What is Mediation, and how can you benefit from it?

First, let me take a minute to say Thank You for coming this far with me on this little journey toward enlightenment and self-awareness.  This is the last blog entry in this current series.  There will be other to come in the future I am sure.  So take the time to join my blog and follow the entries as they unfold.  I am attempting to build my audience and would love to have you be a part of my community.

In this entry we are going to talk about meditation and it's possible benefits that you can get out of utilizing meditation in your daily life.  So, let's start this off right by first telling you that Mediation is derived from the word meditate.  According to Webster's Pocket Dictionary and Thesaurus defines meditate as: "to be in continuous contemplative thought; to think about doing some thing."  There are many schools of thought on meditation; some believe that meditation opens the mind to a higher form of consciousness, others claim it is just the stilling of ones mind to allow exploration of the subconscious, still others say that it is the key to ultimate knowledge and enlightenment, there are so many different opinions that it would be impossible to list them all in this blog.

It is my own opinion that maybe every single one of them are right in some way shape or fashion.  No matter what your religious beliefs are or what school of thought you identify with, it will not change what meditation is and how it can help you.  Personally I like to think of it as prayer and a form of inner evaluation, a form of self-reflection and a tool to help us divorce ourselves from the physical world and glimpse and sometimes enter the spiritual realm.  I have studied many of the worlds religions, and have practiced some of them from time to time.  Each religion teaches and embrace mediation.  In Christianity it is in the form of prayer, in Hinduism it is in the form of lighting candles and incense and assuming the lotus position, and so on and so forth.  Each time I have tried to learn the religious aspects of meditation I found it confusing , hard to accomplish and at times elusive.  The reason why this happened is because the simple concept of self-realization and inner focus was incorporated into the religious culture and dogma and became wrapped up and cloaked in religious tradition.

The concept of meditation is very simple.  It is the stilling of ones mind and allowing the conscious thought to relax control over the body and surrenders control to the subconscious, it is almost like the rational mind (conscious) falls into a light slumber where you can still think and remember what is happening.  Once you have stilled your mind your body relaxes, your respiration and breathing slows as well as your heartbeat.  As you enter this state the subconscious is able to focus your mind on issues or thought abstracts that your waking or rational mind has not been able to work out or deal with.  Thus allowing you to have deeper thoughts, explore the inner recesses of your mind.  Further, when you reflect inward and review your life, you can see and understand things that have been bothering you and you had no idea why.  As you think these deeper thought you are opened up to a greater understanding and spiritual awareness and awakening is able to enter into your body.  Dreams they say is how the subconscious mind works out problems and issues that your conscious mind is either unaware of or are too complex for total understanding.  It is through mediation that we are able to view these issues and allow the subconscious to work on the issues without the constraint of the rational mind holding you back.

As you meditate and your mind calms, you will be able to focus your will reduce your stress, contemplate and understand complex abstracts.  As your mind stills and your body relaxes your subconscious takes control, now remember that the body's autonomic nervous system is control by the subconscious mind.  So when I talk about how you can benefit from mediation, you receive improved and efficient respiration, breathing is normalized, stress is reduced and blood pressure drops, basically your body's natural health is improved and becomes more efficient. Meditation is definitely a tool you will want to use on your journey of self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment.  Another benefit of letting the rational mind relax your subconscious becomes open and receptive to abstract thoughts and spiritual energy. You are able to glimpse and possibly at times enter into the spiritual realm and gain better insight into yourself and those around you.

I find myself mediating at various different times and because it has become second nature too me I seem to slip in and out of it with out sometimes even realizing that I am doing it.  I also have a dedicated time when I meditate, I like to meditate when I am grounding and centering, I find that it helps me align my bodies energy field and focus my will to a singularity of purpose.  Feel free to mediate whenever you want and as often as you would like. It will become second nature to you as well and you will be amazed at some of the thought you will begin to think and understand.  I also like to mediate when I write, for some examples of this look at my blog entries on vision 20/20 and happiness, and time..I think you will begin to see what I mean by abstract thoughts can be analyzed and your how your knowledge and understanding of them improves.

