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Talking to Yourself: Meditations … Mantras … Affirmations

By Dr. Helen Thomas, D.C. | January 15, 2009

talking to yourself

 

Revealed in this week’s issue…

Bullet Meditation 101
Bullet Gandhi’s Mantra! Yes, You can use it too!
Bullet Affirmations for Abundance…Remain centered in financially stressful times

 

Dear Friend of Ayurveda

 

 

Dr. Helen Thomas, D.C.

As we begin 2009 we have an opportunity to “reset” some of our habits.  No matter where I turn…the TV, newspapers or the Internet I hear noise about financial struggle. 

No wonder our inner voices are having a difficult time remaining positive. 

No wonder there is a stress and tension in the air. 

No wonderI am seeing so many more patients…struggling with anxiety, digestive issues, acne, insomnia (just to name a few!). The stress is killing them, or at least significantly altering the quality of their lives.

Again, Ayurveda has simple and gentle answers to the emotional and physical by-products of all of this external and internal chatter.

Today’s ezine is about Mantras, Meditation and Affirmations. I am including the old and the new to help calm your mind and body to meet the challenges and opportunities of 2009. 

THE BENEFITS OF MEDITATION…Why Meditate? 

 

Meditation has traditionally be integral to many cultures and religions around the world, from Roman Catholicism  to Jewish mysticism to Tibetan Buddhism.  It is as varied as these religions and cultures are themselves.  Meditation has many goals, techniques and effects. 

Meditation allows mental chatter to quiet and eventually cease, at first for moments and then, with practice, for minutes at a time.  During those moments the consciousness and the body are cleansed and your experience a state of pure being, of oneness with the universe…transcendence. 

With regular meditation you can experience a profound shift in your inner life which affects your physical health. 

Research on hundreds of meditators has resulted in our understanding of what happens physically to our bodies when meditating.  Researchers found that meditation…

There are many schools of meditation, but what they all have in common is that they bring your attention to rhythmic breathing, to an object, or to a word or thought…a Mantra!

 

GANDHI’S MANTRA!

 

 Fearlessness was not something Gandhi was born with.  He had been terrified of boys much less his size.  An old family servant, Rambha, helped him with the tools to begin to overcome his fears.  She assured him that admitting you are afraid was OK, but advised him to hold is ground and repeat a mantra whenever he felt threatened.  She told him that repeating the mantra RAMA, RAMA over and over in his mind would turn his fear into fearlessness.

The seed Rambha had sown deep in his consciousness continued to grow throughout his childhood, and when the storms of conflict and racial hatred began to break over him in South Africa, the mantra…RAMA, RAMA…came to him again from deep within.  It became his greatest support and and infallible source of strength. 

Gandhi teaches us …”The mantram becomes one’s staff of life and carries one through every ordeal…Each repetition has a new meaning, each repetition carries you nearer and nearer to God.”

A mantra is a spiritual formula which seekers from all traditions have found can transform what is negative in the personality into what is positive:

RAMA, Gandhi’s mantra, is a formula for abiding joy.  Gandhi used to walk for miles every day repeating it to himself until the rhythm of the mantra and his footsteps began to stabilize the rhythm of his breathing which is closely connected with the rhythm of the mind. The principle of meditation is that you become what you meditate on.  Gandhi meditated “with an undivided singleness of mind” on the ideal of the Bhagavad Gita:  the man who renounces everything for love of serving others, and lives in freedom and joy.

HOW TO MEDITATE? 

 

Before beginning choose a word or mantra to bring your attention to:  It can be RAMA, like Gandhi or the ancient Sanskrit mantra HAM SAH, which means “I am that” or one of your own like, I am love.  

Most people start out meditating for 20 minutes, and even that short amount of time can be a challenge.  As you go deeper into this practice you will find the time just flies by and you will want to try 30 or 45 minutes.   Here is how you get started!

  1. Sit in a comfortable position that you can hold for at least 20 minutes, in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed by the phone or other people.  A traditional posture is to sit cross-legged on the floor, but a chair is fine too.
  2. Close your eyes; you may prepare yourself by doing some deep abdominal-breathing.
  3. Let you eyes roll upward and inward a bit so that you focus on the spot on your forehead between your eyes, tongue resting behind your upper teeth, and all of your muscles as relaxed as possible. 
  4. Smile inwardly in order to very subtly raise the corners of your mouth.  As you either listen to a meditation CD or repeat the focus word(s) silently, thoughts will enter your head.  Observe them and then let them go, bringing your attention back to your mantra. It is normal-no matter how many years of practice-for the mind to be caught chasing its own tail!  smile inwardly and let the thoughts drift by as you breathe deeply and rhythmically.
  5. You can time your words with your breath, keeping the inhalation broad, deep and easy and the exhalation silent and effortless.
  6. You can easily lose track of time in deep relaxation, so you may need to set a timer if you don’t have unlimited time.
  7. Remain seated for a minute or two with your eyes closed and then slowly open them and begin to move your body…ease yourself back into your world. 

AFFIRMATIONS… 

If you need some help with affirmations, my good friend Michelle Yozzo Drake has a great CD that guides you through an 11-minute series of Abundance Affirmations…here is a sample from the CD.

 

 

If you are stressed out and feeling anxiety but are finally ready to begin to feel better a daily affirmation practice that incorporates affirmations, mantras and meditations could be your answer!  Abundance Affirmations is a great place for a beginner to start!  To order Abundance Affirmations Audio CD… click here now!

Namaste from Dr. Helen Thomas, D.C.

P.S. Don’t forget to order your copy of my “What Is Ayurveda? Understanding the Principles of Ayurveda and the Ayurvedic Body Types”. It’s available now - in an easy-to-download PDF file - for only $5 here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topics: Ayurveda and Spirituality, Ayurvedic Beauty, India & Ayurveda |

One Response to “Talking to Yourself: Meditations … Mantras … Affirmations”

  1. savie Says:
    January 15th, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    Hi Dr Helen, Happy New Year to you. It has been quite sometime. I am happy to be back on my computer. I as still having some trouble recognizing my body type, in order to start on reorganizing my life style. Presently i am experiencing some bloating problems. Any suggestions?
    Thanks Savie

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