Author Archives: instantbrainwave

sleep meditation Big Screen And Small Screen Entertainment

Meditation music is music performed to aid in the practice of meditation. It can have a specific religious content, but also more recently has been associated with modern composers who use meditation techniques in their process of composition, or who compose such music with no particular religious group as a focus.

free download yoga meditation music mp3 | app store account
Rather sweetly and fondly I remember the television set from my childhood – it was an item of furniture in its own right. It commanded a corner in our sitting room, slung on a sturdy table which developed a weary wobble over the years. The grey molded screen sat in a wood-plastic like casing; the back of which extended further than anyone could guess in black perforated plastic. The controls were 4 sturdy buttons which hurt my fingers when I pressed through the three channels. If no one could be bothered to move from the sofa, a wooden pool cue could be swung at these fake silver buttons and with a good deal of effort and skill, a flick through the channels took several minutes.

The screen always started, from a small central white point which clouded and then expanded to reveal a lined, grainy color picture. The sound was always slightly marred by a tiny distant hum, behind the movie voices.

Now, well televisions are thinner than many books, are backlit cinematic extravaganzas with 24 hour programming from all over the world. I can sit tight and change channels remotely, change resolutions, volumes, call up programs and record things weeks in advance. My sound can be adapted to the room, or characterized through several options or even built into my living space via wireless speaker systems for ultimate surround sound.

So much has changed!

Exactly the same could be said for the PC and gaming electronics – once a bit of a mystery which seemed to require knowledge of another language and would break down into strange strings of codes – and the graphics, well we can remember them! Responsive website design was a thing unheard of!

Think now, to the phones we carry in our pockets – smaller than an old television remote control – and think what is in this little device. It is not just about making and receiving calls – I can make movies, play games, store documents, take notes and shopping lists without need for paper and pen; I can capture a scene with a really great camera, record my voice and post all of this on a range of social network sites. I can listen to an attic full of music, read a shelf of novels and research every major library in the land. I can buy myself new shoes, look up how many calories I have eaten since breakfast and at the end of the day, meditate with the help of a website.

Amazing.

Responsive website design is the trick to much of this; and not only does this ensure that my big screen PC looks great and shows me great looking stuff, but it also ensures my phone shows me stuff too. Such design ensures that I don’t leave my phone off for research or shopping and makes my phone an even more usable and portable pocket tool. I can pop onto my daughter’s tablet and ensure she experiences the great world of all of this and my son, on his smaller tablet, can read, direct, play and research without using the PC.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.

Types of meditation
Loving-kindness meditation. With the many types of meditation to try, there should be one to suit most individuals. …
Body scan or progressive relaxation. …
Mindfulness meditation. …
Breath awareness meditation. …
Kundalini yoga. …
Zen meditation. …
Transcendental Meditation.

Meditation is a habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. You can use it to increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings. Many people think of it as a way to reduce stress and develop concentration.
Basic meditation music simply provides a way for an individual to go deeper with their meditation by adding a new layer to their experience. … Unlike many other music forms, the binaural beats work with the brain to develop a frequency most associated with relaxation.

Brainwave Entrainment Finding Effective Panic Attack Therapy

Leave a reply

Brainwave entrainment is a method to stimulate the brain into entering a specific state by using a pulsing sound, light, or electromagnetic field. The pulses elicit the brain’s ‘frequency following’ response, encouraging the brainwaves to align to the frequency of a given beat.
ocean sounds for sleep | childrens meditation music
I am a firm believer that therapy sounds far better and healthier than treatment as therapy always gives me the idea that the actual cause of a disorder is being addressed whereas treatment always creates the impression in my mind of having to take some type of medication to treat the symptoms of a disorder.

So when I think of effective panic attack therapy the first thing that pops into my mind is a natural and healthy way to address the cause of the these attacks such as cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnotherapy or brainwave programmer.

All of these forms of anxiety or panic attack therapy are completely natural, side effect free and very healthy for the sufferer of this type of mental disorder and the best part of it all is that they all have been proven to be very successful in the treatment of these disorders.

