Investor's Business
Daily
Los Angeles
Meditation Gives Your Mind
Permanent Working Holiday
Relaxation can
improve your business
decisions and your overall health
BY KATHLEEN DOLER
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Ever want to shut off your brain?
The stream of thoughts is incessant: the 65 unanswered e-mails in your
inbox, your son's science project, your co-workers annoying sighing, the
roof gutter repair, the grocery list. The endless static of brain chatter
can be overwhelming.
Sure, a vacation would be great, but
meditation offers a cheaper and always-available solution. It's a way
of slowing down the active mind. Like cleaning out a cluttered drawer,
meditation can have a cleansing effect on your brain.
What's more, evidence is convincing
Western doctors that the benefits of meditation go way beyond its calming
influence. Studies show it can help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol,
lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, treat insomnia, anxiety and
stress, aid in reducing chronic pain and improve treatment of hormonal
problems.
It's easy to learn, and it doesn't
have to be spiritual. Clark Strand says it best in his book "The Wooden Bowl": "To meditate is
to return to our natural state, the condition of wakeful simplicity that
exists when distractions have fallen away."
Give it
a try: Meditation is about bringing
stillness into your life and mind. All you need
to get started is a quiet place to practice and five or 10 minutes. Forget the stuff
you've heard about pretzel postures, incense and bells. Sit comfortably in a chair, a
quiet place, with soft light. You're ready to begin.
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Medical
benefits and reduced stress:
As mentioned above, medical benefits
of meditation are compelling and varied. In one of the most significant
recent studies, researchers found meditation may
reduce atherosclerosis and
the risk of heart attack and stroke. The findings were published in the
American Heart Association Journal, Stroke in March 2001.
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natural-meditation.org
get online courses in
meditation at this address.
