The Diane Rehm Show

I began Transcendental Meditation in 1972 at age 32. At the time, I was angry, cynical, argumentative, and starting to drink too much. Since I started meditating, I describe myself as laid back and comfortable. At seventy, my two daily meditations are high points in each day. I enjoy TM on thirty minute bus or train rides.

Dear Diane, i am a regular listener and love your show!
I practice as a psychologist, have been a yoga practitioner ( in its entirety), and teach Yoga.
in the introduction you stated that Yoga sometimes uses meditation.Meditation is an integral part of Yoga and is one of the practices of Yoga. Unfortunately, in our culture we tend to focus more on the physical practice of Yoga. Yoga, in essence is about learning to still the mind, incorporating the use of our body, breath and mind, moving us towards a pursuit of our higher ideals. The practice of Yoga involves meditation at every level of practice, be it - posture awareness, stretches, breathing practices, or other practices, which allows us to tap into our inner wisdom through quieting of the mind, among many other benefits.
thank you.
indira

Hopefully, this won't devolve into a "My Kung Fu is stronger" diatribe, but the profound positive effects of observational, non-judgemental meditation techniques are real. Learning to observe without desire or avoidance will change your life for the better.

google vipassana meditation for the root/origin of many of these techniques.

For those who have trouble focusing in meditation, yoga is a wonderful way to begin, because it teached us to focus on our breath and the benefits that brings us both in movement and holding poses. Yoga originally was created in order to prepare the body for sitting in meditation, so it is a natural lead-in practice.

~ Sheila

Thank you for bringing up a wonderful topic. I would like to add yet another "type" of meditation - "vipassana" meditation. "Vipassana" (vi-pas'-sa'na) means "insight".

Essentially, vipassana begins with "anapana" - mindfulness meditation (samantha) focussing on the breath. Once some focus has been attained, the focus shifts to sensations within the body and the mind. The "insight" is the understanding one attains into the way the mind works and the nature of our human experience. E.g.: one observes that the "things" that cause us distress are merely stimuli.

A person with an eating disorder doesn't WANT to eat that gallon of ice cream - that person probably wants NOT to eat that ice cream, but there is a sensation, a compelling urge that causes great distress when it is not obeyed.

Road rage is a manifestation of the sensation of anger - the events on the highway are merely a convenient catalyst for the manifestation of this rage sensation.

In vipassana meditation one learns to observe and accept the discomfort of the sensations as a passing phenomenon and not acted upon them. By observing objectively, without desire or aversion, the sensations gradually become weaker and ultimately go away. Conversely, by capitulating to the demands of the urge or resisting the urge, it is strengthened and nurtured.

Seems to me that if TM practitioners were all that serious about improving the world, they would make the techniques available to everyone for free. $1,500 to learn? That makes it seem like just another New Age scam.

Susan Carr
Riviera Beach, FL

fact is no-one can teach you how to meditate as meditation is an experience. i have a meditation class but do not claim to 'teach meditation' - i can only give the attendees the tools to help them meditate and hopefully inspire them to continue with a regular practice. practice is key, no matter what the approach. good luck! suzanne, US1Yoga

I know some people expressed concern over the high price of learning how to meditate. There is a type of meditation called Sahaja Meditation which is taught for free. It is world wide, as my husband found out about it in Europe, but you can find it in most cities in USA as well. It really helps with my stress and gives me a feeling of peace that helps me get through my day with some grace. I meditate twice a day with my kids for 10 minutes each time. It helps with their attention and confidence. They are doing so much better in school now. Look it up at www.sahajameditation.com

It is said that prayer is an asking and meditation is listening for the answer.

The simplest meditation is watching the breath: focus is kept on the breath; watching the air enter the nose, travel through the airways into the lungs, expanding the lungs and the chest and then flowing out again, repeating and repeating and repeating.
As oxygen fills the body and begins to loosen the tensions held there, toxins are flushed out of the system. Concentration on each part of the body while maintaining this breathing produces great relaxation, re-balancing the system.
When the mind begins to wander, see the distractions as clouds in the sky of the mind: clouds move into sight and are released and allowed to float away. Noises become part of the background and are allowed to be what they are. The senses become heightened and one feels part of everything.
After a period of time appropriate to each meditator, a great peace fills the being and the area around them, and one emerges rested and clear headed.

It is probably easiest to learn this technique sitting in a quiet place.Then use it while walking and exercising, and eventually while doing any task which takes focus: artwork, music, sports, cooking, and eventually when spending time with cranky children.
It is very interesting to experience in public places like subways and waiting rooms. When we are at peace, our atmosphere becomes permeated and others can sense it.

Meditation is a gift to oneself to allow consciousness into daily life, so that one can continue to do the ordinary things in a heightened way.

It is my experience that breath is what we have in common. Once conscious breathing is attained, then one can dive deeper into whatever other spiritual practices one feels drawn to. There is no one way: as was quoted in the program the best technique for you is the one you will do on a regular basis.... Enjoy!

Do the researchers practice meditation themselves? It is my experience that one cannot understand the results unless one is immersed in practice themselves. Meditation is not abstract, it is a contact with life moving within us. When one has first hand experience, then questions are asked in a more relevant way.

I am a classic example of the monkey brain trying to meditate. Having been diagnosed with ADHD, I find "focusing" incredibly difficult.

In the last couple years I have been rock climbing 3-4 times a week. As the difficulty of climbs have increased I find that climbing is more and more like meditation. The level of hyper focus and ability to think of nothing else but the balance and movement on the vertical face puts my mind and body into a deep sense of relaxation (even if I am 500 feet above the ground).

I have also found that if I go a week without a "difficult climb" my attention span is much worse through the week. This isn't because of the lack of exercise (as I make up for that in the gym). Rather I think this is due to the lack of "deep focus" that is created in those longer climbs.

Thank you for airing the show this morning. It was perfect timing to help me put some of these pieces into perspective.

A caller to the show shared that he could not meditate because he is easily distracted, especially by sounds. I wish him to know that you can meditate on anything, including sounds that "annoy" you! In sound meditation, you simply observe whatever sounds arise in your environment.

Also, you can do "choice-less" meditation. If you become distracted from your sound meditation by a bodily pain, then you switch to pain meditation, observing the pain. If you then get distracted by a smell, you can switch to smell meditation, observing the smell. And so on.

Meditation can be "free and easy." Don't think you have to force anything, including forcing thoughts out of your head. All you need to do is observe whatever arises.

Brian Skow
www.shiatsuworks.info

Aren't we a strange people in that we ask science to validate something that we are incapable of accurately scientifically measuring before we as a society "accept: that it is so.

Thanks!

Get the book "The Relaxation Response" by Herbert Benson. It teaches you TM for the cost of the paper back. It's easy to learn. Good luck!