Meditation for Beginners: Meditation - a Stress Buster

By www.vishvas.org

Meditation for Beginners: Meditation - a Stress Buster

Meditation serves as a medicine for stress and provides sound mental health.

Stress can create havoc in our lives as it can lead to mental and heart ailments. In order to deal with it scientifically and practically, we must first identify the various factors that cause stress.

Swami Vishvas Ji explains: "Stress is a mismanagement of time! When we spend too much time in the past or future, it steals away our lovely present moments. A preoccupied mind can never be at rest. Traveling into the past or future can help us learn from past mistakes or set goals and visions for the future. But if we make the past or future our permanent home Ð the problem begins!

Unnecessary thinking is the prime reason for stress. We should travel into the past or future but we should live in the present. This is the best and the most direct way to avoid stress.

Another major factor that leads to stress is over ambition . The over ambitious mind wants to build Rome in a day Ð if we don't get the desired results at that point in time, it leads to more misery than ever before. Ambition can lead us to our goals but over ambition simply robs us of our sense of acceptability. If one does not learn to be happy 'now', how will one be happy in the future?

Sometimes it is the words of others that lead to hurt and sufferings. It could be the boss at work or family and friends passing unpleasant or unreasonable remarks Ð the need is to know where to draw the line. We may correct people on the surface and stop at that! But if we continue with a never ending postmortem as 'why such words were said, what did I do to deserve it, was it right on the other's part to say it, I do so much and is this what I get in return...' leading to a whirlpool of thoughts that we find unable to get out of. The mind is full of thoughts of others and the other is hell for us! It results in unmanageable stress."

Remember, the external factors may not be in our control. But how we choose to react to them definitely is! Meditation builds this practicality.

Meditation is a powerful medicine for the reduction of stress, high blood pressure, hypertension, insomnia and more. It lowers stress hormone levels and alters brain wave patterns reflective of a calm, composed and relaxed mind-body state.

Swami Vishvas Ji says, "Stress is very commonly treated as a problem or a disease. But is stress really a problem? Not always!

Stress can be helpful when we need to meet a deadline or do a job fast. During times of emergency or crises, a reasonable amount of stress can act as a catalyst in bringing out more efficiency and thus better performance in you.

"If stress speeds up your action taking ability i.e. it helps you take the right action at the right time which you would not have taken otherwise - handle it positively - stress is only there to assist you, push you forward and more importantly pull you through the job. However, the problem occurs when stress lingers on for a longer period of time and people mistake it for being 'normal'. This is a mistake!

Long term stress damages our health, throwing off the normal functioning of the body into imbalance. Now how do we figure out where we stand? The measuring rod is very simple! If stress brings you to a stage where you feel you have had enough - it's an alarm bell. It's time to set things right. Meditation serves as an instant solution to stress."

Vishvas Meditation brings the chemicals and hormones of the body into complete balance, enabling the mind-body to regain its healing power. The mind is always in a state of doing. Your identification with the mind all the time, makes you spend all your energy, causing stress and strain. Vishvas Meditation enhances the mind-body's natural energy field. While in meditation - simply close your eyes and look within. Do not indulge in any doing. We are all blessed with the third eye to look within directly.

Just be a non-doer and watch your mind. Have no identification with the mind. This simple process of non doing re- energizes the body and cleanses out the distractions and stress inducing chemicals produced by your busy brain. Vishvas Meditation tranquilizes the mind, providing you a sound and healthy mental state that is fully equipped to handle all kinds of stress.

Meditation is the key to mind Ð body maintenance and integration. It is a natural tonic for the heart, lungs, digestive system, liver, immune system, chronic pain like backaches etc.

The mind Ðbody is inextricably connected since our brain sends all of the messages to the body through the nerve endings. Therefore, what benefits or disturbs the mind, affects the body too. In this modern age, stress is the biggest cause of illness. Some medical specialists estimate that about 80% of the physical illness is stress related. Stress can be either acute or chronic. Acute stress may be triggered by sudden events such as loosing a job or a loved one. Chronic stress is experienced over a longer period of time and can cause serious health problems.

Experiencing stress that is seemingly unending, one may suffer from a sense of hopelessness and heightened negative emotions that disturb the normal operating conditions of the body. The results vary between individuals but may include, heart diseases, chronic indigestion, back pains, migraine headaches, fatigue, discomforts, ulcers, arthritis, diabetes, a lowered immunity etc.

A lowered immunity further means developing allergies, frequent colds, coughs and sometimes chronic diseases like Cancer, AIDS etc. Similarly stress leads to various digestive problems, rampant in our country - whether it is simple indigestion, constipation, ulcer or gastroenteritis etc. Though various external stimuli can also disrupt the immune or digestive systems but stress is the obvious one!

' Don't Worry - Be Happy' is an important prescription for good health that can be achieved very easily through Vishvas Meditation. Meditation cleanses the mind, releasing all physical and emotional stress of your life, and opens the floodgates for love, contentment and ultimate personal joy that is ever waiting to unfold itself in the Universe for You!

On the more physical level, it is a fitness for the whole self as it increases vitality and promotes self- healing, strengthening the immune and digestive systems, increases resistance to aches and pains in the body, rejuvenates the heart and lungs etc. As Swami Vishvas Ji says, "Meditation creates, calms, strengthens and energizes. Given a restful period of time in which to regroup, the body tunes and realigns itself thoroughly."

The words 'Meditation' comes from the word 'Medication' or 'Medicine' and that means 'To Cure'. Meditation is a powerful ally in the healing of stress and recovery.

Paradoxically, it is the mind that both creates stress and is affected by it. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by stress, focus your awareness on how the body reacts. Do not try to meddle with anything yet. Simply observe. Does your heart beat fast? Have you lost interest in work? Have you lost your appetite? Do you have butterflies in your stomach? Is your mind racing fast? These are natural responses of the body to stress! Vishvas Meditation is highly effective in minimizing these responses so that they don't lead to chronic illnesses.

Here are some effective ways to counter stress:

Turn your attention completely to the cause of stress. Consider how you could modify your thinking about the event. Consider what happens when you let the mind run wildly? Does it lead to any solution? If the answer is no, do a quick version of Vishvas Meditation - this will put your life in perspective, make your priorities clear and stop the incessant chatter in your brain.

Meditation is a process of becoming a witness to the inner phenomena where thoughts gradually stop overpowering you. It develops immunity against stress, restoring the body to its normal operating conditions. For a quick reduction in stress, increase the length of meditation- Expand your awareness day by day. It will give more balance and harmony to your life and you will become internally more sensitive and self- awake

As Swami Vishvas Ji says, " Meditation does not improve your soul. Your inner self is already pure and perfect. What you are improving is your ability and prudence to recognize that perfect soul which is sometimes difficult to see, buried under physical and emotional layers - but it is there and it has great potential. When you realize it, manifest it, then it will flow out of you and spread around you. Then you are truly free from all bondages, negativities and identifications."

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See also: Meditation for Beginners, Meditation, Meditation for Beginners, Meditation Techniques)