| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Ginger Dawn |
Posted - Jan 08 2017 : 5:53:00 PM
As soon as I read the email from MaryJane listing the new merit badges for 2017, I squealed in delight when I saw mindfulness. I cannot begin to list all the positive effects of mindfulness. First, my health in general has improved. My blood pressure is lower, I am able to regulate my breathing much better and now only use my inhaler once a day. Moreover, I am sick less often and my immunity has improved greatly. I also feel less stress since I began practicing a mindful lifestyle. I meditate every day and have been using the Insight Timer app. ( https://insighttimer.com ) Since Jan 1, 2016! I haven’t missed a day. I prefer the guided meditations but I have also used the bell. For the purpose of this badge I started again on January 1, 2018.
There are many benefits to regular meditation. For one, the health improves. I am a great example of this. Interestingly one of the central benefits of meditation is that it improves attention and concentration: One recent study found that just a couple of weeks of meditation training helped people’s focus and memory during the verbal reasoning section of the GRE. In fact, the increase in score was equivalent to 16 percentile points. In 2013, I participated in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn at Winchester Medical Center in Virginia. It was an 8 week course that taught me how to meditate and live more mindfully. Our class, had a nun, several doctors, a retired preacher, and a few who were battling different medical challenges or learning to practice mindfulness within the public school and health professions. There’s been increasing interest from educators and researchers in bringing meditation and yoga to school kids, who are dealing with the usual stressors inside school, and oftentimes additional stress and trauma outside school. Some schools have starting implementing meditation into their daily schedules, and with good effect: One district in San Francisco started a twice daily meditation program in some of its high-risk schools – and saw suspensions decrease, and GPAs and attendance increase. Studies have confirmed the cognitive and emotional benefits of meditation for schoolchildren, but more work will probably need to be done before it gains more widespread acceptance.
http://www.ineedmotivation.com made a wonderful list. I will share it with you now!
100 Benefits of Meditation!
Physiological benefits:
1- It lowers oxygen consumption.
2- It decreases respiratory rate.
3- It increases blood flow and slows the heart rate.
4- Increases exercise tolerance.
5- Leads to a deeper level of physical relaxation.
6- Good for people with high blood pressure.
7- Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate.
8- Decreases muscle tension
9- Helps in chronic diseases like allergies, arthritis etc.
10- Reduces Pre-menstrual Syndrome symptoms.
11- Helps in post-operative healing.
12- Enhances the immune system.
13- Reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress
14- Enhances energy, strength and vigour.
15- Helps with weight loss
16- Reduction of free radicals, less tissue damage
17- Higher skin resistance
18- Drop in cholesterol levels, lowers risk of cardiovascular disease.
19- Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing.
20- Decreases the aging process.
21- Higher levels of DHEAS (Dehydroepiandrosterone)
22- prevented, slowed or controlled pain of chronic diseases
23- Makes you sweat less
24- Cure headaches & migraines
25- Greater Orderliness of Brain Functioning
26- Reduced Need for Medical Care
27- Less energy wasted
28- More inclined to sports, activities
29- Significant relief from asthma
30- improved performance in athletic events
31- Normalizes to your ideal weight
32- harmonizes our endocrine system
33- relaxes our nervous system
34- produce lasting beneficial changes in brain electrical activity
35- Cure infertility (the stresses of infertility can interfere with the release of hormones that regulate ovulation).
36- Helps in building sexual energy & desire
Psychological benefits:
36- Builds self-confidence.
37- Increases serotonin level, influences mood and behaviour.
38- Resolve phobias & fears
39- Helps control own thoughts
40- Helps with focus & concentration
41- Increase creativity
42- Increased brain wave coherence.
43- Improved learning ability and memory.
44- Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.
45- Increased emotional stability.
46- improved relationships
47- Mind ages at slower rate
48- Easier to remove bad habits
49- Develops intuition
50- Increased Productivity
51- Improved relations at home & at work
52- Able to see the larger picture in a given situation
53- Helps ignore petty issues
54- Increased ability to solve complex problems
55- Purifies your character
56- Develop will power
57- greater communication between the two brain hemispheres
58- react more quickly and more effectively to a stressful event.