Take some time just like I described in the last entry on grounding where you can be alone and uninterrupted for a period of time, close your eyes, relax your mind and let your body relax as well.  Just let your mind go and follow where it leads, look into your self, and be honest with yourself and you will see what I mean about becoming open and receptive.  That is all there is too mediation.  Pretty simple right!  Keep in mind that using meditation with ground will help keep your body in balance and strengthen your inner focus and sharpens you will to a point of singular purpose.  Your body will benefit from renewed health, vitality and become more efficient in handling negative energy and help you to live in a positive state of being.

This series has been about that allowing us to have to tools needed to reflect inward, begin a journey of self-awareness and self-discovery and spiritual enlightenment.  It was also about using our unconscious(subconscious) mind to view and pick up on abstract thoughts and take those inner issues that our rational mind cannot handle and working to resolve them.  It allows us to be open and receptive to change and allows us to understand ourselves and those around us.

Learn from mediation, use it and see how great you will feel.  Again you have nothing to loose by trying it and you have so much to gain from it.  It is a win-win situation all the way around.  As always I look forward to hearing from you and I appreciate your feedback and comments. Tell me what you think and how you feel on this or any other subject I have written about.  You can contact me directly through the blog, or write to me on facebook at www.facebook.com/bryan.zepp2 or via email at bryanzepp@gmail.com.

All my hopes and dreams are with you

Uncle B

Techniques and Practices that will help you successfully ground yourself

In yesterday's blog entry I spoke to you about the concept of grounding and how it can benefit you.  Now, what I would like to do is explain just a few simple techniques you can use to achieve grounding. Believe me when I tell you there are many ways and techniques out there that a person can use to achieve grounding.  My goal is to narrow down that list, by giving you a foundation upon which you can build on.  Feel free to customize and adapt either of the techniques I am about to talk to you about and make them your own. Find the easiest most comfortable way to achieve this and it will become second nature and automatic. Like I said be creative, have fun with it and make it your own..  All I ask is hat you push your fear and skepticism aside and just try it, you will be glad you did and will feel the benefits right away.There is nothing to lose, it can't hurt, and you have so much to gain, just have to do it.  As with all things that are new to us we have natural doubts, we are skeptical and may have second thoughts or misgivings about grounding.  But, if you go into it with an open mind and a receptive heart you cannot go wrong.

Getting rid of negativity in your life, freeing yourself from the rut that you have been stuck in, ending the cycle of depression and fear that has been keeping you prisoner; are just some of the things you can expect to gain.  Others, will include more energy, a feeling of inner peace and you will have a sharper focus.  Things around you will start to change, the new positive outlook, will start to draw more people and things to you and around you. Opportunities will begin to open up for you and your whole life will become enriched.  Keep in mind that positive attracts positive, inner calm brings inner peace and with our stress reduced, our body can rest easier and will benefit from more efficient healing and recuperation, which in turn lets us sleep more peacefully, allowing us to feel renewed, refreshed, relaxed and energized. Trust me when I say it is a win-win situation, you have absolutely nothing to lose, except maybe depression, anxiety, stress and the familiarity of despair.

Now, I have your interest right?  I think I might! So how do you get to this point? It really isn't as difficult as you might think, keep in mind that there are many ways to do this and it is your job to seek out which one is easiest and right for you, then make it your own.  There are an unlimited possibilities, techniques, methods, techniques, and philosophies on this out there, feel free to mix and match, add, subtract, personalize it anyway you see fit.  A few examples are Gardening, Baking, Reading, spending time with nature. As I said there are unlimited possibilities you just got to figure out which one fits you and then you just incorporate some basic techniques and then you are all set.  Doing something outside of your comfort zone will give you the most outstanding results.  Now we are going to delve into the basics and give you a thorough understanding of them so that you can incorporate them in your daily life.

The basic of grounding are pretty simple and easy to follow:

• Set aside a dedicated time of day. It works better if you use the same time as much as possible.  Though there will be times when you can't do it at the same time or you may find you need to have more than one time set aside per day.  Personally I have my time set for the morning so the tone of my day is set.  Then when I need to I throw in an evening time when appropriate. (15 to 30 minutes is all the time you need)
• Make sure that you have selected a private place and you will not be interrupted.  Turn off your phone and isolate yourself all outside influences and distractions. 
• Clear your mind and relax.
• Feel the energy flow from above you and through you.
• Let it pass through you into the ground.