The reason for their success is that they focus on correcting the incorrect programming within the subconscious mind of the sufferer so as to be able to stop the subconscious mind from reacting in negative or inappropriate ways to certain situations or stimulus which are believed to be the triggers which cause the anxiety attacks to take place.

The great part about effective panic attack therapy is that its results are long lasting and once the individual has learned to access the subconscious mind they are in effect able to reinforce this treatment at will whenever they feel it might be necessary thus putting the control of their life back in their hands and removing it from the control of the anxiety attacks.

Now if you ask me, that is far better than simply taking some pills to alleviate the symptoms of the attacks but never actually being free of the attacks themselves. Good luck and here is wishing you a happy and panic free life.
Brainwave entrainment is a method to stimulate the brain into entering a specific state by using a pulsing sound, light, or electromagnetic field. The pulses elicit the brain? ?requency following?response, encouraging the brainwaves to align to the frequency of a given beat.

This ?requency following?response of brainwave entrainment can be seen in action with those prone to epilepsy. If a strobe flashes at their seizure frequency, the brain will ?ntrain?to the flashing light, resulting in a seizure.

On the positive side, this same mechanism is commonly used to induce many brainwave states; such as a trance, enhanced focus, relaxation, meditation or sleep induction. The brainwave entrainment effectively pushes the entire brain into a certain state.

Brainwave entrainment works for almost everyone. It is a great way to lead your mind into states that you might usually have difficulty reaching, allowing you to experience what those states feel like.

THE HYPE
There is a lot of marketing hype around brainwave entrainment. It is sold with promises of increasing IQ, promoting weight loss, ?ind-tripping? enhancing creativity, concentration, inducing spiritual states and more.

While these claims are not entirely true, they are not altogether false either. In practice, the claims are based on an overly-simplistic view of how the brain and the brainwaves function.
THE RUB
People are very seldom deficient in a certain brainwave type in all areas of their brain. Usually the distribution is much spottier, with an excess in one area and a deficiency in another.

We are all different, especially when it comes to the distribution of our brainwaves. Boosting a certain brainwave state may be beneficial for one person, and emotionally uncomfortable for another. Without knowing each person? starting position, entrainment can be rather ?it and miss?

If brainwave entrainment leaves you with unwanted side-effects (see below) or discomfort, you?e probably encouraging a range of brainwaves that are already excessive in some area of your brain. The way around this is to get a brain map to see what your brain? strengths and weaknesses are, and see what (if any) brainwaves could use some encouragement.

relaxing music 3 Steps Before You Go to Sleep – Natural Insomnia Cures

Leave a reply

Meditation music is music performed to aid in the practice of meditation. It can have a specific religious content, but also more recently has been associated with modern composers who use meditation techniques in their process of composition, or who compose such music with no particular religious group as a focus.

brainwave meaning | meditation videos
Often, we believe that insomnia is related to deeply rooted problems that are interfering with our sleep. This leads to the inability to sleep and complications that come with restless nights. If you are unable to sleep, then finding insomnia cures is the beginning to getting the rest that you need while covering up the problems that are coming from your sleep. If you are not certain why you are not able to sleep, then beginning to change small things can help you to define the specific problem while working toward the solution you need.

One of the main reasons that most can’t sleep at night that suffers from insomnia is because of the inability for the mind to turn off. If you find that you have continuous thoughts that enter your mind when you are trying to sleep, then beginning to change the thought processes through small changes around you can help you to concentrate only on sleeping, while moving into a state that is more relaxed. Following are three things you can do to turn your mind to the point where it feels like it wants to rest and sleep.

1. Think cleanliness. If your environment is cluttered and not clean, then it will stimulate your mind into thinking about things. Whether you are thinking about cleaning up or are considering the things surrounding the clutter, it can lead to specific problems with sleep. You can combine this with a warm bath to help slow you down and to make sure that you feel clean when you are ready to rest. This will help to slow you down and will remove all thoughts of clutter from your body.

2. Think of your surroundings. One of the problems with sleep that you can easily tackle for easy insomnia cures is linked to noise and light. These both stimulate the senses and can keep you awake at night. Getting a darker covering for your window, turning off sound and using earplugs can all work to eliminate any problems you are having with the sound and light that are in your home.