59- increases one’s perceptual ability and motor performance
60- higher intelligence growth rate
61- Increased job satisfaction
62- increase in the capacity for intimate contact with loved ones
63- decrease in potential mental illness
64- Better, more sociable behavior
65- Less aggressiveness
66- Helps in quitting smoking, alcohol addiction
67- Reduces need and dependency on drugs, pills & pharmaceuticals
68- Need less sleep to recover from sleep deprivation
69- Require less time to fall asleep, helps cure insomnia
70- Increases sense of responsibility
71- Reduces road rage
72- Decrease in restless thinking
73- Decreased tendency to worry
74- Increases listening skills and empathy
75- Helps make more accurate judgements
76- Greater tolerance
77- Gives composure to act in considered & constructive ways
78- Grows a stable, more balanced personality
79- Develops emotional maturity
Spiritual benefits:
80- Helps keep things in perspective
81- Provides peace of mind, happiness
82- Helps you discover your purpose
83- Increased self-actualization.
84- Increased compassion
85- Growing wisdom
86- Deeper understanding of yourself and others
87- Brings body, mind, spirit in harmony
88- Deeper Level of spiritual relaxation
89- Increased acceptance of oneself
90- helps learn forgiveness
91- Changes attitude toward life
92- Creates a deeper relationship with your God
93- Attain enlightenment
94- greater inner-directedness
95- Helps living in the present moment
96- Creates a widening, deepening capacity for love
97- Discovery of the power and consciousness beyond the ego
98- Experience an inner sense of “Assurance or Knowingness”
99- Experience a sense of “Oneness”
100- Increases the synchronicity in your life
Meditation is also completely FREE! It requires no special equipment, and is not complicated to learn. It can be practiced anywhere, at any given moment, and it is not time consuming (15-20 min. per day is good). Best of all, meditation has NO negative side effects. Bottom line, there is nothing but positive to be gained from it!
Oh and after you have meditated for a while, you might enjoy a Mindful retreat! Can you believe that I have done this and went an entire weekend with NO TALKING! I encourage everyone to give Mindfulness a try!
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| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| notathreatinsight |
Posted - Mar 03 2017 : 07:37:12 AM
Ginger thanks for posting about the insight app. I just downloaded it and I'm going to give it a try. It looks awesome!
Erin
Farmgirl #3762
"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." - John Steinbeck, East of Eden |
| Ginger Dawn |
Posted - Mar 02 2017 : 11:23:26 AM
Carole,
I have read The Book of Joy and how funny you mention it since it will be my blog post tomorrow! Retreats do have the best food. I wonder if it is because it is quiet and no one is bugging them in the kitchen. Maybe one day, I will try a retreat in a different state. 20 years. That is amazing. |
| ceridwen |
Posted - Mar 02 2017 : 10:29:43 AM
Congratulations Ginger! I'm with you on meditation. I've been meditating on and off for about 20 years. At least once a year I go on a retreat at the Kripula center in Stockbridge, MA; I wear a badge that says "in loving silence". What a treat it is go spend a few days there. The food is amazing, organic and local.
I will check out the book by Thich Nhat Hanh. I have only read Peace in Every Step from him. Great book by the way.
You might enjoy reading The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Douglas Carlton Abrams. I fell in love with the Archbishop Tutu - I didn't know he has such a great sense of humour. I can see why the Dalai and Desmond are great friends!
Thanks for the timer app suggestion. I use my phone timer but this one looks interesting.
Cheers!
Carole
Farmgirl Sister 3610 - Nov 7/2011
http://www.carolesquiltingetc.com
http://www.fibrejunction.com |
| Ginger Dawn |
Posted - Feb 13 2017 : 5:43:28 PM
I am very pleased to report that I have been meditating for over 400 days! Wow! First, I want everyone to know that I never intended to meditate or use mindfulness, It just sorta happen! And Yes, I have reached the intermediate Level for this badge. Bow, for those that start off and miss a day, this is important to remember. It really doesn’t matter how often or how long one meditates. What is important is that you are living fully present in the moment. My practice this month has to not judge myself or others. This all came about when I was mindful meditating after reading a bible verse from Matthew 5:43-44.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”
I have to admit that I find it hard to do this. Yet, it is a practice like meditation. Something that you work on each day. So I have been praying and doing a loving kindness meditation for some people that have caused me much harm and have broken my trust. I have realized that by praying, meditating, and sending them warm wishes in thought that I have developed much compassion and empathy for them. At the same time, I do not wish to re-establish any relationship with them. This is part of my boundaries that I have established.
