To Barry 8-)
Do you know what i have come to understand Barry? Is that the experience of meditation is different for everyone... and that there are a few different types...
There is the type that just allows your body to rest based on the practice of learning to release your attention from your thoughts (and that in itself can be an interesting journey) How this helps with cancer is based on the theory that cancer has it's basis in =stress= and that if you take a break from the 'mind' (the inventor of stress) then you also allow your body to take a break from this constant battle and concentrate solely on the act of ~healing~ (This is commonly the Buddhist way and they often hold free sessions) Note: as i was kindly reminded the use of concentrating on a certain point on your body (ie) Center of your forehead (Third eye) or the flame of a candle is helpful with this practice.
The idea is that our bodies are quite capable of defeating cancer for cancer is just rouge cells that normally our body is capable of dealing with (and most do), but that our modern STRESSFUL (there's that word again!) lifestyles combined with poor exercise routines and too much processed foods gets our bodies all sludged up (Sometimes doctors will even describe a cancer as being 'sticky' to remove) and inefficient... So 'resting' the mind is one type of meditation...
Another type is to keep the mind 'busy' with a mantra and often it will be suggested to use positive words to encourage healing because the theory is that on a subconscious level we can directly affect how our body heals, or doesn't ...'Journey work' can also come into this where you look at emotional 'blocks' or 'incidents'/experiences in your life that may be hindering your healing... This is fascinating stuff too! (and a Kinesiologist is a fabulous help if you are leaning towards this kind of healing)
But MY favorite 'type' of meditation is using the imagination or 'imagery' to reach into the inner world (that we all have, believe it or not) where you just 'go places' and explore them like inner landscapes and THAT is like being an author or 'blogger' and all you need for this type of meditation is your imagination and ~trust~ that your 'higher guidance' (Whether that be religiously based or simply your wiser YOU is individually based)... and for this there are many self help books... (My first was Louise Hay)
and then there's Yoga that is all about the balancing of your mind, body and spirit... It's about getting your energetic self (Your energy system) and your body and your mind all working together in a balanced way ultimately aimed at your optimal overall health.
But the one thing they all have in common is physical relaxation, where you teach yourself to ~relax~ and until you make time for relaxation you just never realise just how -strung out- you really are... And to do that is simple: First you find a lovely spot/chair where you will not be disturbed and take the phone off the hook and then close your eyes and ~feel~ your body... with your mind... bit by bit, tighten your 'bits' and then let them go... It's so amazing to me how much stress we harbour in our bodies and walk around with it and even sleep with it (!!!) without even conciously being aware of it... This in itself would make us all a little healthier if we had this short daily practice.
Oh and last but not least Barry the very first thing that i was taught on the very day that i was first diagnosed with breast cancer, was not to define myself by "it" (ie) not to say MY cancer... Not if i want to be ~rid~ of it because my words will 'make it so' or confirm it in my psyche if i do... We are having a journey with cancer, we are not AN illness ...
i have personally learned that illness is my teacher but not WHO i am
Best of luck to you my friend,
Hope this ~helps~
vicki x
15 comments:
Thanks Nolly, this was very helpful (not to mention, kind of you).
Linda and I studied yoga for ten years to support my sister-in-law who has MS. When the disease progressed to the point she could no longer attend classes, we also left.
At the end fo each yoga class we did a relaxation exercise and a guided meditation.
But I was confused between "relaxation exercise" and "meditation" are they different things? Are they just different versions of the same thing?
For visualization, I also assumed you had to have someone there to guide you, but you seem to suggest that this is something I could do myself?
I tried meditating using the technique from the video this morning, but keeping it to 5 minutes like Hen suggested. It went well until about have way through I began wondering "are the 5 minutes up yet?" "Have I gone over?"
Perhaps I shouldn't aim for a specific period of time?
Anyway thanks for your help. It is deeply appreciated.
Wow VIcki -- this is an amazing post. I suggest you go right out an publish it. Very helpful description of something that seems very very complicated (by all those rules and techniques that one must get exactly right or be based in a deep practice or have incense and a certain outfit and a wooden floor and a sitting pillow ordered from a catalogue etc... to do). Of course we muck it up and complicate it, and you just unwound it all.
Applauds, while standing!
Oh Vicki, I agree with Sydney - you need to publish this. It is very well written - clear and concise!
When I finished my treatment I attended Stress Management and Relaxation Therapy (SMART) at the Cancer Institute. They taught us the techniques you describe, and I later bought a book and CD on guided imagery becasue I liked it so much!
Great, great post! I love the Wisdom of Nolly Posh!
xoxoxo
I just drop here and find it interesting..