3. Think quietly. No matter what the reason of insomnia is linked to, you can find a way to cure it by slowing your mind down. Most who have problems sleeping recommend not to keep different mental stimulants on before you go to bed. Taking time before you go to bed to slow down your mind such as breathing deeply, meditating or listening to music, can all help you to relax, calm down and move toward a state of rest.

With these simple and effective solutions, you can easily move toward a well-rested night. These natural options work as insomnia cures for your needs, while providing you with a different routine to help you get the rest you need. Even though most solutions are simple, they are known to work effectively for those that are trying to find a complete solution toward their lack of sleep.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.

brain waves Fun Ways to Relieve Stress – The Benefits of Using Light Sound Machines

Leave a reply

High stress levels are linked to heart disease and high blood pressure, as well as a number of other health problems. It leads to poor immunity or weight gain ( Around 20% of women increase their calorie intake in stressful situations.)

Fun Ways to Relieve Stress:

Mindfulness activities help relax your mind and are often combined with body-centered relaxation exercises.

1. Autogenic training – consists of six standard exercises that make the body relax. For each exercise, you use visual imagination and verbal cues to relax your body in some specific way.

2. Self-hypnosis- can open your mind to suggestions that can relieve stress or change the way you respond to stress.

3. Meditation – focuses your attention on feeling calm and having a clear awareness about your life.

4. Guided imagery (visualization) – is a method of using your imagination to help you relax and release tension caused by stress.

5. Music therapy – can relax your body, improve your mood, and change the pace of your day.

6. Light Sound Machines – one of the most powerful and fun ways to relieve stress (visualisation/light + music/sound therapy + meditation)

How Light Sound Machines work:

It generate precisely timed patterns of modulated sound and light which can gently lead your mind into a variety of interesting and beneficial states of consciousness.

With special light-bearing sunglasses over your closed eyes and headphones over your ears, you are immersed in colorful dancing geometric patterns and entrancing sounds. The light and sound pulse rate shifts from state to state as the session progresses; mental activity will follow the pulse rate of the machine.

Benefits:

– Easy to use
– Pleasant (fun)
– Efficient

These powerful light sound machines can also help you:

– relax deeply,
– experience less anxiety,
– and fall asleep more quickly,
– it is a fun way to relieve stress,..

Sound and music have been used for centuries in many cultures to alter consciousness. Drums, chants, and environmental sounds like wind and rain all provide strong mental pictures and associations. Pleasant sounds are much more enjoyable and relaxing than one-note beeps or tones.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.

meditation music Morning Meditation: A Peaceful Way to Start Our Day

Leave a reply

When we first wake up in the morning, we have echoes of the previous night; echoes of our dreams that often resonate with us when we first wake up. If you’ve had a restful, peaceful night of sleep because you mediated the night before, then you will probably wake up rested and peaceful. If you went to bed stressed, worried and your dreams reflected that experience, then you will probably wake up not very rested and beginning the day with worries and fears.

What can really be helpful is to change your morning experience into something positive, healthy and into something that can help you throughout the day. Here are some steps that I recommend you implement every morning so that you can have a beautiful morning with a beautiful experience each and every day. Of course you may not be able to do them right away or you may choose to make some changes and work towards having a beautiful, wonderful morning every day. It takes time and effort to implement these changes and many of us are very, very busy. It’s up to you how you approach it, but either way you will benefit from beginning your day in a more positive way by implementing these techniques.

First let me talk about what you can do to start your day off right. The first thing you will want to do is wake up in a gentle, calm way. I am very anti-alarm clock. The phrase itself portrays “stress;” alarm clock – waking you up with alarm. Instead, I recommend you set your wake up clock to beautiful gentle music. Have it play gentle, spa-like music. Your MP3 player, iPod or such are great for this.

Next you will want to wake up and drink a glass of water immediately. You’ve been dehydrated all night long and need to replenish your system with either cool or warm water, whichever is your preference. Be sure to drink water and not other substances such as a morning cup of coffee or orange juice, etc. as the water is what your body truly needs.