With all this being said lets get to it.  These are my simple techniques that I use.  Sometimes I add music and other things when I am trying to relax and ground, as I told you earlier the possibilities are unlimited and there is no wrong way or right way, it is just your preferences and what you feel comfortable with.  My favorite and probably first choice is a natural approach and incorporates nature in all the beauty and wonder that exists there.  If you live in a city it maybe a little hard for you to find the perfect spot.  But, the neat bonus is that you can try all sorts of different spots, and change them as frequently as you want.

In our overview on grounding, I explained that grounding is a natural phenomenon therefore somehow it seems fitting that the first technique takes place and incorporates nature in its usage. I have set aside a time for each day to explore nature.Personally I choose to do my grounding in the morning. My reasoning is this I am not a morning person, it takes me a bit to wake up and get my day going. Therefore, when I ground and commune with nature I set the tone for my entire day.  When I step out of the house I am positively energized, I am eager to face the day with renewed joy and vigor.  

But how do I achieve all of this? Simple I select my personal block of time, as stated earlier about 15 to 30 minutes each morning., where I isolate myself from the outside world.  This means that I turn off the cell phone, television and ensure that I avoid any distractions and interruptions.  I step out into nature and observe it in all of its beauty and majesty.  I actually don't have to physically go anywhere I personally like to sit in my backyard, or go to the beach or even the public park.   Next, I feel the sun warming and this helps me quiet and still my mind.  I also like to touch the plants, smell the flowers, talk to the animals that are in the vicinity. As I am doing this I let my mind grow quiet pushing out all thoughts and distractions and I feel the energy of the sun flowing all over me and through me.  As the energy courses through my body from the heavens toward the ground, I actually feel the negativity and stress of the world and the previous day drain slowly out of my body. The positive energy flows from the sky through the top of my head and then through my body and leaving it through my feet and my hands that touch the plants and other things.  All the while I rejoice and give thanks for another day as my body fills with the energy of the sun.

The second method is just a little variation on the first instead of walking around and touching things to ground, I find a tree to rest on, I place my back and head against the trunk as I lean back.  I can feel the energy of the sun flowing down from the sky into the trees leaves and flows through the trunk heading to the roots for grounding but because I am leaning against the tree, I am actually part of the trees circuit the energy that flows down frAom the sun, enters my body through the trunk into my head and flows through my body, and exit through my back and drawn down into the ground by the trees roots. As the energy is drawn through me and suffuses me in every way and as long as my mind is free from all outside thoughts, influence and then isolating me from the clutter and activity of the world for just 15 to 30 minutes each morning I feel refreshed and energized to face the day.  Now, if for some reason I cannot get out into nature, I do the next best thing, I sequester myself away in my room.  Again turning off  all distractions and shutting my door so I am not disturbed.  I then go through the steps again, visualizing the energy from the sun flowing down through my roof through the top of my head and travelling through my body seeking to reach ground.  Remember there are so many ways to customize this that whatever you choose to do will work as long as you keep to the basics. As you can see the only difference between the above techniques is the venue where the grounding actually takes place.

In just a few moments after starting the grounding process I feel the tensions, stress, emotions and all the negativity from the day before to melt and begin to be washed away. It is just that simple, and I can start my day and know that I am going to have a positive one.  The one thing that I do is to give thanks for being granted another day, say thank you to the tree or nature that has been so kind as to assist me in my grounding efforts and then I take a few minutes to think of some key words to help me through the coming day and help me maintain my positive focus.  These are words that I hope to demonstrate, exhibit, impart to those with whom I may come in contact with or might interact with throughout my day.  These are words like: Love, Compassion, Understanding,, Caring, Wisdom, Kindness, humility, gratitude etc.  I keep these words in the front of my mind throughout the day and to help me maintain focus.

Well you made it this far by reading this post, please don't give up just yet bear with me just a little bit longer as I summarize what I have been trying to get across to you and the key points I hope you will remember.  By now I have defined what grounding is; given you the benefits of; then through in my concept of key words to help us manage and cope with the day.  All you need to walk away with is this: Ground yourself daily, be open and receptive, make it your own, experiment with it, have fun with it, and customize it anyway you want so that you are totally comfortable with the process. But above everything else I want you to try it!

