The mission of Meditation Mount is to promote the building of an enlightened and compassionate world through the power of creative meditation, inspirational educational programs, and community-based events focused on the practical application of the following universal spiritual principles: Right Human Relations The inclusive practice of loving understanding that treats all beings with respect and dignity. Goodwill A powerful and abundant energy that nourishes the greatest good for all life. coque iphone xs max Group Endeavor The group-conscious, collaborative energy that moves us to think and act purposefully together on behalf of the whole. coque iphone Unanimity The recognition of the fact of “one humanity” and the importance of each individual as a unique expression of the One Life. Spiritual Approach The inevitable movement of life to an ever-expanding state of wholeness and joy, through a living relationship with the Divine Presence. coque iphone 2019 pas cher Essential Divinity The acknowledgment and honoring of the Divine Presence in every person and in all life. [symple_divider style=”solid” margin_top=”10px” margin_bottom=”10px”] Meditation Mount was the creative idea of Florence Garrigue who lived at the Mount and oversaw all activities. The facilities were completed in 1971 under the direction of Zelma Wilson, Architect. coque iphone 6 Zelma sought to make the buildings reflect the spirit of the participants, and serve as highly functional structures attuned to their setting. Grant Castleberg of Santa Barbara served as landscape architect for the center. Florence, the Mount’s founder, came to Ojai in 1968 to establish a center for the work of Meditation Groups, Inc. which she had begun 10 years earlier in New York City. coque iphone xs max After selection of the site in the east end of the valley, she worked closely with Ojai architect Zelma Wilson in planning the beautiful Tibetan – style buildings and arranging the financing of the project with generous gifts from people who believed in the work of the organization. The center at the end of Reeves Road then became known as “Meditation Mount.” Their purpose was the fostering of meditation to benefit the world. They achieved this by using small booklets written on various aspects of spiritual topics, sending them by mail to individuals in a rhythmic pattern of every two months. Taking a step back into Florence’s past we can see how all of this evolved. When Florence retired in 1943, she moved to New York to join the Arcane school, an institution for esoteric studies founded by Alice A Bailey. After 10 years there, she and a group of friends started the School for Esoteric Studies in New York which is still active. coque iphone 8 She then became a member of a small informal group of individuals from several countries who met in England for the purpose of fostering meditation to benefit the world. They achieved their purpose by using small booklets written on various aspects of spiritual topics, sending them by mail to individuals in a rhythmic pattern of every two months. It was from this group and its concept that she returned and founded the US branch of Meditation Groups, Inc. Many of the booklets were written by Roberto Assagioli, an Italian Psychologist whose lifework was to bring meditation and spirituality into the realm of psychology and human development. In the mid 1990′s the distribution of meditation booklets was discontinued. Since that time Meditation Mount has functioned an educational center offering spiritual programs that enhance the awakening of the human soul in all aspects of social endeavor. coque iphone 8 Daily and Monthly Full Moon meditations continue to be an important part in the daily rhythm in the Mount’s life.
