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Todd Perelmuter's Blog, page 43
March 30, 2023
This is Why Zen Meditation Will Make You More Zen
Zen Buddhism originated in China in the 5th century and is a mix of Taoism and Indian Mahayana Buddhism. It has since spread across Asia and recently to the West.
The word zen merely means “meditative state,” and Zen Buddhists emphasize direct understanding of the mind and reality through spiritual practices rather than through religious texts or doctrines.
To reach this deeper understanding beyond words and intellectual knowledge, 3-pronged meditation practice was developed. In this blog, I will explain the types of zen meditation, the benefits, and how you can get started.
What are the 3 Types of Zen Meditation?
In Zen meditation, there is no goal to achieve. The meditation practice itself is the goal. There is no reward or enlightenment to grasp, we just let go of all expectations and do the practice for the sake of doing the practice.
In this way, the practice becomes its own reward. The longing and craving for some end result do not become an impediment or disturbance on the path to enlightenment. In fact, the benefits will come more naturally as we let go of any desired outcome.
This is the first type of meditation any zen student will practice. Before moving on to various other types of meditation that clear the mind of all thoughts, a student must first be able to concentrate on a single thought or object.
Developing the power of concentration can be done in a variety of ways. Most often, this involves focusing on the sensations of the breath by observing the belly expanding and contracting.
Some students will be instructed to count breaths as a way of assisting in concentration and focus. Others will use mantras instead of counting.
After practicing this for some time, single-pointed concentration is achieved and an initial experience of the meditative state can be reached.
From there, students will move on to one or both of the following types of zen meditation.
Koan Contemplation
Once you have mastered the ability to focus and concentrate, the next step is to focus on an unsolvable riddle. Most famously being, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”
There is no answer to discover, nothing to figure out, no solution to be had. All the reasoning in the world will not help you get to the answer.
These types of koans force the meditator to short-circuit their thinking mind and sit in stillness, allowing for the koan to enter them on a deeper level than just the surface of the mind. This is where true wisdom resides.
The world, like a koan, isn’t something to figure out. It is merely something to be experienced. The more we reduce complexity into simple words and syllables, the less we understand.
Koans help us to observe without the cloud of judgment, experience fully without being lost in thought, and to be at peace with all things.
Nonthinking
Also called shikantaza, this type of meditation does not use any object or concept to focus on. Students simply remain aware of their thoughts and the present moment.
This is a pure observation: watching thoughts come and go, sensing the body and our surroundings, and just allowing whatever comes to come and go without judgment or interpretation.
Perhaps, one of the most difficult meditation practices, nonthinking does not occupy the mind with any concept, object, or mantra. But, that is precisely why it can be the most transformative and beneficial practice there is.
Nonthinking is the true practice of present alert awareness—our natural state of being. This is our highest state of consciousness, our intuitive intelligence, and our true selves.
Since the earliest days of humanity’s discovery of farming, we lost our way of being. We lost the majesty that belongs to all animals, from soaring eagles to wild horses.
We’ve traded peace for worry and bliss for depression. Moreover, we’ve gone from living naturally through our instincts to overthinking insanity. Not only this, we’ve gone from cooperation to competition, from generosity to greed, from love to fear.
Nonthinking helps us reclaim this calm, peaceful, blissful, compassionate natural way of life. We will still have the thinking mind but we use it, it no longer uses us.
To get started, much like any other meditation practice, we sit on the floor if that is possible or a chair if it is not. On the floor, sit with a cushion under your butt and cross your legs in the lotus or half-lotus position (Indian style).
Sit with your back, neck, and head straight and erect with your chin pulled in slightly. Don’t sit too tense or too relaxed. Try to find the sweet spot in the middle.
Put your hands on your thighs or knees, wherever feels comfortable. You may also fold them in your lap as seen in this picture, with your thumbs touching, left fingers on top of your right fingers, and slightly forward so your pinkies are not touching your stomach.
Close your eyes and look slightly downward just above the tip of your nose. Unclench your teeth and rest your tongue on the back of your front upper teeth where the teeth meet the roof of your mouth.
Alternatively, keeping your eyes open and staring unfocused at a wall in front of you is also commonly done.
Do not worry if this position is difficult at first. It usually is at first but it gets much easier. Zen Buddhism is about practicing and developing discipline. They consider the best students as the ones who have the most difficulty because those are the students who will have overcome the most and exhibit the most discipline of thought and action.
Our brains produce brain waves which are divided into five categories. Beta waves occur when we are in an alert, stressed, anxious, fearful state. Delta waves occur when we are in a deep, dreamless state. Gamma waves mean that we are in a problem-solving, learning, and cognitive processing state.
According to brain scans, zen meditation puts our mind’s brainwaves into theta and alpha wavelengths.