After you’ve had your water I highly suggest you grab an inspirational book you can read. Even if it’s just a few sentences or paragraphs you can read to set your mind on something good, calm and peaceful. Your thoughts and mind can now think about calming, peaceful and positive thoughts instead of the negative thoughts you may have woken up with.

Next I recommend doing a little yoga or stretching so that you can prepare your body for your meditation. After your stretching or yoga, you can begin your morning meditation. Find a quiet, peaceful place to meditate. Work towards meditating about 30 minutes or more every day but you can start off with just a few minutes; perhaps five or ten minutes to begin with. You need to sit quietly, comfortably and perhaps at first use a guided meditation. You may also want to use a mantra or prayer word to help guide you. As you breathe in you say “I am;” breathe out and say “peaceful.” You say this in your head each time as you breathe in and out calmly in a relaxing manner. It really is a beautiful way to start your day on a positive note.

As you’ve had more experience meditating you can follow your breath. As thoughts creep in, acknowledge them but release them and go back to concentrating your breathing again. This is what is called “Breath Meditation” and it truly is one of the most powerful ways to start your day. You present yourself to God and the Universe in a still, quiet, receptive mode and it is a beautiful way to start your day.

To finish off your beautiful beginning to the day I suggest you take a moment to connect yourself with the beautiful world around you. Go to your yard or someplace outside and soak in a little bit of the nature around you. If you live in a large, busy city you can even create something inside your own house that allows you to breathe in and soak in the beauty of nature. A few ideas are to use something as easy as a small bubbling fountain with a plant or two, placed next to a window that allows the morning sun to come in at you as you relax. It can be anything that allows you to connect yourself to the beauty of nature.

Then it’s time to go to your breakfast table. Take the time to sit and enjoy something “live,” unprocessed. Perhaps a piece of fruit, an apple, an orange or something healthy that will start your day off in a positive, healthy way. Try to stay away from processed foods, instead enjoying what nature has provided us to nourish our bodies. Infuse your body with vitamins and enzymes that are alive and nourishing.

Finally, perhaps as you sit down in your car to begin your journey into the day, take one last moment to pause and just thank the world for the beautiful day before you. Be thankful that you can be in this beautiful world, present and participating in it peacefully throughout the day. So as your busy day gets started, if you need to you can come back to how your day began and allow that peaceful start permeate throughout your day. Starting with a peaceful, calm, relaxing morning will make a world of difference in how you see the rest of your day, no matter how hectic it can become. You will always have that peaceful beginning to look back on.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.

sleep meditation Healing Isn’t Always Pretty

Leave a reply

Meditation music is music performed to aid in the practice of meditation. It can have a specific religious content, but also more recently has been associated with modern composers who use meditation techniques in their process of composition, or who compose such music with no particular religious group as a focus.

royalty free meditation music | soft relaxing music
I feel angry right now. Many people would say that anger isn’t very spiritual, that we should meditate to get rid of it, release it… but I’d say that anger has its place. We often feel anger when confronted with difficult or painful situations; anger, like depression has a huge place in getting over bereavement. It’s not healthy to hold onto anger but to experience it, to stand in the white flame of that feeling with no uncertainty can be very powerful and liberating.

If you’ve ever tried to help someone who seemed to constantly return to the same situation; whether it was through alcohol, gambling, food or other abuse, you may understand that for some people hitting rock bottom can be devastating, but the only way to start the healing process.

Spas can be very reassuring, with their neutral walls, soft music and essential oils but all of the softness is essential because it helps us handle the jangly sharp edges of what comes up during the healing process.

I was writing another article about the ego and why it is so hard for us to let it go, and here I find another reason; because when we begin to accept that we are perfect, whole and complete in ourselves then that can unleash a whole heap of anger and resentment towards the people who treated us as if we were not. “Putting up and shutting up” can be calm on the surface, but when we finally walk away from damaging situations it can take a long time for the pain and anger we ignored to come up and burn itself out. It doesn’t feel good.

