Meditation for Health & Happiness. Dr. Robert Puff

      

      MEDITATION FOR HEALTH & HAPPINESS

      By

      Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D.

      Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D.

      2436 West Coast Highway, Suite 103

      Newport Beach, CA 92663

       http://www.SuccessBeyondYourImagination.com

       http://www.DoctorPuff.com

       [email protected]

      © Robert Puff 2011 – All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced without written permission of the author.

      Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com

       http://www.eBookIt.com

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0527-8

      If you don’t meditate, you’re missing out on a scientifically proven way to relieve stress, calm your mind, and to experience a general sense of peace and happiness. It’s not only easy, but it doesn’t cost anything to do. Plus, you can do it in the privacy of your own home.

      WHAT IS MEDITATION?

      Simply put, meditation is sitting still and quieting your mind. It is the act of being totally present with “what is,” without making mental commentary. When you meditate, you are in your most pristine, natural state of being. In other words, your mind is quiet and you are “just being.”

      Think of meditating as the freedom to “just be.” There’s no pressure. There are no deadlines. And while there are a lot of different styles of meditation, there’s really no right or wrong way to do it. You are simply in a calming, peaceful “state of being.” I believe that when you are in this quiet state of mind, you are a human being, instead of a human doing….

      While you’ll find that meditation is peaceful, it’s not exactly peace of mind. However, meditation is freedom from the mind. By that, I mean that during meditation, your mind will be free from your egoic thoughts or mental commentaries. The egoic mind gets conditioned to build up a sort of wall around who you are. Meditation breaks down that wall, so that the mental commentary (mind chatter) isn’t there. Meditation allows you to say, “Who am I if I am not these thoughts?” This is the most important question on the planet. And it’s through meditation that you can ask that all-important question and to go into yourself for true self-discovery.

      You see, when you are meditating, you are thought-free, and you lose the sense of fear and desire. If you’re in a state of fearing something, then you are in a state of wanting something.

      I won’t go into too much detail about this topic, because I discuss it at length in my e-book, Living a Peaceful Life. If you haven’t already read this e-book, I recommend that you do so before continuing. That way you will more fully understand what I mean by terms like “fear and desire,” accepting “what is” and many other references I’m using here.

      So, let’s assume you’ve already covered the basics and move on.

      PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF STRESS

      Let’s face it. We’re living in very stressful times. If stress is allowed to continue over an extended length of time, the result can be bad for both your mind and your body. Let me give you an analogy to demonstrate this point.

      Hold out your arm straight at shoulder level. Keeping it in that position probably won’t bother you at first, but the longer hold it there, the more it will hurt. The pain will get worse and worse, until you can’t stand it any longer. Finally, there will be so much pain that you’ll have to drop your arm to your side. Stress is like that. In the beginning, it may not bother you much, but over an extended period of time, it will take a toll on your health, both physically and mentally.

      Studies show that prolonged stress can weaken the immune system and lead to a plethora of health problems, like high blood pressure, one of the biggest killers on the planet. In fact, according to the website, meditationaltherapy.com, stress-related illnesses account for more than 60% of all doctor visits in this country.

      Unfortunately, most people alleviate their stress with things like alcohol, chocolate, or prescription drugs. But simply numbing the pain by depending on one or more of these crutches isn’t the long-term answer. Instead, why not practice daily meditation? It has been scientifically documented that meditation lowers blood pressure by allowing you to completely relax your body and clear your mind. Meditation reportedly reduces stress-induced hormones in the blood, alleviating anxiety, anger and many types of illness.

      That right. Meditation can help with illnesses. Scientific studies have shown that meditation not only helps with stress reduction, it can actually increase physical healing. It has been successfully used to help patients suffering with everything from cat allergies, to heart palpitations, to back pain.

      How is this possible? Because being in a meditative state increases the amount of endorphins produced by the brain, and it’s these endorphins that can assist our bodies in the healing process. These same endorphins make us feel happy and give us a positive, uplifted sensation. I call it the “ultimate natural high!”