Meditation

[Sheila]

http://bioenergyandcancer.blogspot.com/
Judith
19 Nov 11

Meditation shortcircuits…stress.

Meditation is a psychological remedy for the pain of [suffering]. It teaches you to live in the now. Regretting the past or dreading the future take up huge amounts of mental and physical energy. Every moment of living in the now is like a vacation from regret and dread, freeing up energy for healing, creativity and resilience. The peace of living in the moment without fear floods your bloodstream with positive hormones. It gives your body a rest.

[Chronic illness] can fill you with fear of the future and regret for the things that you have not done in the past. Meditation teaches you how to stop those thoughts. Fear in particular constricts you -- it makes your breathing shallow, so you don't get sufficient oxygen (and cancer thrives in an anaerobic environment). It constricts your mind too, so you become trapped in a circuit of negative thinking. Negative thinking in turn floods your body with stress hormones -- which [exacerbates the illness].
….

Meditation resources abound. There are CDs, DVDs, local meditation centers and teachers, Buddhist temples both of the Zen and the Tibetan variety, and Youtube videos galore. I would in particular recommend Adyashanti's teachings. But there are many others, Eckhart Tolle, Deepak Chopra, Pema Chodron, Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh. Find one who speaks to you.

............

[Luc]

I absolutely believe in its remarkable influence upon our psyche and soma. The only problem in my case is that I'm at the stage when it still isn't efficient enough, or, the "good thoughts" are outmassed/outnumbered by ruminations, then swiftly and cruelly ousted. I tried starting from just 30 secs, then working it up to 2-3 mins, yet, it looks that for me, a double cold turkey, it may still be too early in the game. Not giving up hope, though, that it will improve in the months to come. Has anybody here tried it so far?

[Sheila]

Well, it's like this.....I think you have to find a way of meditating that works for your stage of w/d.

It's good to really open your mind as to what constitutes meditation -- even reading a calming novel could be considered a meditation. Walking, listening to music, playing a monotonous game.

Then, you have the more traditional ideas about meditation -- focusing on your breath, letting your thoughts go, focusing on one image or sound.

I was not a meditator when I entered w/d. Didn't want to be one! But, I feel strongly that various forms of meditation have been crucial to my surviving and healing from this catastrophe.

Early in w/d (circa 0-2 years post-taper) I tried brainwave entrainment CDs that were supposed to be calming or help you sleep, and they scared the shit out of me. Seriously. The music sounded ominous. I could not tolerate them.

At about the two-year point, I tried again, and now I could tolerate them, and I got *a lot* of benefit from them. (There are a lot of different companies out there that make these.)

At about the four-year point, I felt I had tried absolutely everything else I could possibly try, and I finally surrendered and actually tried classical meditation. I started by doing about 5 minutes a day. And, damn it, it worked! That was five minutes a day of mild relief, five minutes of giving my body a break from the strain of cataclysmic anxiety, and, occasionally, very occasionally, I had a millisecond of feeling great.

I slowly increased the amount from there. And, since I have no patience, and I have trouble falling asleep, I kill two birds with one stone, and do my meditation in order to fall asleep twice a day (nap and night). It really helps me fall asleep. And slowly I have become better at moving into that groove as I go about the day, too -- breathing diaphragmatically, releasing my jaw / shoulder muscles, letting go of anxious, critical thoughts, focusing on spaciousness.

So, the bottom line is -- every little bit helps. Just do it 30 seconds a day if that's all that feels right. And do it in a manner that works for you. It doesn't have to be classical method. In fact, classical method can be too anxiety-provoking for some people, especially for us people. But whatever you do adds up, slowly.

<< someone who has benefited from much meditation

[Sheila]

I just want to acknowledge that simply walking through the day while in psych med neuro recovery requires more mental discipline than many people ever master.

And doing it for several years is the equivalent of one of those several-year meditation retreats that dedicated people go to in the Himalayas.

[Cindy]

I just want to acknowledge that simply walking through the day while in psych med neuro recovery requires more mental discipline than many people ever master.

And doing it for several years is the equivalent of one of those several-year meditation retreats that dedicated people go to in the Himalayas.

Amen

[Luc]

I just want to acknowledge that simply walking through the day while in psych med neuro recovery requires more mental discipline than many people ever master.

So so true.

PS I started doing meditation again at a "tad bit" level yesterday. Let us see what happens.

[stan]

i have never do meditation, i am curious what it will give also, Luc

[Cindy]

This is a great Meditation resource you can download for free. I have it on my iPod.


http://marc.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=22