Tuning in to Inner Peace: The Surprisingly Fun Way to Transform Your Life by Joan M Gregerson Page A

should be a basic part of the recipe for good health. And that within a decade, it will be a commonly accepted fact.
     
    A cursory search shows dozens of applications of meditation for improved health. Meditation has been shown in some cases to improve irritable bowel syndrome, lung cancer, acute respiratory infections, sleep disorders and stress in teenagers.
     
    Are you struggling with an addiction or a chronic health condition? Meditation could help! Certainly, it is less expensive and has no side effects, thus making it an attractive alternative to prescriptions or surgery. If you’ve tried everything else, or aren’t sure what to do next, try meditation.
     
    Eastern philosophy often considers a physical illness to be a manifestation of an emotional or spiritual inner conflict that has festered. Meditation is a way to address these conflicts, thus limiting or healing the physical damage. Skeptical? No problem. You don’t have to believe anything about a mind-body-spirit connection. Just act as a scientist. Try meditating and see how you feel.
     
     

     

Exercises
              First, meditate for a few minutes so you will get over any fear or mystery. Sit down for five minutes with no agenda. Set a timer. Don’t get up until the time is up. Sit eyes open, eyes closed, think whatever thoughts you want. Just let five minutes pass. “Nowhere to go. Nothing to do.” Okay. Good!
              Next, start learning about meditation by doing it. This week, go to the library and check out an audio or go online and find a guided meditation. There are many free resources. Look for a guided meditation specifically for beginner’s. I like authors: Jon Kabat-Zinn, Jack Kornfield, Pema Chodron, and the online course of freemeditation.org from Sahaja Meditation but there are dozens to choose from!
              Okay, so now you know that there are many styles of meditation, just as you’d find variety in yoga or other exercise classes! It’s time to go sit with others. Search for a meditation group in your area. Try meetup.com, Buddhist centers, or yoga centers. You might find a Zen Buddhist Center, a Transcendental Meditation class or a meditative yoga class. Many religions have a meditative practice. You just may have to search a bit to find them. Sitting around with people doing absolutely nothing is a bit wacky to our Western mind. But, it’s a quick way to balance yourself, feel better and simply live better. You owe it to yourself to try it!
              Anytime you’re feeling ‘off’, take a few minutes to become still. Don’t call it meditation if that sounds too serious! Just take a break from what you’re in the middle of. Allow yourself to relax and get centered before you interact with someone or return to your work.
              Meditate for improved health. Is there a physical condition or addiction you are battling? Research online to find out if there is a link between meditation and solving that condition. If so, read about it and allow yourself the option that meditation could help you overcome or lessen that issue in your life.
              As with all changes, use your state of inner peace to guide you. Get still and see how you honestly feel. Do you like the meditation class? Do you feel comfortable? Do you feel better? Do you admire the teachers? Do they ‘have something you want’, as in, do they practice something you want to learn?
     
     
     

 
     
     

 
     
     
     
     

     

20 Live Lightly , Live Deeply
     
    In meditation class once, I remarked that I was perceived as too intense at work. People had told me that I made them nervous by running too fast, asking too many questions and being too demanding.
    “I guess I should drink a little less coffee,” I joked.
    “Yes,” my instructor replied, “and there are other things you can do to tone that down.”
     
    Funny, but before he said that, I’d always thought it was just a