It’s know wonder we can’t clear our thoughts with the consistent challenges and stresses we deal with continuously. This is the million dollar question I hear all the time. It is always easier said then done, but by no means impossible. I like to tell people to take themselves out of the freeway, and watch from the road. Our thoughts feel very similar to a moving freeway. There are many thoughts, and not enough time to deal with them all. When you watch from the side you can easily let your thoughts pass by without giving them much thought at all. Of course this approach takes practice and training just like everything else.

4 Top Ways to Practice a Peaceful Mind

1. Make a conscious effort to put some time away each day to sit or lay down. Write a note to your self, keep an alert on your phone, or leave a message on your phone to remind you that you need time. This is really the first step until you’ve had enough practice to do it with out reminding. Start with 5 minutes each and everyday to sit in a quiet stop to just relax. Close your eyes and just focus your attention on breathing. You can even do this on your lunch break in your car if that is all the time you have.

2. Start writing. Writing is a very expressive part of you. It allows your mind to focus on your thoughts, and helps transfer them to paper. It is a great way to stay communicative with yourself. This also takes some practicing, especially if you feel you aren’t much of a writer. Remember you aren’t writing a novel for others to read- no perfection necessary. Leave a notebook next to your bed or desk so that it reminds you.

3. Meditate or listen to music. Meditation is very similar to finding 5 minutes a day to sit down. However, meditation can help you stay more focused on your goals and to show you that the stress you’re carrying is not as important as you imagined. If you have a hard time getting to a meditative state try finding a meditation CD for your needs. They make meditations CDs for everyone. You can find them in categories such as happiness, money, success, love and health.

4. Take up a new hobby or class in relaxation. If you have a hard time really staying focused find a coach or take a class in such things as yoga, life coaching, cooking, tai chi, or even a book club. When we work with others we often feel more inclined to keep it up, have better support and gain tools. Many local colleges and community centers offer these classes for their community. If you live further from the city you can join a club online.

The exercise involves alternate breathing through each nostril.

Breath in through left nostril only for 4 seconds
Keep both nostrils closed for 4 seconds
Breath out through the right nostril for only 4 seconds
Breath in through right nostril only for 4 seconds
Keep both nostrils closed for 4 seconds
Breath out through left nostril for only 4 seconds

Brain research is beginning to produce concrete evidence for something that Buddhist practitioners of meditation have maintained for centuries: Mental discipline and meditative practice can change the workings of the brain and allow people to achieve different levels of awareness.

Those transformed states have traditionally been understood in transcendent terms, as something outside the world of physical measurement and objective evaluation. But over the past few years, researchers at the University of Wisconsin working with Tibetan monks have been able to translate those mental experiences into the scientific language of high-frequency gamma waves and brain synchrony, or coordination.

“What we found is that the longtime practitioners showed brain activation on a scale we have never seen before,” said Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the university’s new $10 million W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior. “Their mental practice is having an effect on the brain in the same way golf or tennis practice will enhance performance.”

Davidson’s research is consistent with his earlier work that pinpointed the left prefrontal cortex as a brain region associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions. Using functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) on the meditating monks, Davidson found that their brain activity — as measured by the EEG — was especially high in this area.

Davidson concludes from the research that meditation not only changes the workings of the brain in the short term, but also quite possibly produces permanent changes.

Source: Washington Post

What It Does
Calms the mind; relieves stress; stretches the spine, shoulders, hamstrings, and back; stimulates the kidneys and adrenal glands; improves digestion; and reduces fatigue.

How to Do It
1. Sit with your legs extended straight in front of you, feet parallel with toes pointing up. Press the back of your legs into the floor.

2. Inhale deeply and lift through the upper body. With your spine straight and shoulders back, pull the navel in slightly toward the spine, creating space in the abdomen. Exhale, release, and lean forward, bending from the hip, not the waist.

3. Fold forward only as far as you can (keep your knees bent if that’s more comfortable). With each inhalation, lift and lengthen the front torso slightly; if you feel able to go further, release a little more fully into the bend on an exhale. Try not to crunch; maintain length through the spine.

4. Hold for a few breaths, allowing your body to open up. Direct your breath toward the kidneys, breathing deep into the lower back. Then inhale and sit up slowly, lifting your torso away from the thighs until your back is straight. Repeat 2 to 3 times.

Source: Body and Soul April 2008

Dr. Mo Yee Lee in partnership with Dr. Amy Zaharlick (Anthropology) and Dr. Deborah Akers (Miami University) has been investigating the effectiveness of a six-week meditation curriculum on mental health outcomes among female trauma survivors who also have substance use problems.  Dr. Lee’s research team works in collaboration with Amethyst Inc., a local organization that serves to break the cycle of addiction, poverty, and violence for women and their children.  The team’s work explores the utility, cultural adaptability and appropriateness of using meditation, a primarily Eastern-based practice, as an intervention with clinical populations in the U.S. A preliminary study examined two specific questions: (1) Is a 6-week meditation curriculum effective in reducing PTSD symptoms and improving functioning of female trauma survivors who have histories of prolonged interpersonal abuse? (2) How did participants understand and perceive their meditation experience and its potential benefits?

This study used a randomized controlled trial with a longitudinal design. Clients at a local substance abuse treatment and housing program for homeless women and their children who agreed to participate were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The treatment condition consisted of a six-week meditation program with a curriculum where the first two weeks were devoted to Breathing Meditation, the second two weeks to Nying-je Meditation (Compassion), and the final two weeks to Tonglen Meditation (Loving kindness). Geshe Kalsang Damdul, the Assistant Director of the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, India (which is under the direct administration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama), is an expert on using meditation practice for treating trauma survivors. He assists the research project in conducting the meditation classes.

Outcome indicators included participants’ and/or therapists’ evaluation of participants’ levels of functioning, PTSD symptoms, state of mindfulness, positive emotions, and emotion regulation abilities at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 6-month follow-up. The study also collected information on salivary cortisol levels at 5 assessment points to measure the level of stress evident in participants. Qualitative data were collected through individual interviews and focused group interviews to explore participants’ understanding and experience of their meditation experience and its potential benefits.

Source: College of Social Work

Naples Grande Resort and Club in Naples

Kithaus Meditation Room

Killenure Castle

Meditation Room at the Bellagio