***Easy Short Cuts To Serenity

One very powerful way of learning to hear beyond the noisy chatter of your mind is through the practice of meditation. Hold on! Don't run off. Meditation doesn't always mean people sitting in strange cross-legged positions repeating "ohm." There are other easy and effective alte
atives.

Meditation can mean simply familiarizing yourself with your own mind and thoughts. Meditation allows you to see that there is no need to control your thoughts or attempt to stop them. Thoughts are just thoughts. They come and they go. Yet, beneath those thoughts is an inner guidance that is stronger, kinder, and more soothing than your mind's typical worry and stress. Meditation is a tool that you can use to learn how to stop being so overly involved in your mental thoughts and instead connect with your serene inner core.

If you are attempting to recover from stress, depression, a food addiction, binge or emotional eating, or other addictive behaviors, you need the ability to connect with your inner resourceful state of calm, love, and creativity. Meditation is one way of changing your relationship with the thoughts that typically drive you crazy. When you learn how to connect with your inner peace, then you will have an effective alte
ative to using eating or addictive behaviors to calm down. While meditation alone isn't the magical solution to all of life's issues, it can be a powerful tool to reduce stress and worry, and decrease the negative effect of mental chatter.

The Sky and the CloudsnMeditation helps you learn that thoughts are always going on, and that you do not have to grab onto them. You can learn to let them drift away without generating drama around them. In meditation, you can watch your thoughts passing by us like cars on the highway, or clouds in the sky. Teachers of mediation often describe thoughts by using the metaphor that your inner peace is the sky, always present, and your thoughts are the clouds which simply float on past. The clouds may change and sometimes even cover up the entire sky, but the sky itself is never changing and always present. No matter what thoughts, feelings, or emotions come, a peaceful calm is always present beneath. You just have to know how to find it.

Simplified Meditatio

Meditation does not have to involve a detailed, disciplined, or complex practice. It can be as simple as learning to stop, breathe, and center within your self for a moment or two. Recall how you typically start each morning or how you end each day. Now imagine how your life would benefit if you allowed yourself a few moments of quiet. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you took a minute or two to center and achieve more relaxation, greater calmness, and useful insights? Meditative practice is a technique for connecting with your inner spirit. It allows stress reduction, relaxation, healing, problem solving, visualizing, and the ability to imagine positive outcomes. Taking the time to create a few moments of stillness allows you to move beneath the ete
al chatter of the mind and listen to your inner knowingness.

When you first begin to meditate or seek quiet, it can seem quite difficult or even pointless. You are probably used to the constant chatter in your mind. However, if you continue to set aside a few moments each day to pause, breathe, and relax, you will notice it becomes easier - and enjoyable! - to engage in this new habit. Listed below are six easy suggestions to help quiet your mind - and they don't require much time or learning ability. Try one or more of these ideas if you do not know how to begin, or swear that you are just so busy that you could not possibly create a moment of silence for yourself. Enjoy!

1. Sitting in Silence
One method to discover your inner peace is to simply sit in silence every day for about 1 to 20 minutes. Sit quietly, take a deep breath, and simply ask, "What is it I need to know?" Then listen. Don't force yourself to come up with answer and avoid getting frustrated if you don't get an answer. Just notice your top layer of analytical busy thoughts. Learn to let those busy thoughts go by imagining placing them on clouds and letting the wind blow them across the sky. Ask your question, "What is it I need to know?" and let yourself take a deeper look.

2. Easy Walking Meditatio

A simple way to bring more awareness to your life is to practice a walking meditation. In walking meditation, you use the experience of walking as your focus. You become aware of the process of walking and notice your body and the movement of each step. Instead of walking as a way to burn calories or loose weight, you use the action of walking to relax, and become centered with yourself and everything around you. During walking meditation, you pay close attention to your movement, to the muscles of your body, your feet, balance, and breathing. You notice your body, your tensions, and your connection with the ground. You body loves movement and loves when you pay attention to how you feel! Paying attention to your body as you walk will help you enjoy being alive.

3. Simple Breathing Meditatio

Giving yourself a few minutes of conscious breathing can clear out tension and stress, and allow new vitality and healing to take place. Lie on your back with your hands resting below your navel. Breathe evenly and gently, focusing your attention on the movement of your stomach. As you inhale, allow your stomach to gently expand your hands to rise. As you exhale, let the air drain out, and feel your hands and stomach lower back toward the floor. Aim to make the length of your inhale match the length of your exhale. Your goal is to release stress and relax, so forcing your breath defeats the purpose. Allow your breathing to gently soften your body.

4. One Minute Meditatio

Each morning, before leaving your house, find a minute to sit down. You don't need a special position or reserved place. Just sit somewhere comfortable. Keeping your back straight, slowly take in one full breath. Imagine yourself filling up with energy that flows throughout your whole body. At the end of your inhale, wait to exhale for about three seconds. Then exhale, releasing your breath slowly, imagining that you are releasing from your mind and body all that is negative or heavy. When you believe the exhale is complete, push a little more air out of your lungs. Repeat for about one minute. Lastly, while you are resuming your normal breathing, remain still for about five more seconds.

5. Photo Meditatio

One easy way to achieve relaxation and a sense of calm is to focus on a picture that is relaxing and calming. Select a picture or photograph that evokes a sense of calm within you. Stand and take a nice stretch. Then sit comfortably with your spine straight, and begin to relax by breathing gently, slowly, and calmly. Focus on your picture, imagine yourself living that calm experience, and allow yourself to feel good. Allow your imagination to take you into a more and more relaxed state.

6. Basic Meditation
Meditators focus on three different kinds of things:na) Some people focus on a phrase - for example, "I am peaceful." nb) Some people focus on an object - for example, a religious symbol or a candle. nc) Some people focus on breathing.

• Find a quiet place. In the beginning, it is easier to meditate in a relatively quiet spot. This will help you "turn off" inte
al stimuli as well as exte
al distraction.

• Sit so that your spine, neck and the back of your head are in a straight line Sitting in a chair with feet on the floor is a good position. You can also sit cross-legged on the floor or in a traditional lotus position.

• Close your eyes. This is the best way to begin controlling your wandering mind.

• Breathe naturally. Sit quietly for a minute or two and relax your body. You may focus on your breath, mantra, or object. A mantra is a sound, word, or phrase that is repeated to yourself. Some people think that the best mantras are sounds that have no clear meaning such as 'ohm'. A mantra is used as a way of displacing usual thoughts and moving awareness inward.

• Allow thoughts and feelings to come and go with detachment. Don't try to control them in any way. Just note them, and when you realize that you are not repeating the mantra, gently return to the mantra. Do not try to force yourself to think of the mantra to the exclusion of all other thoughts. You may experience a deep state of relaxation but it is OK if you don't.

• Continue this for about 20 minutes.

• When done, take a couple of minutes to slowly return to normal awareness. Be gentle with yourself when opening your eyes or coming to stand after a meditation. Allow your body and mind to readjust.

Meditation is a tool that you can use to help you figure out how to find your way back into your own inner peace. Don't worry about finding the perfect meditation practice or achieving technique perfection. What is most important is your decision to feel more calm and centered, and then taking action to achieve your goal. Try one of the above techniques or try them all. By breathing and sitting still you can reduce stress, calm your mind, and develop inner peace. and mind to readjust.nn