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Post by auntym on Aug 9, 2015 16:26:59 GMT -6
My job is taking my time, sorry to have gone quiet. Here is my meditation page. I live with meditation as a major part of my life since high school. Spirit in Service - Meditation really nice sunbow...thanks for giving us your link...
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sunbow
Full Member
Seeing, Dreaming, and Loving...
Posts: 859
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Post by sunbow on Aug 10, 2015 19:26:10 GMT -6
I think of you all often and somehow can never leave this whole topic alone: I mean them and us. Meditation, in whatever form is an essential part of coming to our humanity. It is difficult to quiet the inside and listen. We are so conditioned to put out energy, that to really sense is very hard. I know from posts that we have all had flashes of it and so I am an advocate of taking an active role and committing to clearing our heads to really listen to the finer dimensions...
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Post by auntym on Aug 15, 2015 15:21:12 GMT -6
James Van Praagh Meditation: The Waterfall of Light
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Post by auntym on Aug 31, 2017 14:30:01 GMT -6
blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/your-brain-as-laboratory-the-science-of-meditation/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sa-editorial-social&utm_content=link-post&utm_term=mind_blog_&sf110665234=1 Your Brain as Laboratory: The Science of Meditation The idea that meditation is actually a form of research is gaining respect By John Yates / www.scientificamerican.com/author/john-yates/ February 24, 2017 Meditation has surged in popularity in recent years, from a fringe interest to a mainstream trend championed by therapists, scientists, and celebrities. As part of this shift, misconceptions and dismissals have given way to the emerging recognition of meditation as a science. There are, however, those who would challenge this view. As both a scientist and a meditator, I feel a duty to respond. In doing so, I must first acknowledge the huge number of activities commonly referred to as meditation. Many of those activities are not in any sense scientific. However, I will argue that some meditation practices, including the method I describe in The Mind Illuminated and other practices within the Buddhist tradition, do qualify as science. I will confine my discussion to those practices. We can define science as the systematic study of the natural world through observation and experiment, yielding an organized body of knowledge on a particular subject. The human mind is undeniably a suitable subject for scientific study, and one purpose of meditation is careful observation of one’s own mind. This observation reveals consistent patterns that meditators share with one another and with teachers who direct their practice. Master meditators weigh these observations against their own experience and knowledge passed down from previous generations of meditation masters, thereby generating models of the mind. Over thousands of years, meditators have tested, refined, and reworked their models of the mind based on new insights as later generations developed new meditative techniques. Thus, over time, an organized body of knowledge has accumulated describing the nature and behavior of the mind at a very fine level of resolution. This is one sense in which certain forms of meditation qualify as science. However, meditation is not simply passive observation, nor could it be, since the very act of observation is itself an activity of mind. Rather the meditator intentionally employs attention, awareness, and other mental faculties in a variety of ways to better understand the functional behavior of the mind. (The effect of observation on the thing observed is not different than what occurs in quantum physics.) Precisely how these mental faculties are used in the investigation of the mind is subject to modification that can increase or decrease the efficacy of this endeavor. Thus meditation is also technology. Credit: The Mind Illuminated In the history of meditation practices that qualify as scientific, meditation masters have used models of the mind generated by meditation to modify meditation techniques for increased efficacy. Such modifications can be viewed as hypotheses, and their implementation as experiments. When these modifications are subsequently preserved because they are effective, the experimental results have passed the tests of replicability and falsifiability required by the scientific method. The picture of meditation as science is complete. The hypotheses generated in response to observation and analysis have been tested, validated, and incorporated into the expanding body of knowledge. Such meditation practices are justifiably described as an evolving science, and the laboratory in which this science is carried out is the mind. Some would argue that the results must be objective in a sense that precludes any element of subjectivity. This requirement is ultimately indefensible and would exclude much of the important work being done today in psychology and social sciences. On the other hand, we are increasingly able to verify brain changes in subject populations employing particular meditation techniques. Thus there is an emerging ability of