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Meditation
By Zephyr Miller

                To many, meditation may seem to be a mysterious, odd, or formidable practice, but to those who have tasted its benefits, meditation is a divinely simple yet deeply profound experience. If you have never tried it, meditation could be a wonderful addition to your life.

        There are many forms of meditation, with each of the major world spiritual traditions having its own way of bringing peace to the heart and mind. Through basic centering techniques, all paths convey that to experience this peace is to know the love of God, Spirit or the One.  This common thread unites each spiritual tradition. Each also shares the components that form the basis of meditation. It is universally recognized that our minds need spiritual clearing and purification. What better way could there be than to meditate: to devote a small portion of time each day to experiencing our core of peace and divine love. Negative blocks along with the accompanying pain and suffering can be washed away through this dedication. By doing so, vitality is released and one is blessed by a sacred self-consciousness. This is the beginning of tapping into an Infinite Resource available to all humankind.
Modern science has been investigating these ancient spiritual meditative techniques for more that three decades now.  Meditators have been the subjects of various scientific studies in order to verify the benefits of meditation. One of the foremost researchers is Herbert Benson, M.D. from Harvard University. In the beginning, he had to smuggle Tibetan Monks into his laboratory in the middle of the night in order to conduct his experiments without being detected by his colleagues.  Now the scientific community recognizes his findings as being proof that there are definite health benefits associated with meditation. In his book Beyond the Relaxation Response, Dr. Benson gives a list of the health benefits, which comes from using the relaxation response techniques with the added “Faith Factor” (which means that a sacred word or phrase from the person’s spiritual belief system is incorporated). His research and that of others has disclosed that those who develop and use the Faith Factor effectively can:

• Relieve headaches
• Reduce angina pectoris pains and perhaps even eliminate the need for bypass surgery (an estimated 80 percent of angina pain can be relieved by positive belief!)
• Reduce blood pressure and help control hypertension problems
• Enhance creativity, especially when experiencing some sort of “mental block”
• Overcome insomnia
• Prevent hyperventilation attacks
• Help alleviate backaches
• Enhance the therapies for cancer
• Control panic attacks
• Lower cholesterol levels
• Alleviate the symptoms of anxiety that include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, short temper, and inability to get along with others
• Reduce overall stress and achieve greater inner peace and emotional balance  

    Okay, so now you are wondering “How do you get started?” The first thing I teach my students is the proper breathing technique. I have found with some of my students that by only using the technique of diaphragmatic breathing, they would experience such positive results as lowering their blood pressure or sleeping better. This breathing technique is perhaps the simplest component of the practice of meditation.  Babies are born breathing diaphragmatically, but somehow through the stresses of everyday life, people allow the more anxious forms of breathing to take hold (such as breathing using only the upper chest muscles).

The easiest way to learn diaphragmatic breathing is to lie down flat on your back putting one hand on        your chest and one hand on your belly just below the navel. First notice how the hand on your chest moves up and down and your other hand stays relatively still. Next slow your breath as you allow your belly to fill with air instead of your chest. Now your lower hand should be rising, and your upper hand should stay relatively still. Do this for a few minutes until it begins to feel natural. Once you are able to do this effortlessly, try doing it sitting and standing.  Now not only do you have the basis of a meditation practice, but you also have another tool to help you handle stressful situations. You can do this breathing technique when driving in traffic or in the middle of a stressful conversation. Notice how you begin to feel more relaxed just by breathing diaphragmatically.

When you decided to begin a meditation practice, I suggest that you start slowly. Find a quiet place. Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Do the diaphragmatic breathing for at least 5 minutes every day for the first week or two.  You could also try taking several 5-minute breaks a day to practice the breathing (Call this “taking a breather”). When you feel you are ready, you can increase the time by another 5 minutes. A slow beginning will help you with the changes you will feel and you will be more inspired to stick with it.
 
Most traditions suggest that you meditate first thing in the morning and/or the last thing at night. There are many techniques that you can learn from books on how to meditate. I have always found that working in a group or with a teacher is very helpful. When meditating with other people, your practice will be enhanced.  There are many meditation groups who meet on a regular basis. Find a group or a teacher with whom you feel comfortable and your own spiritual belief system is honored.

   1Benson, H. “Beyond the Relaxation Response” Berkley Books, New York, 1984.