The techniques I talked about were Nature Grounding (or using nature and natural surroundings and settings).  The other is when you couldn't get out in nature then you use what I call Visual Grounding (grounding utilizing visualization) and is done in your private place where you won't be interrupted.  Remember the basics, use key words and you will be amazed at how your day turns around and how things begin to open up for you. You will also notice the immediate benefits of renewed spirit, health all the while of experiencing a positive focus and will be amazed at how relaxed and refreshed you feel.

Please join me for the next entry as I will be going through mediation and how it can and will benefit you.  As always your feedback and comments are appreciated and solicited.  Feel free to ask any questions and remember that I am here for you.  Write to me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bryan.zepp2 or bryanzepp@gmail.com.  If you have enjoyed what you have read please follow my blog, join up and become a follower.  I am trying to build up my audience and I want you to be a part of my community.

All my hopes and dreams are with you.

Uncle B

Today is Mother's Day do something special for all the special women in your life that have sacrificed and provided for you.  Make sure you tell them thank you and acknowledge what they have done for you.

All my love,

B

What is Grounding and how can it help you?

This is the second entry on embarking on the path toward spiritual enlightenment and personal growth, with the aim to helping you fulfill your goals, dreams and desires.  The first entry was about Creative Visualization and if you haven't had a chance to read it, not to worry, you can and will still benefit from reading this one.  This entry is on Grounding and how it can benefit you in your daily life.

Even if you do not embrace spiritualism or visualization, grounding will still benefit and enrich every aspect of your daily life.  Let's begin!  First, you might ask yourself, "what does he mean when he says grounding? Does that have something to do with the ground?" Simply, yes it does! Grounding is the act of putting something in or applying it to the ground.  Now, according to Websters Pocket Dictionary ground is defined as: "the surface of the earth; soil, sand, and other natural materials at or near the earth's surface; the connecting of electric current to the earth through a conductor."  In some ways we are going to deal with both parts of the mentioned definition.  In Spiritual and metaphysical terms when we speak of grounding,we are speaking of grounding out the negative energy, stress, pain or other harmful emotions from our bodies and mind and sending it into the ground or earth.

In a limited way our body does this automatically when we rest.  However, have you ever had a really bad day where everything went wrong and nothing you tried to do was accomplished ever went right, you were so stressed out that you wanted to cry or scream; your head felt like it was going to explode and the least little thing caused you to snap and lash out at everyone around you? Of course you have! We all have been there and done that or been on the receiving side of the equation.    On days like this you probably ended up with a headache, heartburn, acid indigestion, felt anger and when you tried to relax and rest, your mind probably was racing and so full of thoughts that it was impossible.  Then being wiped out and totally exhausted you try to climb into bed and get some sleep, but you end up tossing and turning, you mind is going a million miles a minute and sleep is long in coming and when you finally do succumb to sleep it is light and fitful and when you wake you are still exhausted and feel spent, and it is a new day, uggh, so what are you to do...you really can't go back to bed things have to get done and you are the only one who can do them.

This is where learning and utilizing grounding comes in. By using grounding you can flush all of the stress, harmful emotions, restlessness, anger and can calm your mind and achieve that so sought after rest and respite from the world around you.  You will be able to finally get to sleep at night getting the rest your body needs and will wake up feeling renewed and refreshed. It isn't as hard as you might think and like I said earlier it is something that our body does in a limited fashion all on its own.  So when you learn how to ground properly it will become second nature and almost automatic.

Grounding is a natural phenomenon and follows the laws of nature and physical science.  Current (energy) in nature flows from positive to negative following the path of least resistance to reach ground.  This is an immutable fact and can be demonstrated in the following example using a electricity, a cord, a lamp with switch and a light bulb.  Electricity is the energy or current that we are going to apply to the cord to the lamp, when the switch is thrown, a circuit is completed and the current flows through the wire up the lamp through the bulb across the filament where light is created by the heat of the current flowing through the resistance of the filament as it rushes back down the lamp through the cord seeking ground.

In terms of spiritual grounding or the ground of ourselves, the mind is the switch, the body is the conductor and ground is the ground.  But what of the energy where does it come from, it is an external force or pressure, it can be stress, and it definitely comes from everything around us, the world at large.  It impacts us and hits us all day everyday and if we don't ground completely and thoroughly it will cause problems. You can think of the outside energy force as stress, grief, turmoil, pain or any other strong emotion that you and your body are subjected to throughout your day.  Just a little bit ago I explained to you the law which energy follows that it flows from negative to positive following the path of least resistance always seeking ground.  The earth being a big solid mass it can absorb and dissipate immense quantities of energy and is our natural ground.  You must bear in mind that energy is subject to all physical laws include that of relativity which simply states that energy can be created, manipulated, changed but it cannot be destroyed.  Energy therefore always seeks to ground and yearns to be dissipated otherwise it goes on and on for ever and always.