third-person science to corroborate the models created through the first-person mind science of meditation. When discussing meditation as a science and technology, it’s important to acknowledge the ultimate goal is a profound cognitive shift to a more accurate perception of one’s self and one’s relationship to the world. This cognitive shift, is traditionally known as “liberation,” “enlightenment,” or “awakening” (the latter being my preferred term), which in turn, produces a dramatic and persistent increase in well-being. Therefore, both knowledge acquisition and its consequence also serve as outcome measures by which to evaluate efficacy. We are fortunate to live in a time when the investigation of the mind through meditative science comes face-to-face with the investigation of the brain through material science. The conjunction of these different but complementary approaches provides us with an incredible opportunity. What is the mind other than the brain as experienced from the inside? And what is the brain other than the mind experienced from the outside? We have succeeded in identifying the neural correlates of many behavioral and experiential phenomena and can expect the rapid acceleration of this process. (NB: this is not a description reflecting materialistic reductionism but is equally compatible with philosophical positions of idealistic reductionism and non-dualism!) The knowledge of the mind that meditation provides can be of enormous value in guiding the future research of neuroscientists. On the other hand, this continued unfolding of our knowledge of the physical brain can allow us to understand more clearly the most amazing and powerful experiences of adept meditators, including awakening. This cognitive transformation, characterized by wisdom, compassion, and freedom from most forms of suffering, might ultimately become available to millions, completely transforming human society and helping us solve the enormous threats our species and our planet now face. blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/your-brain-as-laboratory-the-science-of-meditation/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sa-editorial-social&utm_content=link-post&utm_term=mind_blog_&sf110665234=1
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Post by auntym on Jul 30, 2018 11:48:18 GMT -6
www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2018/07/daily-2-cents-can-meditation-enhance.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+PhantomsAndMonstersAPersonalJourney+(Phantoms+and+Monsters) Monday, July 30, 2018 Can Meditation Enhance Perception?Posted by Lon Strickler / plus.google.com/+LonStrickler Can Meditation Enhance Perception?By James Hirlehey - (submission): Most people believe that everything which exists is there for a reason and fits within the limits of rational thinking. We forget that this is just a belief, a paradigm determined by the time in which we live. This rationale is considered powerful enough to explain everything without resorting to less tangible elements, such as God. The universe is conceived as a mechanism, formed by assembled pieces, which can be dissected, analyzed and finally comprehended. The popular belief is that human beings have the power to understand creation and the wider universe. Everything follows a logical process, therefore can be framed within the same parameters described above. Therefore, everything that the prevailing scientific paradigm hasn’t been able to decipher must be, logically speaking, nonexistent or false. Religions and traditions, on the contrary, have guided us from ancient times; it is very much a modern concept to believe that everything must fit and be easily explained. Though traditions are may not be entirely plausible, they still point to ideas which stretch the limits of contemporary thinking. Just as the senses have limits to comprehend reality which can be fooled by an illusion, human reason also can be challenged too. Here’s where meditation is a useful tool to venture beyond the boundaries of normal thinking, leading to new knowledge and expansion of understanding. Meditation breaks the conventional limits that forces people to comprehend via a process of scientific evaluation only. This method of relaxation opens the senses to an infinite universe full of new realities. A new level of perception: When you are in the habit of meditating, you may "see things" during a session. What you "see" can be a product of your mind letting itself go and creating images from all the elements which are present in your day to day life. Conversely, you may also be perceiving a response to stimuli, whether it’s an emotion, an energy or a smell; sometimes a memory may be triggered at an unexpected moment. Practicing yoga and meditation helps to seek the balance of mind, body, and spirit. By silencing intrusive thoughts, lowering the stressful noise of everyday life, it’s possible to reach inner peace. A perfect state of silence and full connection with the environment, some call it enlightenment. When all that peripheral noise has been shut down, there’s the potential for perception to expand making space for new ideas and thoughts. When meditating, Buddhists manage to minimize their brain activity, eliminating sensory stimuli, thoughts, memories and mental processes that occur even during sleep. The normal activity can act as a blindfold for other levels of