It also doesn’t feel good when you have food poisoning and the body does what it has to do to get rid of the poison. It doesn’t feel good to have flu and suffer sweats and weakness as your body creates a high fever to burn off the virus. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.

Telling the truth can also be incredibly painful. The first time we admit to ourselves or a friend how somebody hurt us, or how we hurt ourselves, it can feel like it’s happening all over again. Sometimes we get caught in our stories, telling them over and over, reliving until the past is more real than the present but if we’re lucky opening up and telling the truth can free us to move on.

And the messiest, most painful part of the process? I think it’s trying again. Picking ourselves up and really putting our hearts, minds and resources into another venture, whether it’s romantic, business, friendships, physical. Putting ourselves out there in any way is trusting again, trusting others, trusting ourselves, “feeling the fear and doing it anyway”. It feels exhausting, painful, hopeless sometimes, and the darkest part of others and ourselves is always ready to cry; “I told you so” when we fail, as we must surely sometimes do, whether it’s the diet, the job, the relationship. And in this moment we must remember that we are all beginners (for some reason I like to think of us all as ducklings learning to swim) and we cannot do anything in life without first being prepared to make mistakes, to do it wrong, to suffer those failures, to sink and to remember that the only way to succeed is by making attempt after attempt.

We are so lucky when we get something right first time, (usually it’s the things that no one told us were difficult), but we are all challenged by different situations.

For some people doing their best in a job may feel near impossible when they have been bullied and ill-treated in the past, but to put their best in, whether or not the job is a “success” is healing and a different kind of personal, if not professional success.

To put your heart into a new relationship when the last broke it over and over again, to trust when it feels like you can never trust again, this is success, and something on which I congratulate myself today, no matter how messy or unpretty it feels.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.

sleep meditation Sleep Remedy Needed? Here Are 12 Intensely Practical Remedies For Insomnia

Leave a reply

The usual causes of sleep disorders are stress, anxiety, depression and unhealthy lifestyle. Sleep is essential to ours body – it helps us to replenish and repair our stressed system. Sleep also keeps your heart healthy and generates the energy to face the busy day ahead.

So if you’re seeking a practical sleep remedy that will allow a natural, deep sleep, here are 12 of them.

1. What NOT To Eat: avoid eating heavy meals and spicy food at night.

2. Exercise May Be A Dreadful Thought But… if the thought of getting up off the couch makes you feel faint, consider that even a mild dose of exercise will help your body to relax so that sleep comes easier that night.

3. Do Whatever It Takes To Relax: there are some relaxation techniques that are extremely effective for inducing sleep. Examples of these are visualization, yoga, deep breathing and simple stretching exercises.

4. Don’t Watch Gory Horror Movies Right Before Sleeping: avoid watching disturbing images on television, especially at night time. People have the tendency to play back these terrifying images when they go to bed at night. Watching frightening violence is the exact opposite of a sleep remedy that energizes your life.

5. Don’t Watch TV in Bed: some folks feel indignant about the notion of Not Having A TV In The Bedroom! That’s fine – but insomniacs pay a price for TV watching in bed.

6. Figure Out How To Make Your Bedroom Restful: make your bedroom conducive to sleeping. Keep your room clean, quiet and dark. Environmental factors such as noise and an unpleasant room temperature can hinder sleep.

7. Avoid Caffeine Late At Night: avoid drinking coffee, alcoholic beverages, ‘regular’ tea, hot chocolate or cola after 4 PM. Drink milk instead because the calcium induces sleep.

8. Herbal Tea Sends Us To Snooze Land: herbal tea – especially chamomile tea – creates a more peaceful body and mind and is an excellent sleep remedy.

9. Replace Chaos With Calm: if your hours are irregular, your body will vibrate with tension. If possible, establish a regular sleep pattern in the evening. Allow your body clock to regulate your wake~sleep pattern.

10. Mick Jagger & The Stones: you may love The Stones, but wild music right before bedtime will only stimulate, not relax, your body for sleep. Listen to a meditation CD or classical music at night.

11. If You Can’t Sleep, Get Up: if you lie in bed, sleepless, your body will assume it’s OK to not sleep. What you want is to train your body and mind to associate bed and sleep.

