Do dolphins need self development?

This week I am in Florida. I met a dolphin called Rascal who let me swim with him. I also fed him some fish which he enjoyed. He seemed very happy with his life and probably needs no self development tips from me!

Dolphins lead a simple and natural life untroubled by:

• The recession
• Finding a job
• Paying the mortgage
• Taking up a health program

Read more

Can mindfulness meditation make you happy?

I have a friend that calls herself spiritual who attends an evangelical Christian church every Sunday. She also does lots of voluntary work in a Christian organization that distributes food to homeless people.

Despite her spiritual practice and her good works, she is not happy.   I also have some Buddhist friends who are miserable.

If you consider yourself to be a spiritual person then ask yourself the following questions:

• Does your spirituality make you happy?
• Do you struggle to make sense of life and how you fit into the larger scheme of things?
• Are you content with where you are, or are you reaching for some spiritual or mystical state that always seems just out of reach?
• Have you found your purpose in life?

If you answered no to any of the above questions, then your spirituality could be, instead or a source of comfort, a cause of conflict in you.

All this has got me think about spirituality and how genuine spirituality should, at the minimum, make you happy. Read more

What are the Different Types of Meditation?

While there are many different types of meditation, there are two general classifications: concentrative and mindfulness.  In concentrative meditation, you focus on clearing your mind to provide you with greater concentration, awareness and clarity. In mindfulness meditation, you open your mind to become more aware of the things around you, such as scents, sounds and thoughts.

Read more

Are mindfulness meditation techniques becoming mainstream?

Most of the time you are lost in your thoughts, Your mind constantly chatters away, often dwelling on fears and anxieties. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to switch of this constant internal chatter for a while? This is where mindfulness can help.

The practise of mindfulness meditation techniques have been a part of Buddhism for a very long time but are  increasingly to be found in other contexts such as:

• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy
• As part of patient care in hospitals
• As part of the education curriculum

What is mindfulness? Read more

Can binaural beats get you high?

I learnt to meditate many years ago. This involved a simple breathing technique:

Breathing deeply and slowly, following the movement of the breath as I inhaled and exhaled.

This sounded simply enough but the problem was that my thoughts keep intruding. I would start off breathing in, breathing out, following the rhythm for about a minute before odd thoughts entered my head:

• What shall I have for dinner tonight?
• Have I left the oven on?
• That was a great night out last night.

After a few random thoughts, I would pull my attention back to my breathing for a short while before the thoughts came back.

After many months I could manage to concentrate on my breathing for longer periods of time, and sometimes I reached what I call the meditator’s high in which there is a sense of deep peace and euphoria.

I am not unusual. Most people find meditation a difficult skill to master.

Is there an easier way? Read more

Read more

Many religious traditions recommend meditation as part of a spiritual path.  However, you do not need to be part of a religious tradition to benefit from meditation.

According to a report published by the American Psychological Association, “meditation interventions have a positive, medium-size effect on depression.” In addition, a West Virginia University study found that meditation diminishes psychological stress by 54 per cent.

Read more