perception and understanding. Intense meditation causes brain changes known as neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt and transform according to the stimuli it receives. During stress, the brain returns to a more primitive type of speech. Analyzing Buddhist monks’ brain activity during meditation scientists have been able to record the transition of conscious states. This includes the brain whilst alert as well as in a more relaxed and receptive state. The last phase achieved for those with great meditative skills is a state that can be considered as a deep rest without being asleep, silencing all the voices and reaching inner peace. Meditation can alter your perception to a new way of seeing and communicating with the energies in the environment. These visions may contain Jungian archetypes, mandalas, numbers, even messages from the angelic cohorts. Establishing contact with the unconscious means getting in touch with your own darkness and repressed desires. Such hidden aspects are part of the accumulated energy within yourself which can also provide messages for self-improvement, forgiveness and perhaps, from the beyond. During the night many people are more perceptive to the energies that surround them. Some even report feeling someone else laying in their bed, or just watching them from the door frame. There are also some who claim to feel presences mainly during long meditation sessions. What should I do? If you have been able to establish some level of connection with paranormal energies or have empowered your third eye and begun to have new perceptions of the world around you, it is possible that you have managed to ascend to a higher level of consciousness. It is often believed that these perceptions are only "felt" by certain types of persons but you are always surrounded by this energy. However, it’s sometimes possible to lack the spiritual maturity to accept them, or the decision to accept their meaning. Meditation can be a tool powerful enough to provoke a consciousness rebirth of individuals whether they are gifted or not. If during your meditation you start to sense blurry images, symbols or forms, keep calm and let yourself register all the energy you’re surrounded by. Analyze the images, shapes or figures that appear to understand the message you’re receiving during meditation. In conclusion: People who experience this type of perception or have recurring sensations shouldn’t be frightened. Instead they should seek to deepen and sharpen the sensations and thus develop the latent extrasensory power they have. Paranormal events are merely the scientifically unexplained phenomena that end up being studied by parapsychology. There are many branches of knowledge devoted to the study of those subtle but powerful connections that occur when we develop a different level of perception, like telepathy, tarot reading, psychic abilities, remembering past lives, and reaching the beyond. www.phantomsandmonsters.com/2018/07/daily-2-cents-can-meditation-enhance.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+PhantomsAndMonstersAPersonalJourney+(Phantoms+and+Monsters)
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Post by auntym on Feb 25, 2019 13:49:11 GMT -6
mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/02/the-meditation-question-placebo-effect-or-path-to-mindfulness/ The Meditation Question: Placebo Effect, or Path to Mindfulness?byj Micah Hanks/ February 24, 2019 Meditation is one of the oldest practices for improving mindfulness and self-knowledge. Ancient literature often contains references to meditative practices, like that found in Mandala Four, Hymn 36 of the Rig Veda, the largest and most important of the ancient Indian epics. In it, the narrator addresses “Ye Sapient Ones who made the lightly-rolling car out of your mind, by thought, the car that never errs,” in reference to the wisdom attained by those who have learned to still their minds. Although variations have appeared over the ages, the fundamental purpose of meditation remains essentially the same: this “stilling” of the mind, where one learns to focus on doing one thing at a time, and herein manifests a state of calm and detachment. Because of its prevalence in ancient literature, many would see meditation as being purely an “ancient” practice, and an esoteric one with little relevance in the modern world. However, despite certain stigmas that remain about it, meditation has continued to garner attention as a path toward mindfulness and self-improvement in recent years. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, a U.S. agency headed by Helene Langevin that looks at the usefulness of complementary and alternative medicine or therapeutic practices, several studies from over the years have looked at how and why meditation might be beneficial for people. Among the benefits of meditation cited by the NCCI, positive effects on blood pressure, anxiety and depression, insomnia, and even conditions like irritable bowel syndrome have been cited in previous scientific studies. “Evidence about its effectiveness for pain and as a smoking-cessation treatment is uncertain,” according to a statement at the NCCI website. John Yates, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and author of the book The Mind Illuminated, is also a longtime advocate and teacher of meditation. Yates argues that meditation might even be viewed