1. Deeply Relaxing
Alpha waves are associated with a relaxed physical and mental state. This state releases tension, stress, and anxiety in the body and mind. Alpha waves occur during periods of super learning, serotonin production, healing and wellbeing.
2. Creativity and Insights
When our brain starts to enter a theta state, we experience insights, creativity, dreams, and deep meditation.
3. Rest, Recharge, Recover
Alpha and theta wave states allow us to enter peaceful, joyful, calm, clear states of mind. Our bodies are able to rest, recharge and recover. The sense of pain becomes diminished. Our cardiovascular health and our immune system improve.
4. Focus and Energy for Productivity
The effects of daily zen meditation lead to better focus, creativity, and productivity at work. It leads to falling asleep quicker and getting better sleep. You’ll have more energy, more confidence, and less stress too.
5. Patience and Positivity
Many people report having more patience, feeling less rushed (although still able to get the same amount of work done), having a better mood, and a more positive attitude.
6. Works Quickly
All these benefits happen rather quickly with zen meditation. In just a couple of weeks, noticeable changes can occur.
7. Better Business
Zen meditation has huge benefits for corporations as well. The improved focus and memory, ability to plan and prioritize, greater empathy and attitude, have all contributed to companies’ bottom lines.
How Can I Start Practicing Zen Meditation?
The best way to develop a strong foundation for lifelong zen meditation practice is to take a course from a highly trained expert.
The following are some simple ways to start finding your zen right away.
How Can I Start Living More Zen?
Beyond meditating, everything we do in our lives can be a zen meditation practice. Instead of multitasking, try focusing on one thing at a time. Be fully present, do it carefully and with intention.
Do Nothing
Leave space in your schedule for doing nothing. This will allow the body and mind to slow down, feel calmer and more relaxed. Also, give extra time to the tasks you do have so you’re not rushed and stressed.
Before you start any activity, take one or two conscious breaths. Allow your body to become present and relaxed, then start. When you’re finished, take a couple more deep, relaxed conscious breaths. This will add presence throughout your whole day.
One of the key tenets of Zen Buddhism is being in the service of others. The more we focus on the happiness of others, the happier we become ourselves. Spend some time every day smiling at others and focusing on how you can help others.
Everything you do can be a meditation. From walking to eating, cooking to cleaning, practice being completely aware of every little sensation. Do it slowly and consciously. Feel what it feels like and try to be present.
You don’t have to be a monk to clear the clutter in your life. If something in your life isn’t making you a healthier and happier person, feel free to get rid of it and replace it with something that does—or with nothing at all. Allow for simple pleasures, like watering plants or taking walks, create a feeling of peace and stillness in your life.
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March 27, 2023
Here’s Why Big Companies Are Investing In Corporate Meditation
What do Google, Nike, Apple, Amazon, General Mills, Procter & Gamble, Deutsche Bank, and Bridgewater all have in common? That’s right, they’re all extremely successful.
But also, as you may have guessed, they have all discovered that there’s a better productivity boost. They give it to their employees that works better than a coffee break ever has. That is corporate meditation.
A small investment in Corporate Meditation leads to huge profits and gains for these companies for several reasons. This article gets into what it is, why it helps and how you can start benefiting from Corporate Meditation at your company.
What is Corporate Meditation?
Corporate Meditation is any type of meditation instruction that occurs during the workday that teaches employees and executives the stress-reducing and productivity-boosting practice of meditation.
Some companies choose to bring in an experienced teacher, once a year for a whole week to teach the employees how to meditate. After that, the company may set aside a room or an area at a certain time for daily meditation, either with instruction or without.
Other companies like to bring in an expert once a week or daily to lead a team or the whole office in a meditation class.
All of these methods help set up workers for success in establishing a daily practice of meditation designed specifically for the needs of busy workers.
5 Benefits of Corporate Meditation
Literally, thousands of peer-reviewed studies have now come out showing that meditation makes people happier.
Meditation lowers our stress, diminishes anxiety, makes us feel more grateful and content, more fulfilled and joyful.
When we’re less stressed and less fearful, we think better and we make better decisions.
What they say is absolutely true: a happy worker is a good worker. When we’re happier, we work harder, we work smarter, and we even get sick less often. This brings me to point number 2.
Did you know that 75 to 90% of all doctor visits are stress-related? It’s true! People with less stress, for countless reasons, are healthier. They drink more responsibly, their diets are better, their sleep habits are better, and they live more active and healthy lifestyles.
Meditation has also been proven to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Moreover, it also helps decrease chronic pain, boost immunity, and help people break free from addictions.
By activating the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, the body exits the stress-based fight or flight mode and enters a state of healing restfulness allowing the body to heal from whatever may ail it.
Companies that have gone for investment in Corporate Meditation programs report workers needing fewer sick days and better health overall.
