Even More Benefits

Many people already know the benefits of meditation: better
sleep, relief from stress, and a general sense of well being -
among other things. But many people don't know how to fit
meditation into their daily routine or simply aren't sure of how
to get the most from their practice.

Now, thanks to Mark Beck, there is an inexpensive, easy way to learn how. His book, Personal Empowerment through Meditation is a short handbook on a very practical method. It's available at smashwords, and other places where you can find e-books.

Beck writes about stillness. He says that stillness is water's true nature and that the Mind is like a glass of water with some sediment in it. Your mind is like this glass of water: it can be turbulent and muddy, or still and (mostly) clear.

He says that meditation is a "powerful tool that can help us lead happier and more peaceful lives."

So, if you've ever had trouble meditating, or are just beginning, you want to read this book! There are many physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of meditation.


The benefits include inner peace as well as world peace, according to some...See the previous post for the scoop on world peace!

Also, see the book review on Verbal Impact.

Namaste.

More Meditation Benefits

Have you heard about Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi? He taught the Beatles how to do transcendental meditation, as well as thousands of others.

It seems TM has even more benefits than other types of meditation. There have been many studies now, that show that if a person meditates regularly, he will enjoy all the benefits of the relaxation response, including better sleep, higher energy, more patience, higher frustration tolerance, better health, and better brain function. So there are many individual benefits and it seems this can be expanded to the community level, promoting peace and lowering violence of all kinds.

Someone has used the data to calculate that when we have 8,000 people meditating daily, that there will be world peace. I think this is really interesting and will write more about it this year.

If you are interested, see http://www.permanentpeace.org/.

Another transformational book review

The book review this month, is called Creating True Peace by Thick Nhat Hanh. It is a transformational book about Life. Thick Nhat Hanh is a buddhist monk who has written several books about Engaged Buddhism, which he learned and taught during the Viet Nam war. He mentions how they fervently prayed for a 24-hour truce so they might have some respite from the bombing, in order to meditate, breathe and smile. The smile is very symbolic in Buddhism. They smile with compassion at every person, because they believe suffering is universal.

TNH believes that if we promote peace in our own hearts and minds, then our circumstances will improve. He believes that mindful breathing and walking can increase peace and compassion and even transform our negative emotions into a more productive state of happiness. He says no person can be happy, if they do not have peace in their heart. He advocates deep listening and loving speech in order to promote peace in our own lives. And if we have peace in our own lives, it can spread to the family, community and the whole world.

He gives a lot of practical advice in the book, to promote mindfulness and peacefulness. For example, every house should have a Peace room and a meditation bell. Whenever the bell is rung you must stop and breathe, so even the youngest in the family may initiate a peaceful time out. The peace room is a place where anyone in the family can go for peaceful meditation, yet whenever a family member uses the room it is advisable for the whole family to join in.

It's also about transforming your suffering or negative emotions into compassion, with very simple methods, like breathing and walking. Things we do every day. But do we do them mindfully? Of course not!

Peace, love and compassion. You would think these would be concepts worthy of embracing in today's world. You might think everybody could agree that these are valuable and worthwhile. But it is amazing how controversial they can be.

Fortunately, it seems that by applying his practical advice, and applying compassion, persistently, circumstances and relationships can change. Conflict can be transformed into cooperation. He even has advice for politicians and governments.

As a result of reading (and rereading) this book, I have decided to adopt some of his ideas in order to have more peace in my heart, a more harmonious family life, more deep listening at work, and hopefully promote peace in my own community and country.