new and unusually vivid sensations, a different reality and a different awareness of oneself and one's life.

There are many types and techniques of meditation. Some you can master on your own, others need the help of a teacher to comprehend. It is better to start with meditation practices given by famous masters, for example, with Osho meditation.

For beginners to practice meditation, especially for those who have difficulty with visualization, Osho's meditations are very suitable:

• Meditation "Golden Light"
• Meditation "Inner Smile"
• Meditation "Harmony with the Universe"

Meditation "Golden Light"

Meditation "Golden Light" gives a feeling of inner radiance, serene rest, peace and joy!

This practice uses very simple images that are familiar to everyone and are easily reproduced in meditation: golden light (male or solar energy), a dark river (female or earthly energy) and one's own body. The best state for doing this meditation is half-asleep-half-awake when you wake up or, conversely, fall asleep. In the morning, when the energies gradually increase, their surge is easier to feel.

This is an easy way to transform your energy and direct it to the higher. Exercise should be done at least twice a day. The best time is early in the morning, just before you get out of bed. The moment you feel that you are awake, that you are awake, do it for twenty minutes. Do it at this very moment, because when you wake up you are very subtle and sensitive, you are very holy and the impact will be profound. When you have just woken up, you are less mental than ever, so that the method can penetrate through the cracks of the mind to the innermost core. Early in the morning when you wake up and when the whole earth wakes up, there is a huge tidal wave of awakening energy all over the world - use this tide, do not miss this opportunity.

All ancient religions used early morning for prayer - when the sun rises, since the sunrise is the sunrise of all the energies of being. At this point, you can simply ride the wave of rising energy, it will be easier than at other times. In the evening it will be more difficult, the energies subside, then you will have to fight the current. In the morning you will go with the flow.

Just lie, as you usually lie in your bed, on your back. Keep your eyes closed. As you breathe in, imagine golden light entering through your head and into your body, as if the sun had risen very close to your head. You are just empty, and the golden light fills your head and goes down, down to your toes. As you breathe in, visualize it. This golden light will help you, it will cleanse your entire body and fill it with creativity. This is masculine energy.

And as you breathe out, imagine something else: darkness entering your toes, a great dark river flowing into your feet, rising up and out of your head. Breathe slowly and deeply to imagine it. This - feminine energy . It will soften you, make you receptive, it will calm you down and give you rest. Do this very slowly and you will have very deep and slow breathing as you come out of sleep, because the body is rested, it is relaxed.

Other best time- when you go to bed at night. Lie down in bed and relax for a few minutes. When you begin to feel that you are on the edge between sleep and wakefulness, right in the middle, start the exercise again. Do it for twenty minutes. If you fall asleep while doing it, this is the best thing, because the action will remain in the subconscious and will continue to work. If you practice this simple method for three months, you will be surprised - there is no need for repression, the transformation has just begun.

Meditation "Inner Smile"

Meditation "Inner smile" gives a feeling of happiness and peace!

When you are sitting and have nothing to do, just relax your lower jaw and open your mouth slightly. Start breathing deeply through your mouth. Let the body breathe so that it becomes more and more empty. And when you feel that the breath has become completely empty and the mouth is open and the cheekbones are relaxed, the whole body will be very relaxed.

In that moment, start feeling a smile - not in the body, but in the whole inner being... you can do it. It is not a smile that comes to the mouth - it is an existential smile that spreads from within.

Try to understand for yourself what it is... Because it cannot be explained. No need to smile with lips on the face, but as if the smile comes from the stomach, the stomach smiles. And this smile is not laughter, so it is very soft, delicate, subtle - like a small rose that opens in the stomach, and its fragrance spreads throughout the body.

If you understand what a smile is, you can be happy twenty-four hours a day. And when you feel like you are missing that happiness, just close your eyes, find that smile again and it will be there. During the day you can find that smile as many times as you like, it is always there.

Meditation "Harmony with the Universe"

This meditation gives an extraordinary feeling of security and peace. Meditation "Harmony with the Universe" allows you to find a foothold, gives a feeling of love and happiness!

At first, it is better to perform it in solitude, and then, when this mood becomes natural for you, you can perform it in any conditions and almost always.

Feel your body and listen to the breath of the universe. As a mother loves her child and takes care of him, so the Universe loves you and takes care of you. As a child, even in the mother's womb, hears the beating of her heart, feels and accepts her love and care, realizes himself as one with the mother, so you will hear how the heart of the Universe beats. Feel the energy of strength that the Earth gives you, Feel the wisdom that the Cosmos gives you. You are a beloved child of the Universe, a part of it. Feel the love of the Universe for you and accept it. Feel your love for the Universe, gratitude for it. Feel how this love fills your soul, how the power of the Earth and the wisdom of the Cosmos fill every cell of your body. You are one with the universe.

Stay in this state for a while, then open your eyes and feel gratitude towards yourself for all that you have done today, and end the meditation.

Those who are not afraid of difficulties will be rewarded - the ability to concentrate will come, you will learn how to calm your thoughts and completely relax. Comprehending the art of meditation, you can experience an extraordinary sense of security and peace, inner purity and happiness, peace and joy, you will know yourself from a new perspective. Practicing meditation daily for a long time, you can expand the boundaries of consciousness and find the meaning of life, happiness, harmony and peace of mind.