#3: More Creative Employees
When workers need to crack a problem and they just can’t seem to do it, science tells us that the problem is in linear thinking—that constant stream of thought we have running through our brains. What we need is a shift in our perspective and a clean break from linear thought so that a new idea can come into our minds.
The best way to make space for creative insights to pop into our brain is… you guessed it again – Corporate Meditation.
Albert Einstein had the right idea. When he got stuck, he would go for a bike ride or play the violin. Both of these activities took his mind off the problem and allowed room in his noggin for the big idea to emerge.
Studies show that by turning our attention from a problem in our mind to either a meaningless sound (our mantra) or to our breath, we can quiet the thinking mind and allow for the perfect conditions in which insight and creativity arise.
If only Einstein knew what we know now about meditation, one can only wonder what else he may have discovered.
#4: More Productive EmployeesIn 1902 the first workplace coffee break took place in Buffalo, NY. The owner of the company realized something that would change business forever. He wasn’t giving his workers a coffee break, he was getting a drastic increase in productivity and output.
From then on, the coffee break exploded in every industry and office space in America and much of the globe. But, coffee comes with a crash, and in some cases heart palpitations and stress.
Smart companies today are realizing that meditation is like coffee on steroids, but without the negative side effects.
The restfulness that comes from meditation leads to renewed, lasting, natural energy. It leads to clearer thinking, fewer costly mistakes, and more focused employees.
By focusing on a mantra or your breath in meditation, you’re literally training your mind to be more focused. When you combine the benefits of focus and creativity, you have a workforce with a superpower. The superpower of creative problem-solving that drives innovation from every single worker in the company.
Investment in Corporate Meditation is not a cost any company will endure. It is an investment that pays dividends.
#5: Less Employee TurnoverCurrently, high turnover rates are costing the U.S. economy billions of dollars every year. Obviously, happy employees stick around longer. However, that’s not the only reason companies that gone for investment in Corporate Meditation see lower turnover rates than ones that don’t.
Corporate Meditation gives employees a chance to bond over this healthy experience that they can share together. Oxytocins, the love chemical in our brain, are released during meditation. When this molecule is produced in our brain, we associate positive feelings with where we work and the people we work with.
Corporate Meditation leads to better office relationships. Moreover, it leads to less of a need for conflict resolution, fewer incidents reported to HR, and a more cooperative atmosphere emerges. All this leads to greater workplace satisfaction and long-lasting employees.
How to Get Corporate Meditation Started at Your Company?
Implementing a Corporate Meditation program at your company shows your workers that you really care. You care about their overall health, well-being, and their lives as a whole. When they know this, they will be happier and you will have an amazing work environment.
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March 24, 2023
Path to Peace How to Control the Ego and Forgive Others
At the heart of every conflict is at least one or two outsized egos. These egos tear families apart, break up lovers, ruin friendships, and turn strangers into enemies. So how did we get here? Why do we have these egos? Are our egos protecting us or hurting ourselves and our relationships?
In this podcast episode, I talk about how we can forgive without getting hurt again, love without limits or fear, and trust without getting taken advantage of. The more we grow in mindfulness, the smaller our ego gets, and the easier it becomes to set down our baggage of pride, anger and resentment.
Please enjoy other episodes where I share meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.
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March 23, 2023
Right Meditation Technique to Cure Restless Leg Syndrome
Almost all of us have had restless legs at some point in our lives. We didn’t think much of it. However, the problem is much severe for others. Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) can be very disruptive in people’s lives. It can lead to sleeplessness and thus a lack of focus, anxiety, and even depression. However, not many are aware that meditation can help cure Restless Leg Syndrome. How! You ask? I will tell you all about it in this article.
Before understanding how meditation can help us cure our Restless Leg Syndrome, we must first understand what is the root cause of this syndrome. Only then we can begin the process of healing from the root. So, let’s understand what causes Restless Leg Syndrome.
What Causes Restless Leg Syndrome?
Luckily there is a cure. But to find out the cure, we need to find out the cause. Did you know that 99.999999% (made up number) of Americans suffer from Restless Mind Syndrome (made up syndrome)? It’s true (most likely)!
By addressing the root cause, we can become free from the symptoms of Restless Leg Syndrome. Who doesn’t want that?
In some instances, Restless Leg Syndrome may be caused by some other condition, in which case it’s best to also address those causes first. Those conditions include:
Iron deficiencyKidney failureCertain spinal cord conditionsNerve damage due to issues such as diabetes or alcoholism Wrong Meditation Technique for Restless Leg SyndromeThere are a million videos on the internet that guarantee they can cure your Restless Leg Syndrome. In truth, they can’t. Only you can do that. All of these guided meditations don’t actually allow your mind to rest because someone is constantly yammering in your ear.