For this badge, I also decided to read a book called Work by Thich Nhat Hanh. Below is my Book Review. I really have found Mindful meditation a positive cultivation for a life filled with more joy and peace. I would encourage everyone to give it a try.
Work
How to find Joy and Meaning in each Hour of the Day
By Thich Nhat Hanh
A book review by Ginger Dawn Harman
In creating a more mindful lifestyle, I wanted to read some of the teachings for various authors that were listed in my MBSR course book that I attended. Although, I am not a Buddhist, I feel that we can all be mindful and respectful of different beliefs. I often tease that my faith is a bit Potluck since I have learned many wonderful positive behaviors from different religions and faiths over the years. Work by Thich Nhat Hanh will not disappoint you as a reader. Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese monk, a renowned Zen master, a poet, and a peace activist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr., in 1967, and is the author of many books, including the best-selling The Miracle of Mindfulness. He has created a wonderful book titled Work that incorporates mindfulness and healthy choices. In his own words he wanted to give others the opportunity to examine and live a more mindful lifestyle. He states “how we deal with workplace scenarios, handle home and family responsibilities, and endure traffic jams and other challenges of modern life. By carefully examining our everyday choices he encourages us to become a lotus in a muddy world.”
I encourage you to read this book slowly and to create an open attitude as to how we can each create a kinder and more compassionate world. We live in such a busy world full of connections and disconnections. Hanh explains that in this business, we often confuse Joy and happiness with excitement or expectations of what must be. My favorite quote from “Work” was, “Perhaps one of the reasons we don't enjoy all these activities as much as we could is because we think activities need to be exciting for us to enjoy them. Many people confuse joy and happiness with excitement. But excitement is not the same as happiness. With joy and happiness we have a sense of satisfaction. There's a feeling of satisfaction in being in the here and now, when you recognize you have so many conditions for happiness in the present moment, whether you're sitting, walking, standing, or working.” I have gone to lunch and have often left dissatisfied because of the constant photos that must be taken and then the play by play that is then posted on social media. It was as if I was having lunch with a camera and sadly, it was more about the story of the other person. This book had me shift the focus on not the frustration of the lunch date but to create better choices in my life. How often have I looked at my cell phone while out to lunch with others. This book is a great means to shifting ones perspective.
Let’s face it, Joy and Happiness is not a “like” icon or is an excited constant posting of look at what I have done. Joy for me the connection with a fully present moment. Experiencing the good food, the smile on the persons face as they share, and the positive reciprocal companionship is what makes a lunch with a friend a “joy.” Not the judgmental, drama, or constantly need to fill others attention. This book goes into detail how to create healthy boundaries in relationships and best of all how to resolve a conflict. I did have a bit of a giggle how even a monk can get annoyed with another monk over something that seems so little such as chewing too loudly. In every moment of life he emphases, there are infinite reasons to suffer and infinite reasons to be happy. What matters is where we’re putting our attention.
At the back of the book are suggestions on how to continue to create a mindful lifestyle at work, home, and even why driving in rush hour. I appreciate the way that this book is not preachy and gives the reader the choice and what works best for each of our circumstances. I highly recommend Work by Thich Nhat Hanh.
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| Ginger Dawn |
Posted - Jan 09 2017 : 5:26:38 PM
Ha Ha... I see that I put 2018... Goodness Gracious.. Well being present is hard but it is worth every bit of the awareness. Again, I mindfulness has really expanded my life and I am so grateful to have attend MBSR (I attended at the hospital in Virginia) You can take the 8 week course for free here. https://palousemindfulness.com/ |
| MaryJanesNiece |
Posted - Jan 09 2017 : 1:10:27 PM
I agree! I was pretty excited when I seen the new badges and it seems like I'm not the only one excited about the Mindfulness Meditation Merit Badge!
Krista |
| AutumnCountyGirl |
Posted - Jan 09 2017 : 05:12:01 AM
I know i need to get into meditation. I think it will really help me. I'm glad there is a merit badge for this. It might be the motivation I need to start meditating.
Kiersten
https://autumncountrygirl93.wordpress.com/
Farmgirl Sister #7232 |
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