as a form of technology that, through practice, allows people to examine various functions of the mind: “[T]he meditator intentionally employs attention, awareness, and other mental faculties in a variety of ways to better understand the functional behavior of the mind. (The effect of observation on the thing observed is not different than what occurs in quantum physics.) Precisely how these mental faculties are used in the investigation of the mind is subject to modification that can increase or decrease the efficacy of this endeavor. Thus meditation is also technology.” In this sense, the usefulness of meditation from the perspective of neuroscience might be likened to a tool, rather than merely being an exercise that promotes mental clarity. From this perspective (which also has obvious psychological implications), meditation is something that, through practice, helps one to improve their overall self-knowledge and efficacy of thought. Mirroring this concept, Bruce Lieberman reported last year in the Washington Post that some of the most effective studies involving meditation right now actually see it combined with psychotherapeutic techniques, resulting in a mindfulness-oriented approach to cognitive therapy: “Some of the most impressive studies to date involve a treatment called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, which combines meditation with psychotherapy to help patients deal with thoughts that lead to depression. Randomized controlled trials have shown that the approach significantly reduces the risk of depression relapse in individuals who have previously had three or more major depressive episodes.” However, despite the studies and theories that seem to convey its usefulness, meditation remains an item of debate in the scholarly community, due to contrasting views about whether its effectiveness can be proven. In October 2017, a paper that appeared in Perspectives on Psychological Science relayed the opinions of a group of 15 cognitive scientists and psychologists, who argued that “Misinformation and poor methodology associated with past studies of mindfulness may lead public consumers to be harmed, misled, and disappointed.” The authors further argued that the term “mindfulness” often isn’t clearly defined when used in relation to the discussion about meditation, particularly in popular mediums. Studies that raise questions over the effectiveness of meditation, as well as how, precisely, it benefits those who practice it, fundamentally aim to lessen the risks associated with those who might promote the use of unproven practices or therapeutic methods with financial interests in mind. Further, questions about the effectiveness of meditation are often rooted in concerns that while some tests do appear to show positive results, they may not have instituted enough controls to rule out the placebo effect (it should be noted that there are studies from 2015 that seem to accomplish this, in terms of the effectiveness of meditation in relation to pain management). However, since the placebo effect entails observations where a belief in the effectiveness of treatment results in a perceived improvement, it seems that reconciling the effects of meditation here might be inherently difficult. At the end of the day, if a person practices meditation and feels that they benefit from it in various ways, and none of these benefits–real or imaginary–are otherwise harmful to the individual, can one really make an argument against those benefits? In other words, maybe even a perceived benefit that is scientifically unproven can still help improve a person’s quality of life. While the academic debates over meditation and its usefulness continue, don’t bother trying to argue about it with those who are regular practitioners; as John Yates, Ph.D. said last year in a blog for Scientific American, “This cognitive transformation, characterized by wisdom, compassion, and freedom from most forms of suffering, might ultimately become available to millions, completely transforming human society and helping us solve the enormous threats our species and our planet now face.” If Yates is correct, it seems that the age-old tradition of meditation is as popular as ever, and that it’s not going away any time soon. mysteriousuniverse.org/2019/02/the-meditation-question-placebo-effect-or-path-to-mindfulness/
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Post by auntym on Mar 20, 2019 16:34:16 GMT -6
this is a really nice 20 min. guided meditation
Get Clear Advice from Your Guides, Angels and Masters
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Post by auntym on Feb 21, 2022 14:45:15 GMT -6
Initiating Contact
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Post by auntym on Feb 22, 2022 13:54:34 GMT -6
CONNECT WITH YOUR ET & SPIRIT GUIDES
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Post by paratheorist on Apr 13, 2024 8:46:31 GMT -6
Meditation is a part of metaphysics. It can be used for many endeavors into the supernormal, like mentioned above contact with alien beings. Also meditation is utilized to invoke astral projection, Remote viewing. And it can help with psychic or mental hardening, which can assist in warding off attacks from unwanted intruders or entities at night. Rosemary Ellen Guiley wrote a book; "Guide to Psychic Protection," about this subject.
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