Meditation's Impact on the Brain (ty Bronus ♥)

 Bronus posted this youtube link in our Discord and I want to share it with you:

Kindness Club: Guided Meditation for Confidence, Self Love and Better Self-Esteem

 This uplifting guided meditation by Linda Hall focuses on confidence, self love and self esteem.  Please join us next Sunday at 10:00 am SLT for another great video!

Weekend Zen with Raeven

Buddhify App

Raeven brought to my attention a great meditation app she found and we share it with you: Buddhify

Guided meditations for wherever you are

The central idea in buddhify is that you don’t have to find time for meditation, instead it comes to you. That is why all our meditations are categorised by what you’re doing or how you’re feeling. So you’ll find guided meditations for Walking, Stress & Difficult Emotion, Work Break, Going to Sleep, Waking Up and many other different categories. Written and voiced by our range of hand-picked teachers, the sessions last from 4 minutes all the way through to 30 minutes.

Mindful Thought: Gratitude and Self-Love

Gratitude and Self-Love

Today we look at gratefulness and how it is intertwined with self-love.

When you take a minute to look at how much you have accomplished, for yourself or others, you feel empowered, efficient. Often, we tend to focus on the failures, or negative experiences in our lives. 

When you were little, you may have been led to believe things about yourself by your parents, family members, school, friends, religion, culture, …and you may have decided to adopt those things as truth. Some of those things may be have been positive; others were negative.

And so, you have gathered evidence that affects your ability to show gratitude and self-love. That evidence may be real. It may be false.

Often, we feel guilt, shame–and think about what we should have done. We dwell on what’s missing, or what could have been, or how we should look, or what we should have said…

Learning how to be grateful for the good things in your life can help reverse that trend and put you on a path toward self-love and a more positive outlook on life. 

Gratitude is a huge help with any stress in your life. You may be five minutes late for work every day, no matter how hard you try, but you can be thankful for the fact that your boss values your contributions to your job enough to overlook something that might be grounds for dismissal for someone else. And in times of trauma, gratitude is a huge coping method. Even though you may have just suffered a mighty blow to your life, being grateful that things could have been worse, and that you are still alive to see another day, is an effective way to draw your focus away from the negative, and eventually adjust and move on.

Be thankful for yourself!

Being happy with who you are is something to be thankful for in and of itself. So many people walk around every day, upset with themselves because of something arbitrary, and it is usually something they could change. Being grateful for yourself is the cornerstone of self-love; the more you are able to develop your sense of self-love, the more you will be able to be grateful for what is around you, and vice versa.

If you have a people-pleasing personality, you may find it hard at first to put your own thoughts and feelings before others, but the more you make yourself aware of yourself, the easier it will be to learn self-love, and to be thankful for it.

Appreciating yourself helps you build your self-esteem and self-worth as well. And all of these things combine to help you create a positive body image, as well as a positive inner sense of self. Being grateful for your body can really help when you’re sick or injured. It might also just give you the added jolt you need to appreciate your life, despite facing a current downturn.

Naming the things about ourselves that we’re grateful for, or choosing to do things differently because we have the power to see ourselves as perfect, innocent, and capable of change is a good choice. You are worthy. You are good enough, You are perfect. Curious about how to get to a place where you can say all those things to yourself and believe them? 

Tomorrow I will teach you little tasks to help you feel acceptance, appreciation and gratefulness for yourself ♥

Mindful thoughts: Negativity Bias

Today as like a little chunk of scientific information, I want to avoid that as much as possible, on the other hand it is important to know how thoughts arise because once you know those facts it takes away a lot of their power 😀

Imagine this:

You buy a new blouse, walk around feeling all lit and getting many many compliments. Then someone makes a snarky comment and poof all good comments are gone and you no longer feel proud of your blouse... there is a big chance you never wear it again. 

Or 

You need a medical procedure and the doctor tells you 70% success rate, good right?

What if he told you: 30% chance of things going wrong? Try to get that one out of your head ! :P

It is almost impossible to turn your head when you become aware of the negative outcomes.

So why do we have this negativity bias? 

It is wired in our brain for survival! Not so long ago we needed this to stay alive!

Let's take a look where this is coming from:

We have the base of your brain, the cerebellum, Let's refer to it as the "lizard brain." You might be wondering, "What do I have in common with a lizard?" Well, all the basic functions to stay alive: Reflexive behaviors, muscle control, balance, breathing, heartbeat, feeding/digestion, and reproduction.

Our mamalian brain  (the limbic brain: amygdala and hypothalamus ) maps out safety and danger, it stores where and when to activate the lizard brain for fight, flight and freeze response. It has no concept of time or logic. This explains why your dog (a mammal) may greet you as though you've been gone for 30 years, instead of 30 minutes. 

Past, present and future are all one. Here trauma is stored and it explains why traumatized people relive the past as if it happens today.

Next to that we have the newer part of our brain: the frontal cortex 

here more complex functions are implicated: cognitive behavior, personality expression, social behavior, certain aspects of speech and language, internal goals, creativity

and imagination. 

Here the orchestration of thoughts happens!