These guided meditations are relaxing and easy to do, but not very useful. That’s not to say the power of suggestion is insignificant, but after years of helping people with Restless Leg Syndrome, we’ve found a way that works much better.
Right Technique for Restless Leg Syndrome
Before even trying to begin with meditation for Restless Leg Syndrome, let’s begin with some simple yoga stretches. We must connect the body and mind before trying to quiet the mind.
Here are the series of yoga poses:
Lie flat on the floor.Bring both knees to your chest. Release.Bring your left knee to your chest. Release. Then do your right. Release.Extend your left leg straight into the air at 90 degrees to your body and then switch legs. Release.Rollover onto your stomach. Raise yourself into Downward Facing Dog. Heels on the floor and feel those calf muscles stretch.Lower yourself into a Plank Position.Slowly lower yourself to just above the ground and come up into an Upward Facing Dog.Repeat steps 6 through 8 two more times and then return to Downward Facing Dog.Finally, come down into Child’s Pose for 30 seconds or a minute to finish your stretching. Let this restful but active pose give you a nice stretch throughout your back as you reach.Now That We’ve Connected Our Mind and Body, Let’s Begin Our Meditation.
The Divine Meditation Process
Sit down in a comfortable position. Preferably, sit on a cushion cross-legged on the ground, but if you are new to mediation, sit however is most comfortable for you. Later you can work up to sitting cross-legged.
If you are trying to go to sleep, you may also lie down in bed, as this is a great way to help you fall asleep too.
Close your eyes and begin breathing deeply and slowly. Not so deep that you feel you need to put in any effort, just relaxed, calm, and quiet breathing.
Slowly move your awareness from the tip of your head to the tip of your toes, sensing from within each muscle and body part. Each complete cycle from the top of your head to your toes back to your head can take anywhere from a few minutes to 15 minutes. The slower the better, you’re not in any rush. Do this once or twice.
Now turn your attention to your breath. Feel all the sensations of your breath, from the cool air coming in your nostrils and down your throat, to the lungs and belly expanding, to the warm air coming back out. Do this anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes—however much you feel comfortable with and feel free to work your way up to longer as patiently and gently with yourself as you wish.
If you’re not asleep yet, just continue focusing on your breath. Allow thoughts to come and go as they arise. Do not judge them or forcefully try to get rid of them. Just allow them to be and allow yourself to sit with them as the silent witness. Over time, they will become less and less disruptive as you identify more and more with the silent witness of your thoughts.
Why Your Meditation for Restless Leg Syndrome Didn’t Work
On the internet, there are lots of quick fixes that promise amazing results with no effort required. They get wonderful search results but not so great results IRL (in real life). Worse yet, they can drown out true ancient wisdom that was developed before the age of giant corporations and marketing campaigns.
Fortunately, however, sometimes ancient wisdom like this can break through the noise. I get it, we all want the easy answer—the pill, the product, or the service that will do the work for me. But when you help someone do something that they can easily do on their own, you weaken them.
Imagine if someone created a harness that lifted 90% of people’s weight off the ground to assist them in making jogging easier. They’d market it as being able to run a hundred miles with ease. No more sweating or struggling. But of course, what would really happen is that the customers would get nothing out of the product, in fact, their bodies would become weaker and atrophied.
The same is true of meditation. If you can’t do it without the advent of headphones and people who have cracked the code of magic frequencies, you can’t really do it on your own and you won’t get all the incredible advantages that come along with it.
Music, binaural beats, and guided meditations can all be nice and pleasant supplemental experiences to add to your spiritual practices, but there is no substitute for the real thing.
Benefits of Meditation for Restless Leg Syndrome
Numerous studies have concluded that Restless Leg Syndrome is directly correlated to high stress, low dopamine levels in the brain, and poor functioning of dopamine signaling in the brain.
This means that stress reduction can be the most beneficial thing we can do for Restless Leg Syndrome. Thousands of studies have also concluded that the type of meditation I have described above shows significant brain changes related to dopamine and stress.
For many study participants, immediately after their first meditation, dopamine levels were elevated higher than was seen when giving them pharmaceuticals. Stress levels were reduced, anxiety was diminished, sleep problems decreased, sleep became more restful, and blood pressure and nerve functioning improved.
Does Meditation for Restless Leg Syndrome Have Side Effects?I do have to warn you, meditation may cause prolonged periods of joy, bliss, and inner peace. Meditators have also reported feeling one with everything, free from pain and suffering, better mental and physical health, and in some cases, enlightenment.
Happy restings. For more helpful meditation tips, check out our podcast, Path to Peace with Todd Perelmuter on Apple, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.