Meditation..meditation initially is a practice but later on it becomes a principle..without proper lifestyle and sacred principle it is just reduced into a self praised practice...
initially people meditate on some external point but actual goal of meditation is to find the self..so better to meditate on the self..concentrate on some self effulgent light on the middle of your brain or eyebrows and forget everything..difficult initially but after years it will no more..
I'm going through some of writings and really like them..
What a great post describing the many different types ...
I use relaxation/meditation tapes to help me deal with the cancer. I've learned to practice relaxation on good days so that it is that much easier to do on the bad days.
But as with anything I want to improve, I need to practice way more.
Hey Barry, You sound like you already have had heaps of practice! (i am just about to begin yoga classes with my eldest daughter) ...i figure (but i am by no means an expert and only write from my own experience on my bloggy!) that relaxation is the focus on the body and meditation is shifting ones focus away from the body to the inner self... i started with guided meditations that began with relaxation techniques and separate to that i did positive affirmation/mantra style meditations... instructed by my Guru at the time... There was a stage, when i was at my most intense healing regime, when most of my day was spent in meditation following similar principles as 'Ian Gawler'... i too (in the beginning) used to worry about 'time' when meditating until it became a natural part of my life and the process took on a natural rhythm of its own... Just as my meditating has became a combination of all that i have learned... relaxation visualization and deeper... i also have had the experience of meditation in a group and wow that is a whole other journey and has an intense energy all of its own... i also use visualization to begin and shift my mind when doing readings to become a clearer channel... So in my mind it becomes a very individual process depending on your primary focus unless you follow a specific principle, faith or Guru X:-)
Thanks Sydney and Audrey but you give me too much credit i really have just bumbled along! <3
Shubhajit X:-) Thankyou for dropping by and for your kind comments Namaste
Daria... Me tOO lately Lol! x
Wonderfully written. It helps me understand meditation the way I never have before.
I know that I have never really felt stressed but I must have. My eating was basically all about eating garbage and still is and I did no form of exercise.
I believed I was fat and ate myself to it. I fulfilled my prophesy of it.
Reading your post is so helpful to acknowledge that and then move away from it.
Love you sweetheart.
Renee xoxox
What a great post, Nolly!
I've never really thought much about meditation and it's interesting to read of the different types.
One of my favourite activities is to sit on the front doorstep and just gaze at the trees and revel in their beauty, and their 'essence', I suppose. I wonder if this would be called meditation?
Fantastic post! I've been using an hypnosis mp3 I downloaded and now realise it's actually a form of meditation, with some suggestion in it.
It's amazing!
I love meditation
Breeze
This is wonderful. Your site strikes a deep chord of recognition on many levels. I have so much enjoyed scrolling back through previous posts, particularly your feelings about the demise of your dear Poplar tree.Is it too late to salvage small amounts for rhunes seeing you had such a strong connection?
Thanks for this helpful information. You are always inspiring, Vicki!
Vicki,
Very useful and wise suggestions on meditation. I share your enthusiam and have been meditating for years - following Raja Yoga. Here's a useful site for a initial relaxation
http://www.swamiveda.org/default1.htm/
And a few words from Sami Veda Bharati: "Meditation alone is the pleasure of tranquility. In this there are no exhilarations and excitations but a calmness leaving behind no depressions and no exhaustions. Look forward to this meditation, to this pleasure daily, and slowly it will cease to be a discipline. You will then learn to drift slowly into it as you do into deep sleep and the depth will arise to meet you, the heights will come down to greet you, and you will be a free bird with balanced wings in heaven and earth."
Oh Thankyou Big Frank, so ~beautiful~ and inspiring X:-)
<3 <3 <3 Renee <3 <3 <3
...and Raph THAT meditation is the most natural and ~beautiful~ kind (As i am SURE all good Giraffes know!) xox
Thanks for droPPing by x
KLG, Pam & Breeze <3 Love to you and Thankyou for poPPing in X:-*
I'm always amazed what my heart asks for, I find it or it finds me. You confirmed something in this post I needed to hear. I'm having some body work done to help me heal--this last year was a tough one. But I have resolved to make this year a better one, a turning point. I found a wonderful woman to do some deep tissue massage which I have been craving for some time now. I asked her if she believed the body holds onto trauma in the muscle especially the type like you get in an auto accident. She said, "Yes, it will as long as you let it." I realized I need to work on letting go of so many things--we all do.
I also wished to see a chart like the one you posted on the chakras. And here it is. Your blog is helping me remember stuff I already knew... do you know what I mean when I say that? Yes... I know you do, Nolly.
Thank you so much for simply being the voice saying the things we all need to hear.
Blessings to you. Can you feel my hug???
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