{"id":1162,"date":"2021-05-30T13:51:45","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T13:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2021-05-30T13:51:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T13:51:48","slug":"is-meditation-effective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/?p=1162","title":{"rendered":"Is Meditation Effective ??"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some food is healthy and some food is not. \u00a0We all need to eat…but the actual practice of eating can help or hurt us, depending on what we actually INGEST.<\/p>\n

Is it not the same with meditation? \u00a0What our mind ingests? \u00a0 Can we meditate to calm our anxiety? \u00a0Can we meditate our way to mental health? \u00a0Exactly what is meditation and does it work?<\/p>\n

Meditation can have many different connotations, some secular and some spiritual.<\/p>\n

For example, it is a part of modern yoga where it has come to mean a form of mindfulness….an effort to increase one’s awareness by paying nonjudgemental attention to the present moment.<\/p>\n

( Though yoga may help stress, \u00a0anxiety, and quality of life, there are studies that show that simple stretching may be \u00a0as or more effective than yoga in this regard. \u00a0I don’t think mandatory Yoga classes will solve the world’s problems…or yours.)<\/p>\n

There are other forms of meditation –<\/p>\n

Some forms of meditation involve an effort to “empty the mind”.<\/p>\n

Some involve chanting.<\/p>\n

Some involve focusing on sounds or visualization techniques.<\/p>\n

Some involve breathing awareness or breathing techniques.<\/p>\n

It is obvious that meditation can mean a lot of different things. \u00a0I would like to make the argument that, just like eating can help or hurt, \u00a0some meditation is helpful and some is harmful.<\/p>\n

Soooooo…………..What is helpful meditation?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

#1 – if your life is always in a drive mode to do more, be more, accomplish more….If you are always busy, then shifting from drive to neutral and taking time to slow down is helpful. \u00a0 \u00a0We were not created to always be in high gear, always in “drive.” \u00a0We were created with a need for rest. \u00a0Not just physical rest, but mental rest also. \u00a0 We all do need to learn the art of \u00a0BEING STILL.<\/p>\n

#2 – Don’t JUST be still. \u00a0God says to be still AND know that I am God! \u00a0No matter what the world says about how we can help ourselves or what we need, I am thoroughly convinced that apart from God you will never find true, lasting rest. \u00a0You were created by God, but also for God. \u00a0Just like I think a man and wife, deeply in love, were MADE for each other and are not happy apart, you were made for God and will be restless until you find your rest in Him.<\/p>\n

#3 – Once you “come to your senses,” so to speak, like the prodigal son, and come home to God, begin to meditate or focus on the absolute truths that God has revealed. \u00a0Your mind is capable of being deceived. \u00a0It does need to be renewed, but only by ingesting or dwelling on healthy things. \u00a0You need to develop a worldview based on reality. \u00a0It is amazing how something very simple, like admitting that God is God, and I AM NOT, can bring a lot of relief to a troubled heart. \u00a0A restful mind is a wonderful thing to experience. \u00a0Center your mind on Your Creator, who promises that our peace increases as our trust of Him increases.<\/p>\n

#4 – The media, in all its forms, and even some well meaning Christian leaders would have us focus on what is wrong in the world. \u00a0I think they seek to use fear to influence us. \u00a0After all, there is a lot wrong! \u00a0But there is hope. \u00a0There are solutions. \u00a0Our focus should be on finding the right paths forward. \u00a0 \u00a0The past is in the past. \u00a0It might be a good learning tool, but mistakes in the past cannot be undone. \u00a0We are commanded by God to actively look today for “Whatever is true and honorable. \u00a0We are told to hunt for what is JUST! \u00a0What is pure and lovely.” \u00a0 These are safe things to meditate on and pursue. (Phillipians 4)<\/p>\n

#5 – In keeping with dwelling on what is good, If we spent more time thinking about and honoring those who acted unselfishly, those who put others first, those who wanted to really solve a problem and not just use it to promote an agenda, I think our society would look very different. \u00a0Healthy thoughts and gratefulness produce one chemical response in our brains. \u00a0Unhealthy thoughts produce another. \u00a0After all, a cheerful heart doeth good like medicine!<\/p>\n

So, yes, meditation can help (or hurt) your mental health away … \u00a0it all depends on what you meditate on!<\/p>\n

\n

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Some food is healthy and some food is not. \u00a0We all need to eat…but the actual practice of eating can help or hurt us, depending on what we actually INGEST. Is it not the same with meditation? \u00a0What our mind ingests? \u00a0 Can we meditate to calm our anxiety? \u00a0Can we meditate our way to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Is Meditation Effective ??\nmental health","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5WySj-iK","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1162"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1172,"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1162\/revisions\/1172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.doctormomx4.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}