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March 22, 2023
How to Accept Your Flaws and Imperfections
It’s a funny story of how we all got to be our own worst critics. It started with the mean comments we heard from others when we were kids. Next, we began to judge others to make ourselves feel better. And finally, once the voice in our head became hyper-critical of others, it inevitably turned its focus upon itself. This is how most of us have gotten sucked into the judgment trap. And now social media is just amplifying this judgmentality, oftentimes creating an even stronger comparative mindset at the expense of true companionship.
But, just as self-criticism can be learned, it can also be unlearned. The more we expand our conscious awareness beyond the physical level of our reality, the less we fixate on our physical flaws. In fact, I recorded a whole podcast on why self-worth is not related to our appearance at all. It all comes down to the fact that the more we understand we are the spark of life itself and not the physical body we inhabit, the more free we are to become our most authentic selves, imperfections and all.
We are all the same life-force energy of nature. When we see the causes and effects that led to this moment, no longer can we blame ourselves or others for things that happen because we will have a deeper understanding of the interconnected nature of reality. And when we see the one life force that flows through all living beings, the flawless perfection of this magical universe is revealed. As we grow in mindfulness (AKA present moment awareness), we become more aware of what we are feeding our minds and we start to naturally gravitate towards the things that bring us lasting happiness instead of momentary pleasure at the expense of our future happiness.
To see beyond the physical plane, all we have to do is close our eyes. Our consciousness transcends space and time. It doesn’t exist physically in the body. It is our doorway to the spiritual. It’s a feeling. We can feel life pulsing through us. When we turn our attention inward, as the world falls away, what we are left with is a taste of the infinite. We flow through the universe and the universe flows through us. On the physical level, things may seem chaotic, random and messy. But if we take a step back, zoom out, and expand our perspective, we will see that everything is happening exactly as it’s supposed to, like clockwork. Everything comes together right on time, in perfect order, in perfect balance and harmony.
Have you ever felt this way?
Have you ever just been completely blown away by something in nature that you stare at it for way too long and think about it for the rest of your life?
I once saw a tree like that in a park in New Zealand. It had alien-like tentacles coming alive, stretching out and grasping for support. So many plants and trees in that park, and in Auckland, had these red veiny tendrils. If a branch broke and fell, a fresh red tendril would extend as far as it could from the trunk where the branch broke. As it aged it would harden and turn brown, and then other tendrils would extend and form around it, strengthening the newly formed branch. Once the new branch had a solid foothold, the bark would grow, covering the thin interwoven tendrils, and the tree would become stronger and larger than before.
If you look closely at humans, we too are like this. Human strength and resilience are forged under pressure. If you look closely at strength, you will find struggle. Where you see scars, there is transformation. There can be no success without challenge. Wear your scars proud my friend, for you can do anything. One of those most difficult trials that put every human to the test is loss and grief. It’s essential that we each take the time to heal in our own way without guilt or pressure because everybody grieves in their own unique way,
As those first hints of spring peak through the winter, let’s remember to notice that the leaves may fall, but they will be regrown. The plants may die, but they become soil for our food. And even through the darkest winters, the sun will rise again.
PS: We all deal with stress in our lives. Kids, mortgages, relationships, the job. Unless we have a magic wand, stressful circumstances will always show up. That’s no different whether you’re a CEO, a teacher or a busboy. So, let’s find out why Jack Dorsey, CEO of multiple companies, started meditating and how he manages the stress.
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How Meditation Can Help You Become a Better Person
Meditation is the act of turning our attention away from the material world, turning it inward, tuning in to our body, our breath, and the present moment, and becoming fully alert, and fully conscious of our environment and our body. Without looking at it through the cloud of thoughts and opinions and judgments.
Here’s how meditation can help you become a better person:
1. Meditation Will Strengthen Your Family Bonding
Have you ever noticed how when families spend time together, they always look for something to do besides actually being present with each other? We watch sporting events together, we watch movies, we play games, we eat food, drink, and so on.
The idea of actually just being with one another is becoming almost unheard of. We always try to fill in family time with something more exciting because our whole lives we’ve trained our mind to distract ourselves from the “boring” here and now.
Meditation can retrain our minds to tap into the infinite source of bliss that lies in the peaceful present moment.
From this mental state, we can enjoy the presence within ourselves and we can enjoy the presence of others. We’ve so trained our minds to only enjoy hyper-stimulating experiences, but meditation can help us rediscover the beauty and wonder in every moment so that all our experiences become more enjoyable.
When we meditate, we can learn to just be with others, acknowledging and appreciating their presence. We become closer, more connected, and more whole.
2. Meditation Will Improve Your Relationships
Relationships can be tough when you have two people reacting unconsciously to each other. Any time a couple argues, yells, or feels hurt by their partner, this is always because of our ego reacting unconsciously.
If we were fully conscious and present, the words and actions of our partner would have no negative effect on our own mental wellbeing. But instead, our egos get hurt and we react unconsciously.