12. Do Not, Do Not Swallow Prescription Sleeping Pills: all of the measures mentioned above will definitely help you to sleep. In fact, every one of them is a way to promote vibrant health and even longevity. However, there’s no doubt that they don’t work overnight but require patience and self discipline. So if you can’t stand another night of staring at the ceiling, then consider a natural sleeping aid that contains melatonin. Melatonin is a natural hormone that is produced by the body and is directly related to peaceful, natural sleep. For whatever reason (usually stress), most insomniacs have a lowered production of melatonin so a natural supplement that steps up melatonin production will usually result in glorious, deep sleep with no next-morning-hangover feeling. Melatonin is the #1 sleep remedy today and it deserves its high reputation. Be aware, though, that all melatonin isn’t alike. Cheap brands often do no good at all so it’s necessary to experiment to find the right supplement for YOU.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.

sleep meditation Reasons You Should Go to a Dental Spa to Ease Your Dental Fears

Leave a reply

Meditation music is music performed to aid in the practice of meditation. It can have a specific religious content, but also more recently has been associated with modern composers who use meditation techniques in their process of composition, or who compose such music with no particular religious group as a focus.

soothing music for studying | meditation music audio
People want to have great smiles but often fear the processes they need to go through to get them. Studies show that a significant number of patients neglect their dental health just because of their fear of going to the dentist. In the old days, that was understandable considering the methods they used but in today’s modern times, pain is the last thing you’ll feel when you visit the dentist’s office.

The reason behind this is the fact that dental spas have already come into existence and they have definitely changed the way your bi-annual dental check-ups are done. In the past, the word “relax” couldn’t be uttered in the same sentence as “dental visits” but now, they actually go hand in hand.

Just like an actual spa where you can relax, unwind and feel your worries melt away with the body massages and seaweed wraps, a dental spa is your dentist’s office only this time you can enjoy your routine check-ups with a cup of herbal tea and hand massages. The concept behind dental spas is to get the patient relaxed and de-stressed before they undergo their check-ups or any other dental procedure and to alleviate their worries and fears that things will not go well.

Dental spas are great for building a trusting, relationship with your dentists since they really make you feel at ease enough to establish rapport with your dentists so you are able to tell them exactly what you feel and in turn, they will also come up with ways to make sure your fear doesn’t get the better of you and that you are able to enjoy, rather than dread, your dental visit. As such, you will also be able to choose the best dentists for you, ones that you will really feel comfortable with and best of all, ones that will truly bring out a beautiful YOU.

Going to a dental spa is just like going to a regular spa because the environment is specifically designed to resemble a relaxing sanctuary, complete with relaxing music and very friendly and attentive staff. In addition to relaxation and massage therapies, patients can also choose to have paraffin wax hand treatments, reflexology and aromatherapy, supportive neck pillows and heating blankets that you can have during your check-ups as well as headsets to wear with a choice to listen to music or watch the latest movies.

Some dental spas also offer complimentary cold and hot drinks, as well as pre-treatment meditation and facials. More than just offering you magazines to read while waiting, they will also take care of your other needs like taking your cell phone calls while you are in treatment to giving you parting gifts of flowers and specialty wines. They truly make you feel that everything about you matters so that you end up looking forward to your next dental visit instead of dreading it.

However, beyond the great service, dental spas have many benefits that not only cater to your physical but also your mental health and well-being. They are especially recommended for patients with heart and anxiety conditions since they use the best stress reduction techniques and methods that are recommended by reputable dental organizations. Patients who are anxious tend to move around their chairs and the squirming can be difficult especially if the dentist has to use an instrument that requires a patient to be still.