Now if it would only be influenced by that part of the brain our thoughts would make sense and be logically mostly, sadly in the untrained mind the little maniac in our head 

is mostly driven by the  lizard and mamalian brain.  It uses the tools of fear and anger and then applies to that the wonderful skill of our newest part of the brain: imagination, the possibility to ruminate on the past and worry about the future. Your mind loves to exaggerate, give you many different versions of what could go wrong and prefers to let you imagine the worst case scenario. 

This is why when you are having a bad day or feeling down it is always associated with thoughts.

Remember the exercise we did yesterday?

It shows how easily our mind drags us through all kinds of different emotions and feelings just by thinking. 

Should you stop thinking then? 

How wonderful it would be if we just could do that, be a zebra and graze on the savanna. 

We get from 15000 to 70000 thoughts a day and there is no way to stop this.

But what we can do is not let those thoughts affect us. 

Become aware of your thinking, of your negative thinking. 

Just see them as thoughts, observe them unravel and then being replaced by yet another thought... 

The 'untrained' mind is what the Buddhists call the monkey mind as it jumps from one tree to another. Becoming aware of our thought patterns and

recognizing them is how we 'train' our mind, and we will practice this together! 

Tomorrow more on this ♥

Mindful Thoughts Tuesday Exercise

Today we explore further on thoughts and the internal dialog with a small exercise...

Close your eyes and take a deep breath and call to mind someone or something that is very dear to you, someone you love, your spouse or partner, your child or your pet or a friend...

And picture them smiling and happy. 

Notice how you are smiling in your mind, perhaps even a real smile appears on your face...

Notice how it colors your mind.

Now imagine someone or something that you do not like, and notice how it triggers anger, anxiety, regret or

grief. Notice the spectrum of thoughts and sensations changing...  This also colors your mind

Now think of something you are hoping for some time, imagine you have it or it already happened, feel that happiness and joy. Picture how grateful you are. And again notice how this colors your mind.

You can see how thoughts color your mind. How in this short time you can experience many different sensations, and this does not happen only because of me asking you.  It is happening all the time and is something you can practice on your own. 

What appears when thinking, are merely states of energy, an energy that is easily changed when your mind changes focus. 

Our practice for tomorrow; when you find yourself lost in thoughts and they are negative and coloring your mind,  just accept them and observe them as the thought itself, the state of energy.

And notice as soon as you explore that experience how quickly it loses power. 

Thank you for practicing with me, it means a lot ♥

Pictures at the Center

Jammy made this beautiful picture... how it captures that still moment. Thank you, sweet friend!

If you have pictures to share of your avatar meditating send them to me ♥

Mr Sandman surprised me with this beauty ♥

Mindful Thoughts July 6

Thoughts...

When you sit down to meditate, a stream of thoughts distracts you, thoughts about the past, thoughts about the future, thoughts about things you worry, thoughts about things you want or don't want.  As soon as you attempt to put your attention on your breath you will meet your mind and your mind is the most rambling, chaotic, needling,  insulting, insufferable person you will ever meet and you are completely identified with this internal dialog. It's like some maniac walks through the front door of your house and follows you around from room to room and refuses to stop talking and this happens every day of your life. This voice is predominately unhappy, so it generates an  enormous amount of unhappiness. 

 The most important thing that happens with mindfulness is the moment you can separate from that internal voice, no longer identify with the constant stream of thinking. Awakening. Wake up out of the stream of thoughts. And when you wake up, you become present and a completely different dimension of consciousness is suddenly there. 

It is a true breakthrough when you realize here is my thinking, here are all the importune thoughts I've been having, habitual thoughts, repetitive thoughts, very often recurring negative thoughts, here I am knowing that these thoughts are going through my head.

The identification breaks,  you stop identifying with the stream of thinking. 

You recognize thoughts for what they are: mere appearances in consciousness, images, bits of language.

That is why the language used is awakening. Wake up out of the stream of thoughts. And when you wake up, you become present and a completely different dimension of consciousness is suddenly there. 

Another sense of self, deeper than thinking, inside of you, a stillness, an aware presence. Just that.

Now a thought that arises does not give it a necessary claim upon your life, it does not need not to have any implications, good or bad, it is just a thought.

You will always continue to think and be moved to act by thoughts but meditation gives you a choice.

You really want to follow this next thought wherever it leads?

Center of Mindfulness Make Over

Hello everyone!  I hope you are all staying safe and mindful during these chaotic times. Having done some recent exploring in SL, I was inspired by the beauty of Island of Pandasia and it has encouraged me to revisit my earlier Kinbaku location, bringing elements of its setting and tranquility to the Center for Mindfulness.  I am also evolving the structure and format of the lectures to be more help in the current environment. The long theoretical lectures are a way of learning things but we all have a lot on our mind and things are more easily forgotten, especially if you get a lot of information at once.