Meditation literally trains our minds to be present so that we act rather than react. When we remain present in arguments, we respond thoughtfully and effectively. When we react from anger, we say things we regret.
By training our mind every day to be clear and present through meditation, we strengthen the neural networks so that remaining present throughout our day becomes second nature.
3. Meditation Will Help You Focus Better
When you get right down to it, ADD and ADHD have to do with a lack of ability to focus and calm the mind. With social media and an endless supply of bite-sized videos, it’s no wonder we are having a more difficult time staying calm and focused. But meditation trains the mind to stay focused despite the distractions.
Many studies have shown that meditation can improve behavior, reduce the symptoms of ADD/ADHD, and raise test scores and grades. I was personally diagnosed with ADD when I was in elementary school, but ever since I discovered meditation in college, I have been medication-free and I’ve seen meditation work for many other kids with ADD and ADHD.
4. Meditation Will Improve Your Work Productivity
There’s a reason more and more CEOs and Fortune 500 companies are turning to meditation. Nothing relieves stress, increases focus and concentration, and reenergizes us quite like it.
The moment you begin meditating, the frequency of your brain waves change and become closer to what happens during deep, restful, restorative sleep.
In meditation, even for just a few short minutes, our brains can take a break, detoxify, and allow us to go on operating at our full potential. This leads to fewer mistakes, more creativity, and better performance at work.
5. Meditation Will Help You Deal With Illness, Stress, and Anxiety
All problems exist only in the mind. It’s the mind that says, “this is bad,” or “I don’t like that.” In reality, what’s happening is that the ego—that voice in our head—is taking a complex situation and reducing it to a simple label or judgment which only ends up creating suffering.
By learning to meditate, we learn to observe all phenomena and sensations without judgment or labels. Even pain can be experienced without generating suffering. We can instead say to ourselves, “Ok, I feel pain. Let me look closer to the nature of this pain. What is the root of this pain? What are the sensations of pain?”
We always tend to want to ignore pain, but by simply observing without reacting, we don’t generate needless suffering from the pain or illness. As a Buddhist monk once told me, “Life tends to fire the first arrow at us, but our aversion to the arrow is like us firing the second arrow at ourselves. The trick is to turn the second arrow into an acupuncture needle of healing.”
6. Meditation Will Help You Navigate Through Uncertain Times
Sometimes, when we’re not sure what to do, we overthink and over worry. By learning to quiet the mind in meditation, we’re able to tap into our higher intelligence of intuition—the 4 billion years of brilliant DNA programming that lies in each of us. In the stillness, our hearts can speak, and it always knows what to do.
In times of COVID-19, quarantining, economic and political uncertainty, finding peace and tranquility is more important than ever. With social distancing and extra free time on our hands, a uniquely wonderful opportunity to turn our attention inwards and meditate has been given to us.
7. Meditation Will Help You Accept Loss
The richness of our inner world is infinite and vaster than the limited material world, but when we spend our lives attached to the material, we lose sight of the infinite. We focus on things so much that we lose sight of the space that connects all things.
In truth, we can only hear and see a small fraction of the light and sound spectrum. The matter is made up of almost entirely empty space and energy, but we almost completely fall for the illusion of permanence. Thus, attachment and change cause suffering.
Meditation teaches us to let go of attachment by recognizing the temporary, illusory nature of all reality. In meditation, thoughts come and go, pains and sensations arise and fall away.
Moreover, by staying present we are constantly learning to let go of any attachments that come up in meditation. It’s one thing to know that all things change, but by experiencing that in a regular meditative practice we can begin to truly accept every loss and change in our lives.
8. Meditation Will Help You See the World Differently
Remember when you saw a flower for the first time? Remember the 100th time you saw that same flower? The flower didn’t change, but your perception of the flower changed.
When we reduce a beautiful flower down to a word, we stop seeing the flower and we start seeing the world.
9. Meditation Will Add More Happiness and Positivity in Your LifeThrough meditation, we can stop seeing the world through the clouded mind and we can start seeing it as it really is: a beautiful, miraculous, wondrous place.
Material pleasures may cause fleeting happiness, but pleasure is always followed by suffering. A bite of chocolate cake feels good for the brief moment it’s in your mouth. However, that feeling is always followed by a craving for more.
If you eat too much, you suddenly experience uncomfortable stomach pain. The only thing that truly generates lasting happiness and positivity is to turn your attention inwards.
This is where meditation will help you. It will help you disconnect from the material world, and connect with the spiritual.
When we experience pleasure, the brain creates dopamine and serotonin. However, we don’t let it last too long. It gets followed by a crash of these chemicals, leading to a depressed mood.
In meditation, we increase the body’s ability to produce dopamine and serotonin. This helps our moods become elevated for extended periods of time, leading to lasting joy and positivity without the crash.