And lastly, dental spas ensure that the patient is relaxed enough to reduce the chances of injury to themselves and to the dentist. They are also recommended for those who have allergies to certain drugs as here, patients can avail of drug-free alternatives like sedation dentistry which relies on the use of nitrous oxide gas and anti-anxiety medications to induce a calm and relaxed state.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.

brain waves What I Learned About Self-Care From My Bipolar Friend

Leave a reply

Meditation music is music performed to aid in the practice of meditation. It can have a specific religious content, but also more recently has been associated with modern composers who use meditation techniques in their process of composition, or who compose such music with no particular religious group as a focus.

alpha mind power | binaural frequencies
Although it is changing slowly, the stigma still very much remains. People who live with mental illness have to tread carefully as to when – and if – they reveal it. This is a crime because it takes beautiful people who simply need a little more support and subjects them to the soft bigotry of being second-class citizens. People with mental illness can live exceedingly productive and wonderful lives.

Last week, I received a call from an old friend. It was nice to speak to her. Recent years had been very chaotic for Laura (not her real name), but everything seemed to have settled down. She called to tell me about the new events in her life. I was happy for her.

Through the years, I remember many conversations with her about the ebbs and flows of life. We all walk this world and hope for the best. Yes, every day is a choice and we have a choice in how we accept the trials and tribulations that come our way. Sometimes, those challenges can overwhelm us and push us off of our feet as we tumble in the unending water and disorientation. This spill can be more severe for some over others.

Laura has been through a lot and I was happy when I heard the tone in her voice. It has been a long time since she sounded steady. Laura was diagnosed as bipolar disorder II a few years ago. She had a successful career in sales. I think it helped her to inadvertently bury her compulsions because it involved building relationships with people and a lot of entertainment. One of the well-known symptoms of someone who has bipolar disorder is that these people may sometimes be the life of the party, especially when they are manic or even when they are hypomanic. They are charismatic and so much fun to be around, but they don’t know when to put on the brakes. I remember that Laura well.

It took me years to understand when Laura was actually suffering through her disease as opposed to simply having a good time. The clue, for me, became when things began to flow over the top with the drinking, nights out, generous dinners and gifts. And sometimes these periods became a rushing river overflowing its banks.

Then, almost inevitably, Laura fell into an abyss. Not too long ago, she called me up to tell me that she had just gotten out of the hospital. She had been admitted because she devolved into a suicidal state. The way she tells that episode, she was on a sales trip. After a night out of entertainment with clients, she made her way up to her room. She found herself on the 36th floor of her hotel.

She knew she had been starting to crack well before the trip, but she had not yet been diagnosed and she did not understand why she was falling apart. This was before “triggers” became an important word in her life. This was before sleep became paramount to her health. This was before meditation, medication and a disciplined life each and every day for her health.

She stood at the window that bleak night looking out into the city lights. She felt a great desire to end her life by throwing herself out the window. She was fortunate. This particular hotel was a new property with floor to ceiling windows of tempered glass. She pressed her hand against the window, pushed, and struck it harder, then turned knowing it would take great effort to break the glass, if she even could do it. She threw herself onto the bed hoping to make it through the night. She knew that no matter what her mind thought about, no matter how much she wanted to die – under no circumstances could she leave that bed. She had to stay put because anything more would simply be an opportunity to find another way to kill herself.

When I spoke to Laura last week and she told me about how things were going so well, I wondered briefly, at first, if she was going through another episode. But, as we talked, I knew that through an incredible amount of work and determination, Laura had turned another page in her life.

These days, Laura works in a career that keeps her at home and no longer traveling. She also switched jobs to one that is much less high pressure. She says that it also does not offer an “easy excuse” to entertain with countless long days and evenings out with clients and prospects. The stability of being near family and friends is crucially important for people who live with bipolar disorder. She told me how she let go of relationships that were toxic. She is fortunate enough to be in a relationship with a man who is very supportive of her professional and personal life. Now she talks about how he helps balance her life, even in those moments when she feels she might be going slightly “off the rails”. With him, she is able to immediately seek help or make course corrections, if necessary.

I asked her what other strategies she was using to stay balanced. She told me about the structure, which she finds “absolutely necessary” to her well-being. She gets up at the same time every day and has incorporated rituals into her day, which help her feel steady. These rituals are her meditation, morning cup of coffee and music before getting to work.

She works and usually because she has no more client dinners to attend, when she is home and done with work, she does not think about it. She relaxes, reads a book and then is in bed early each night.