From Monday July 6 I will start with Daily Mindful Thoughts (10-15 min) which will be hints, little exercises and sharing with each other how we are doing, so more interactive. After that we will do the Daily Mindfulness Meditation (10 min), and these will adjust depending on the mood of the day and other factors, and everyone is welcome to attend either or both, as time allows.
It is my hope to make the Center a safe and calming place for people to come to learn, relax and recharge, and also to grow a base group of friends who support each other and progress in the awakening. Teleport here and group here ♥

Daily meditation 10 min Mindfulness ♥

Every day at 2pm SLT we meditate together for 10 min at the Meditation Pavilion at the Center for Mindfulness.  Thanks Jam for the beautiful picture ♥

Do you ever feel anxious? Watch Russell Brand's take on it....

The Spring Forest Qigong Small Universe Meditation Wednesday at 1pm SLT

The Spring Forest Qigong Small Universe Meditation

Spring Forest Qigong is a modernized form of qigong with simple, effective movements and meditations developed by Qigong Master Chunyi Lin. It can help you increase your energy and improve your physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Qigong teaches that the underlying cause of any health problem is an energy blockage; remove the blockage and healing can occur. Using effective breathing, healing sounds and visualizations as you move energy, this mediation helps to clear energy blockages along the two most important channels in the body, the front and back channels. These sounds are powerful because their vibrations can reach every corner of the body to clear blockages.

We have many energy channels and energy centers in our bodies. When energy starts at one point, visits all the channels and centers in the body, and comes back to the starting point, we have what is translated from Chinese ancient wisdom as a “big universe.”

The most important channels are the back and front channels in the torso. When energy starts at one point on those channels, visits all the parts of the system, and comes back to the starting point we have what is called a “small universe.”

The back governing channel of yang male energy channels in the body starts at the lower dantian area, which is deep behind the navel. It goes down to the bottom of the torso, travels up along the spine to the top of the head, and comes down from the middle of the forehead stopping at the roof of the mouth. The front channel of yin female energy channels also starts from the lower dantian area, goes down to the bottom of the torso, travels up the body passing through the heart and throat stopping under the tongue.

These two channels control and influence the other channels in the body. Nearly all of the important energy centers are arranged along the back and front channels. As a result, energy blockages in the heart energy center could cause heart, lung, breast, chest or intelligence problems. A blockage in the tail bone could cause reproductive organ problems, low sexual energy, and headaches. A blockage in the cervical bone #7 of the spinal cord could cause headaches, fever, diabetes, and lung and heart problems.

The small universe mediation is the easiest mediation technique to open these two important channels.

Qigong has been found to be beneficial to helping improve health and wellness, and researchers often recommend further research.

https://www.springforestqigong.com/qigong-and-science

For a detailed visualisation:
http://www.robertpeng.com/shc/

Spring Forest Qigong at the Center, Saturdays at 1 pm SLT

Let me introduce you to our new Qigong instructor at the Center: Cythe (cytheria.teardrop).

Cythe has been practicing and leading Spring Forest Qigong groups for ten years and is also a certified laughter yoga instructor. Her passion is to encourage people to express their natural health, beauty and leadership.

She will lead a Qigong session every Saturday at 1pm SLT (led in voice so need ears)

What is Spring Forest Qigong?

It started more than 4,000 years ago when Chinese scholars, studying the workings of the universe, discovered and established the Eastern scientific principle that everything is energy.

One of the best ways to help yourself maintain a healthy lifestyle is to practice Qigong. Qi means  “energy" and Gong means "to work with" so simply put Qigong means working with the body's energy.

Spring Forest Qigong is a modernized form of qigong developed by International Qigong Master Chunyi Lin after years of qigong, tai chi, martial arts practice and intensive meditation.

Spring Forest Qigong is a simple, effective system of movements and meditations that can be done anywhere, anytime, and by anyone.

Spring Forest Qigong can help you increase your energy and improve your physical, mental, and spiritual health.

SFQ empowers you to:

● Discover your natural ability to help heal yourself
● Acquire the power to help protect yourself from ill health; mentally, physically, and spiritually
● Learn knowledge and skills to continually strengthen your health, well-being, and mental outlook throughout your lifetime
● Develop your natural capability for helping others to heal
Spring Forest Qigong is an integrated form of healing, helping us to heal on all levels – physically, mentally/emotionally, and spiritually. Although each person and situation is unique, the benefits of practicing SFQ can include:
● Pain-free movement and greater flexibility
● A sense of happiness, contentment and peace
● Reduced stress and tension
● Improved metabolism, digestion, and elimination
● Balanced energy
● A more youthful appearance
● Increased awareness and mental acuity
● Increased strength and vitality
● Restore organs to their healthy, optimal functioning by giving them an “inner massage” and thus slowing the aging process

Qigong is the science of the body. Many people also consider it a “healing art” or “energy art.” There have been many medical studies done on qigong. Qigong has been found to be beneficial to helping improve health and wellness, and researchers often recommend further research.

https://www.springforestqigong.com/qigong-and-science

Short and Powerful ♥

Ty Dann for finding this little gem! Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche explains in 3 minutes 5 simple tips for meditation...♥

10 min Guided meditation

Perfect for a daily Mindfulness meditation, 10 minutes and nice, deep voice ♥