10. Meditation Will Help You Live Longer
Recent scientific studies have shown that meditation slows the rate of cellular aging. It lowers stress and increases the positive physical and mental states that can lead to longer, healthier lives.
11. Meditation Will Help You Make This World a Better Place
There is so much going on in the world. From COVID-19, civil unrest, a divided nation, and an uncertain future. In these times, meditation can help.
It can help every single person in world become more joyful, more conscious, and more peaceful. When we take care of our own psychological well-being, we can better be there for others. Meditation is the perfect way to start.
Let’s MeditateThe post How Meditation Can Help You Become a Better Person appeared first on EastWesticism.
March 17, 2023
Path to Peace Why Does it Feel Wrong to Seek Inner Peace While Grieving?
Grief is so much more than a personal journey. It’s how we show our love for those we’ve lost to our friends and family. It’s communal and it’s one of the ways we all come together to heal.
But, we also all heal in our own way. Because there is no one right or wrong way to grieve, we may feel guilty if we don’t conform in how we grieve. We may feel like celebrating the deceased’s life instead of mourning the death. We may even laugh or smile as we remember funny stories.
While some family and friends may judge how we grieve, in this podcast I share how we can communicate our loss without feeling guilty about the way we express it. I talk about why we feel pressure to conform, how we can grieve on our own terms, and I share some stories of how I dealt with grief in my own life.
Please enjoy other episodes where I share meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.
One small positive message can uplift our day. Get your dose of positivity at https://www.youtube.com/toddperelmuter
Like what I’m doing? Support the show at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toddperel.
I answer spiritual questions from people on my weekly Path to Peace newsletter. Join the community of like-minded beautiful souls right at https://www.eastwesticism.org
You can find my books on Amazon, Audible, BarnesandNoble.com, and anywhere else you get your books.
The post Path to Peace Why Does it Feel Wrong to Seek Inner Peace While Grieving? appeared first on EastWesticism.
March 15, 2023
How to Not See Yourself as a Failure
There is a common trait among people on the spiritual path to self-actualization. Often, because we tend to focus so much on self-improvement, all of that effort can easily turn into us being hypercritical and negative about ourselves. Meanwhile, people who spend no time on introspection can be perfectly content being rude, lacking ambition, and having little success.
So, how do we strive for a better future without hating where we are right now? How do we strive for excellence without resenting our flaws? How can we take on learning new things and gaining new experiences without the fear of failing? And, how can we not judge ourselves or any others along the way?
Truth is, growth is scary and hard. Success requires courage and confidence. To achieve anything truly great, there WILL be rejection and setbacks. The key is not to avoid them but to embrace them. We can be thankful for the lessons of rejection. We can love those precious opportunities to further refine our skills. We can even take delight in discovering our own ignorances, weaknesses and limitations. And, we can stop comparing ourselves to the fake world that’s portrayed on social media where most people only share their successes and never their failures. This is the only way we can dare to dream big while maintaining our presence and clarity so that we can achieve our dreams.
We only fail when we fail to learn or when we give up entirely. In case you feel like you keep failing over and over again even after trying super hard, here’s a podcast episode for finding that lesson and the strength to move forward.
Whatever it is that we fear, we can love. Whatever is holding us back can become our greatest asset. There is always improvement within rejection. There is always a lesson in our setbacks. Only once we stop being afraid of failure can we become free from failure.
Always remember:
They say if someone hears voices that person is mentally impaired and delusional. Yet we all have a voice in our head. As long as that voice goes by our own name and we believe it is who we truly are, then society says it’s OK. But the truth is, that voice is not you. That is the trick of the ego and a delusion we all share.
Even though we don’t act on every impulse we have in our brain, we still give this inner voice power over us. Even though it is often negative, nonsensical and repetitive, we listen to its opinions and believe them.
The truth is that you are life itself. You are the mysteriously magical arising of consciousness; a finite point of awareness in an infinite universe (I talk more about the nature of consciousness in my video, What Pixar Movies Teach Us About Reality). But our thoughts only have power over us if we remain unaware of how the mind actually works. Simply by observing our thoughts, rather than just thinking the thoughts, we become free from the whims of our mind. Only by freeing our mind in this way can true freedom ever be experienced.
No matter what happened last week, let’s celebrate our victories. But, let’s also celebrate where we learned, where we grew, and where we developed new insights that can propel us forward despite the ups and downs we may face along the way. You have never been wiser or more experienced than you are right now in this moment. Yesterday is already in the past. Next week is full of unlimited potential. Onward and upward!
PS: While most people who meditate experience amazing results, it’s not uncommon for negative emotions to come up. For a better meditation experience, check out my article about 6 common meditation mistakes that can lead to anxiety and what to do instead.
How to Stop Obsessing Over Everything Get Peace & Calm DeliveredReceive the tools and insights for living a life free from fear, negativity and stress.