Therefore, unless we ground it out of our body, we begin to fill up with negative energy and negativity because energy flow from negative to positive always seeking ground if it cannot reach ground because we are not open then it has to build up, just like with our switch it doesn't light until the switch is thrown and the circuit is completed and the energy is able to pass through the bulb and return to ground. This negative energy builds up within our body and is harmful and throws us into imbalance, which can lead to illness, depression and other ailments that could possibly be avoided.  It does even further than this, it also reacts with our own inner energy field and an electrical current that travels through our central nervous system.  As the energy of the outside interacts with our internal energy field something unique occurs, the energy begins to transcend the laws of nature and physic and starts acting in contrary ways.  The reason why this happens is our inner energy field is spiritual energy or life-force, it interacts with our brain and other planes of existence it is also a perfect and closed circuit constantly flowing through our bodies and allowing us to function, with the interaction with the outside energy a conversion takes place between both energies, resulting in spiritual energy.  Now in our physical reality opposites attract, negative attracts positive, and that is how the current or energy is transferred, when the energy converts from physical to spiritual energy within our bodies that law no longer applies because in the spiritual realm likes attract and opposites repel, the total flip of our natural law.  Now, can you see what is happening our bodies are becoming loaded down with negative energy and as the conversion is taking place, we are drawing more negative into our lives.  This is the reason why grounding for us becomes so important.  We want to shunt that negative energy or negativity into the ground or the earth and get it out of our body and our mind.

When we are filled with the negative, more negative comes, our inner energy field begins to get corrupted and our body is unable to defend itself properly, we become overwhelmed and burdened and then physical problems begin to manifest themselves through illness, depression, bad moods, and the cycle becomes cyclical because our bodies are a complete circuit and we keep recycling that negative energy through our entire body.  This in turn begins to draw even more negativity into our lives which then begins to change our environment, leaking into our interactions and dealings with others.  Every thing around us begins to suffer just as our body suffers, you will begin to see everything withering, fleeing or dying just because it is near us. Now I am talking about everything, friends, health, relationships, our luck, wealth, everything. Negativity is something that can and will destroy us from the inside out.  Like I explained it becomes cyclical, meaning it goes around and around never changing unless we ground it out.  As the negative continues to build  we open ourselves up to depression and a myriad of other illnesses both physical and mental that can and will keep us stationary and prevent us from moving forward or backward for that matter, we get stuck in a rut and cannot break free. It becomes so easy for us to fall into despair and surrender to our lot in life and become accepting of all the rotten things that befall us.  We get used to it and we wallow in it.

But I am here to tell you that there is a way through this, there is a way to regain the balance in your life, to lift the veil of despair and depression and fight back and that is use and live with grounding. Grounding is a way for us to rid ourselves of this negative and replace it with positive.  It allows us to become healthier and gives our mind and body the opportunity to rest and heal and recuperate more efficiently.  In the next entry I will start explaining the techniques for ground in a way that will be easy for you to follow.  Thus allowing you to be healthier, happier, it will open you up to being receptive of love, wealth, and the blessings you truly deserve.

So, What is Grounding and what can it do for you? It is the shunting of the negative energy that your body is continually accumulating and making it go to ground.  What it will do for you? It will make you feel better, give you more energy and strength, allow you to pull more positive energy into your life to replace the negative and when you are constantly operating in the positive, you will be open to a whole new world.  Opportunities will come, stress will be reduced, you will be able to sleep more soundly and your body will get the rest it needs and will be able to heal and repair itself more efficiently; your mind will be quieter, clearer, and able to focus better.

So please join me for the next entry as we go through the techniques to accomplish this.  As always, I welcome your feedback and your comments, I am here for you and will answer any questions you might have.  Write to me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bryan.zepp2 or bryanzepp@gmail.com.  If you enjoy what you have read please follow my blog , become a follower please. I am trying to build up my audience and I want you to be a part of my community.

All my hopes and dreams are with you,

Uncle B