Nobody wants to have Alzheimer's disease but too many people still don't have the daily meditation habit. The two are possibly connected but even if they aren't, daily meditation is showing itself to be quite valuable in athletics, education, medicine, military and police life, commercial activities and every other activity.
The book "Search Inside Yourself" by a Google software engineer details the Google meditation program. A little searching can show you programs for children, including the one sponsored by the actress Goldie Hawn and programs for senior citizens, such as the work by the Harvard psychologist Ellen J. Langer. Meditation is part of the tradition of every major religion but it can be usefully described and practiced purely as a health tool, a mind and personality health tool.
We all have dozens of things going on inside us that we don't know about. We can't usually sense our own blood pressure, our own underlying convictions that we are lacking in something we think we should have, such as beauty or wealth or patience or something, or our internal flow of hormones. We are not built to be aware of everything and we can't be. However, as the old prayer says, it is good to be both aware of what we can be aware of and accepting of what we can't change. It is good to be able to simply view, observe, sense. Meditation helps us become closer to ourselves, more accepting of the deal nature and heaven have provided us, more aware of the beauties, miracles and tragedies of this life.
Here is a link to a short article by the very experienced meditation teacher Sharon Salzburg on three ways to approach meditation and fit it into your life. If you give 5 or so minutes to meditation daily, good for you. Keep it up. If not, look over the Salzburg suggestions and give them a try. Today. You've got 5 minutes.
Just for further information, from Eric Barker
This happened to Dan Harris… in front of 5 million people.
On June 7th, 2004, Dan was a news correspondent on ABC and he had a panic attack on air while reading the news:
He knew he had to do something. His career was in jeopardy.
By coincidence, he was soon assigned to cover stories about religion. This set Dan on a multi-year quest talking to people of faith — and total quacks.
But it ended up introducing him to something that helped him get his head straight and, as he likes to say, made him 10% happier.
What was it? Meditation.
Feeling skeptical yet? Thinking of hippies, beads and chanting? Actually, that's how Dan felt too.
But it turns out his discovery wasn't the least bit mystic — in fact it was quite scientific.
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Bill
Main blog: Fear, Fun and Filoz
Main web site: Kirbyvariety