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March 10, 2023
Path to Peace How to Stop Judging Yourself and Others
We've all got these judgmental, opinionated, critical voices in our head — relics from a time where humans lived in the wild and in constant physical danger. Today, we live in relative safety, but whether we're at the office, in traffic, or a line at the supermarket, our bodies are in an almost constant state of stress.
This subtle constant stress puts our judgmental mind into overdrive. Instead of judging whether footprints are from a tiger or a harmless cat, we judge whether other people are threats or not.
So how do we maintain our discernment without being overly critical and negative? How do we keep safe while being more open and positive? Is it even possible to put our guards down without putting ourselves in danger? And why do we have these misery-generating tendencies in our mind in the first place?! I answer these questions and more in today's podcast.
Please enjoy other episodes where Todd shares meditation techniques, tips and spiritual lessons from around the world for peaceful and stress-free living. Remember to subscribe to stay up-to-date.
One small positive message can uplift our day. Get your dose of positivity at https://www.youtube.com/toddperelmuter
Like what I’m doing? Support the show at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/toddperel.
I answer spiritual questions from people on my weekly Path to Peace newsletter. Join the community of like-minded beautiful souls right at https://www.eastwesticism.org
You can find my books on Amazon, Audible, BarnesandNoble.com, and anywhere else you get your books.
The post Path to Peace How to Stop Judging Yourself and Others appeared first on EastWesticism.
March 5, 2023
How to See the World With Fresh Eyes Like Kids
When we’re young, everything is new. Children are open to everything and that is why we protect them from some of the scarier realities of our planet. But adults at some point and on some level are able to handle scary news headlines (more on that in my podcast on “How to Accept What Is When There Is Real Danger and Evil in the World?”). We grownups know the way the world works and so we become sure and confident, but also closed off and too serious.
So, can we learn from our tiny teachers how to see the world with fresh eyes? Can we reclaim the awe and wonder of childhood without losing our wits and faculties? And can we recognize that adulthood is not the final phase in our evolution of consciousness, but rather a stepping stone to a higher consciousness that incorporates the curiosity of our youth with the wisdom from our experience?
The great news is that yes we can. Our bodies are far more advanced than our minds can conceive. If we had to remember to make our heart beat, to make our lungs breathe, or to make our digestive tract work in just the right sequence, we’d all be dead. And yet, our bodies do all these things with no effort or thought. There is a wisdom within us beyond all mental activity. And yet, we think we must be rigid and certain in order to survive this world. We subconsciously think we must be in a state of constant stress and worry in order to be safe. We all have this subtle fear of death affecting our every decision. I talk in detail about this on YouTube.
Luckily for us, our bodies are much smarter than us. Our survival skills are so good, we can all relax. We can let go of fears and keep our wisdom. We can relax and still be alert. We can take in the beauty of this world while letting go of all the labels and concepts we’ve acquired over the years. And we can recognize the ultimate truth which is that we can’t really be certain of anything. No one knows what tomorrow will hold. An asteroid could strike, or we could win the lottery. But then again, even winning the lottery can bring with it more stress, problems and conflict. In my recent podcast, I talk about how we can possess money without being possessed by it.
There are many things we can do to see the world beyond labels and concepts. For some, meditation is the practice of relaxing while remaining alert, and over time it becomes second nature. Some people find visualizing themselves exploring an alien world helps them see the world with curiosity and fresh eyes. Other people find a trip in nature helps them regain an appreciation for simplicity. While still others embrace a digital detox, either once a week or for a couple hours everyday. One, some, or all of these techniques can be powerful practices for freeing us from the dopamine-tolerance we’ve developed over our lifetime.
Always Remember That:
Things that happen are only good or bad depending on how each subject sees the situation. Things may be desirable or undesirable, but the action itself is neither good nor bad. There is no objective quality of “good” or “bad” to our experiences.
There is so much happening in each moment and we get to choose what we focus on and how we see it. Choosing may be harder or easier depending on the person and the situation, but we can always develop our focus, deepen our awareness, and nurture our ability to see the positive. We can choose to learn and accept, or we can futilely resist and fight reality. Here I go into more depth on how we can slow down the chaos in our mind and consciously choose our thoughts and reactions.
No matter where you are or what you’re doing, just remember how miraculous it is that the atoms from billions of dying stars gave birth to you, this planet, and everything on it. Everything is a miracle. All we have to do is remember.
PS: Many people wonder if there is a downside to meditation. You might have heard stories or read articles about people having side effects like panic attacks or people withdrawing from their lives. Rumors of people becoming addicted to meditation have even been reported. So, I would like to once and for all address each one of these in my blog, “Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Meditation?”
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The post How to See the World With Fresh Eyes Like Kids appeared first on EastWesticism.
