The Benefits of Meditation
Maybe meditation isn't so mysterious after all. Neuroscientists have found that meditators shift their brain activity to different areas of the cortex - brain waves in the stress-prone right frontal cortex move to the calmer left frontal cortex. This mental shift decreases the negative effects of stress, mild depression and anxiety. There is also less activity in the amygdala, where the brain processes fear.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, recorded the brain waves of stressed-out employees of a high-tech firm in Madison, Wisconsin. The subjects were split randomly into two groups, 25 people were asked to learn meditation over eight weeks, and the remaining 16 were left alone as a control group.
All participants had their brain waves scanned three times during the study: at the beginning of the experiment, when meditation lessons were completed eight weeks later, and four months after that. The researchers found that the meditators showed a pronounced shift in activity to the left frontal lobe. In other words, they were calmer and happier than before.
Hypnosis and meditation go hand-in-hand as they are both tools that allow us to access the subconscious mind.
In both cases we begin by moving from our normal Beta (brainwave) state of consciousness into the Alpha state – and sometimes beyond. The major difference between hypnosis and meditation is that with hypnosis, there is an objective goal. A goal that we can typically frame in relation to our interactions with others and our environment. These goals include behaviour changes, mangaing fears, stress and many other "real world" issues.
Meditation is focused on what we can term subjective goals, or outcomes that are personally relevant.
Even if we are to contemplate the many physiological and psychological benefits of meditation, our experience of the meditative state is deeply personal.
We can think of hypnosis as reconditioning the mind and meditation as deconditioning the mind!
Imagine you are standing in front of a dirty mirror.
What does your reflection look like?
As you clean the mirror your reflection is clearer.
Meditation is the process by which we are able to purify the mind and, like cleaning the mirror, we are better able to truly see ourself.
At the OHC, we emphasize that the majority of the work needed for effective change must come from the client. Because of this, we provide tools, such as self-hypnosis, that our clients use whenever they need.
Meditation is another powerful tool that can be part of your process of change. This is why we now have as part of our services classes that teach you authentic and effective meditation techniques. Just look at some of the benefits of meditation.
A Message from John:
Wake up friends!
Life is for more then chasing simple pleasures, don't mistake rocks for gold.
Through meditation the inner joy will come.
Let us use the strength and energy we get from meditation in order to serve the world and humanity.
This is how one will find fragrance in life.
If you are sincere in your search for more, then I suggest with all my heart that you come to the Ontario Hypnosis Centre and join our meditation class.
You will learn genuine techniques to rise up, to wake up!
Namaste
Studies in Neuroscience show meditation:
- Can help relieve symptoms in people who suffer from chronic pain
- Enhances the immune system
- Decreases the aging process
- Reduces cholesterol levels, lowers risk of cardiovascular disease
- Helps Orderliness of Brain Functioning
- Normalizes to your ideal weight
- Harmonizes our endocrine system
- Increases creativity
- Improves learning ability and memory
- Increases listening skills and empathy
- Helps keep things in perspective
- Creates a widening, deepening capacity for love
- Helps with forgiveness
- Increases feelings of vitality and rejuvenation
- Helps with focus & concentration
- Builds self-confidence
- Helps control own thoughts
- Increases ability to solve complex problems
- Easier to remove bad habits
- Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress
- Helps in post-operative healing
