Did you manage to catch the documentary on BBC during the week with Professor Kathy Sykes investigating the myths, facts and benefits of meditation?
She started in a monastery in Nepal by interviewing “the happiest man in the world” and then went on to start an impressively disciplined meditation practice. When most people first try meditation or self-hypnosis they usually can’t sit still for very long cos their conscious mind races with thoughts and distractions. You’ve probably found that to be true.
But give it long enough, and something inevitably happens. Yup, her stuff came up! Sadness about her father’s death and all this repressed emotion that she didn’t even know was in there. And this is the essential first step in my HGE method - to strengthen the connection between the conscious and the unconscious minds through trance.
When asked what the benefits of meditation are, the monk stated “emotional balance, the banishing of anxiety and a change in the way you experience every moment of your life”. Not bad for a built in, no cost approach!
What struck me was here is a professor, a physicist no less, making a meal out of something really basic and easy to comprehend. She was surprised that the relaxation response affected the physical body! At this point I’m shouting at the TV!
Next we’re taken to a closed community in the US where they practice TM – transcendental meditation. But did they have to focus on the guys bouncing across the floor in the Lotus position? “You won’t actually see them levitate” she was told. Didn’t do much for their street credibility.
So there you have it – the big revelation is that, and I quote “Meditation might help anyone deal with life”. Get away…
What was far more intriguing was the medical research that shows the more you meditate, the thicker the Insula gets. The Insula is a thin layer of brain tissue that helps you feel internal states – hunger, thirst and emotion. Science proves that he more you meditate, the more you physically change the structure of your brain tissue. Thus strengthening the connection between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind.
Which brings me right back to where I started this discussion.
So my advice is this – if you don’t close your eyes and go inside on a regular basis, why not start right after you finish reading this? Take 5 minutes to breathe deeply, close your eyes and listen, really listen for what comes up…
And if you are a seasoned meditation veteran, I bet you could do it more often…
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