Meditation Creates a Magic Life

Five minutes a day gives Kate Campbell clarity, calm and an ability to tackle the impossible list of duties she has on a daily basis. Gotta love that!
Five minutes a day gives Kate Campbell clarity, calm and an ability to tackle the impossible list of duties she has on a daily basis. Gotta love that!

What? Type-A-multitasking-Chere is meditating? Why? Because in our 24/7 digital world, friends with the craziest stressed out schedules tell me meditation saves their day…so why not meditate? I bet you too are stressed out, as stress statistics from the American Psychological Association shows that 77% of people in the USA are stressed out daily, with money and work problems getting the most blame.

The Science Facts

Mindfulness meditation for 25 minutes a day, three days in a row is enough to alleviate stress.

Harvard’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center ‘s research  has determined meditation can improve cognitive performance. ** (I need that)

Dr. Davidson’s research at the University of Wisconsin shows meditation demonstrates positive effects in both brain and immune function. *** (I really need these)

American Heart Association maintains that meditation lowers blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke.

 

I want less stress but who has 25 minutes, three days in a row to sit and do nothing? Not I! I need to make it more realistic than that! So, I have had two goals for 2014 – mediate for 5 minutes every day and balance with one leg on the bosu ball for one minute. (I know I know baby goals but achievable baby goals.) With my need for a right knee replacement the meditation goal is a piece of cake.

Two Types

Mindfulness Meditation

It focuses on the flow of breath in and out of the body, concentrating on what the person is experiencing without any reaction or judgment. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a variation of this.

Transcendental Meditation (TM)

With TM there is a mantra, which can be one word or a few words or an object to look at to keep you in the moment. It usually involves a comfortable posture with a straight back and focused attention to your breathing with the goal of training your mind so you feel calm and peaceful.

Aarti Batavia has been meditating for ten years and has discovered inner peace. She feels her patients open up more as they get a sense of security and healing around them.
Aarti Batavia has been meditating for ten years and has discovered inner peace. She feels her patients open up more as they get a sense of security and healing around them.

As I write to you I can almost feel the power of silence of my meditation.  I try to mediate four days a week after my swim class for 5 to 10 minutes.  I take a shower and hit the sauna. I close my eyes and inhale in the word ease and exhale out the word grace. I picture grace filling my body from my head to my toes. When I get distracted (which I swear is every minute or so) I simply notice my distracting thoughts and gently focus my memory on Poipu Beach in Kauai. I focus on the color of the brilliant blue water and inhale in ease and exhale out grace. It usually works. My mind ENJOYS thinking about five things at once and focusing my breath on two words is more difficult than my usual rapid-fire mind.

Often Gary looks at me like I didn’t hear his question and my constant reply is, “Gary do you have a million people in your brain?” With keynotes, clients, family and friend, maybe more than a million…

I used to think I was too busy and how could you change your life “not talking” to anyone. Carving out time has actually given me more time as I feel I am more focused, have more energy and am more productive. And it’s free!

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Three Ideas to Get You Started

My friend Dr. George Kramer told me at least ten years ago how mediation has changed his life. And I finally decided to give it a whirl.  Don’t take ten years to decide like I did.  Once you decide it is easy. If you don’t consciously decide to be extraordinary, happy and healthy, you will unconsciously decide to be average, unhappy and unhealthy. Aren’t you ready for a little meditation magic?

How do you meditate? We would love to hear your meditation story.