If she feels that things are getting “a little out of whack”, she and her partner discuss it. She has the space to speak to her therapist and sometimes, if things are getting challenging, she asks her partner to join her so they can both understand the issues and work to quickly recover.

Laura told me that in the few years since she was diagnosed, and since that awful day at the hotel, she has learned enormous amounts. She does not take any day for granted and understands that each day of recovery is a blessed day for her.

One attribute that inspired this post and that I admire in Laura is her commitment to herself. Some of her friends know about her disorder and others don’t. It doesn’t matter. She lives a healthy and productive life, after a winding and sometimes dark journey. But no matter what, Laura puts herself first each and every day. She told me how she wakes up and keeps to her daily recovery plan and structure, which keeps her health – no matter what anyone else thinks or wants her to do.

In talking to Laura, it occurred to me that we should all focus on ourselves – everyday. We each have our own issues. Whatever they may be. “Normal” to me seems to be a relative term. What is “normal”? Laura is committed to her daily mental wellness and “self-care”. And, as I spoke to her on the telephone, I realized how many of us should be so committed to ourselves, always.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.

relaxing music Seven Days For a Winning Edge

Leave a reply

Have you ever felt just a little bit jealous? Have you thought “I want what they’ve got”? Do you feel that you too deserve the fairy tale?

Let’s face it, we can dream our lives away, and it won’t make any difference. It is time for a dose of reality. Do you really want constant scrutiny in the media? Do you want every heart ache and every extra pound to be international news? Few people really would.

Perhaps you would be content to be a cut above the rest of the pack. In other words, successful enough to enjoy some glamour without becoming such a celebrity that your life becomes public property.

So, what do you have to do to become a cut above the rest? The following is a one week program designed to change your life. If you simply focus on one step every day you will experience a gradual transformation of your life.

1. Discover your life purpose. There is no point desiring to be an actor when your talent is in something else. It is important to become aware of your gifts and then find a purpose that makes use of them and fits well with your beliefs and values. Once you identify your purpose in life, you will have a compass that can guide you to true happiness. If you are hoping for prosperity and happiness but are wandering aimlessly through life, you may well be disappointed.

2. What are your values? It is important to know your own values because if your goals are not congruent with what you truly believe, you will find it difficult to succeed. Start by making a list of the five most important values you possess. Then compare your goals to this list. If they don’t agree, you may need to change your goals.

3. Address your needs. Shakespeare said “To thine own self be true.” To live authentically, you need to live with integrity. A part of this requires that you acknowledge your own needs and do what you can to meet them. When we have unmet needs, we can live unhappy, stressed lives. Some of your needs may not actually be good and rather than meet them, you may have to deal with them. For example, if you have the need to control others, that is a need best overcome. However, before you can deal with your needs you have to know what they are. List four needs that are most important to you. If you don’t do what you can to meet your needs, you can end up living a depressed and stressed life.

4. Discover your passions. Invest some time in finding out what makes your heart sing. In other words, what are you passionate about? Become enthusiastic about life. Let yourself be inspired.

5. Develop a strong inner life. Modern life is so busy that sometimes it is hard to find quiet time. However, this is essential if you want transform your life from the inside out. By regularly spending time in meditation or relaxing in nature, you will become more connected with your own spirit. Deep breathing can be very calming and help you release stress. Sometimes, you can get the same effect by sitting in a room with low lighting and enjoying classical music.

6. Acknowledge your strengths. Do you know what your strengths are? If you don’t, ask someone close to you. List three of your positive characteristics and be willing to share this list with friends. By simply acknowledging your strengths to yourself and others, you will grow in self confidence.

7. Be a giver. Contribute to the world. We are all connected to one another and when we help others we are, in turn, lifted up ourselves.

This is a simple seven day plan to improve your life. By simply working through these seven points, you can gain a winning edge. You simply have to desire to become a better person and be willing to see yourself through the eyes of other people.
Listening to music while you are meditating – not a good idea. … Anything you do with the thought that you are meditating is meditating. There are many ways to meditate. Personally, I find music to be distracting, but paying attention to sounds in your environment is part of insight meditation.