Meditation Articles
Science Says: Meditation Can Change Your Brain
Chasing your thoughts around all day long can be exhausting and stressful. coque iphone 2019 soldes Feeling controlled by your emotions instead of the other way around? Harvard Neuroscientists have proven that daily meditation can change the physical makeup of your brain and thus your thought patterns in a real way. Having a restless, stressed out mind is a symptom of our general human condition. vente de coque iphone But when meditation is proposed as a way to fix it – we balk. How could that work? What good could it really do, scientifically? Turns out – a lot. A recent Harvard study has proven that meditation can in fact change our brain matter in a highly beneficial way. It can alter the size of key regions, improving our memory and making us more empathetic, compassionate, and resilient under stress. The study took two groups – one daily meditators and the other not — and compared their regions of the brain and the gray matter within. After only 8 weeks of meditation practice, indeed the brain scans show noticeable changes. Magnetic resonance images (MRI scans) of everyone’s brains were taken before and after they completed the meditation training, and a control group of people who didn’t do any meditation also had their brains scanned. coque iphone After completing the meditation course, all participants reported significant improvement in measures of mindfulness, such as “acting with awareness” and “non-judging.” Even more enlightening was that the MRI scans showed changes in the brain’s ‘ gray matter’ (the regions of the brain involved in muscle control and sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control). coque iphone 2019 The meditating groups increased gray matter concentration within the brain regions involved in learning and memory, emotion regulation, sense of self, and perspective analysis. The data concludes that meditation benefits those suffering from psychological issues such as depression, anxiety disorders and insomnia. But even more promising – it can improve your overall quality of life. Dr. coque iphone Sara Lazar, part of the Harvard study, states: “Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day.” How this happens has to do with the brain and its ‘neuroplasticity’, which is the ability neurons have to change they way they talk to each other with differing experiences. The messages the neurons send began to change when a daily meditation practice started. Britta Hölzel, the lead author on the paper states: “It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life.” Another Harvard alum, Dr. John Denninger, is leading a 5-year study that builds on these findings and takes them one step further to the body as well and how meditation can affect genes and brain activity in the chronically stressed. His latest work follows a study he and others published earlier this year showing how so-called mind-body techniques can switch on and off some genes linked to stress and immune function. soldes coque iphone 2019 “There is a true biological effect,” said Denninger. “The kinds of things that happen when you meditate do have effects throughout the body, not just in the brain.” In other words – meditation equals a win/win for us all. Mind, Body and Soul. By: Sara E.
Spirit Recovery
Spirit Recovery is about recovering our authenticity, our natural condition as joyful human beings. To do this Spirit Recovery has created programs, journeys and events that promote expansion beyond the limitations of your beliefs, to get back to yourself as you were before the programming — a spiritual being who is free to love, free to live, free to be happy. Spirit Recovery was born out of a a desire to create a non-denominational program for the growing numbers of people who are seeking to recover and increase their spiritual consciousness. We designed our programs so people can reclaim their authentic state as spiritual beings — like becoming children again, loving life completely and fully, while maintaining the wisdom of our adult experience. Living an authentic life. Being authentic is the natural condition of humans. coque iphone pas cher When we are authentic we express spontaneously with love and joy for life. soldes coque iphone As young children we started out connected to Nature, to Spirit to the wholeness of Life and felt free to express that connection. As we grew, we began to be programmed in order to fit into society’s beliefs. coque iphone xs max Some of these beliefs served us well, and many created conflict within ourselves. coque iphone 6 We learned to modify our behavior, to emulate what we thought we were supposed to be and not what we really were. outlet coque iphone We started self-judging and self-rejecting based on what we were taught and as a result, we lost our authentic selves. coque iphone 6 
Lee McCormick is the founder of the Ranch Recovery Center in Nunnelly, Tennessee, and The Canyon Treatment Center in Malibu, California. soldes coque iphone He is also cofounder of Nashville’s Integrative Life Center and IOP/PHP Community Recovery program in Nashville, Tennessee. Through the organization of Spirit Recovery, Inc., McCormick facilitates the production of healing and recovery conferences and spiritual journeys around the world. He is the executive producer of the documentary Dreaming Heaven, in which he plays a leading role.
The Amazing Power of Meditation
New Year, New You – The Power of Meditation
Author: Dr. Gail Gross
In today’s busy world of working, networking, and the ongoing assaults of emails, texts, and family problems, we are saturated with the stress of psychological overload. Our minds are rarely at rest and our bodies are paying the price. You finish the end of a normal day and find that stress has become your partner. Meditation is one easy way to combat the effects of daily stress, and take back control of your health. Just 20 minutes a day can reduce stress and help your brain to recharge.
The Benefits of Meditation
Throughout my own work as a researcher and educator with a Ph.D. in psychology and a Doctorate of education, I have found that simple meditation techniques can do so much, including:
Lower your blood pressure
Increase your circulation
Throw more blood to the prefrontal cortex
Enhance your executive function, working memory, concentration, and visuospatial processing
Help you hold images longer
Process information better
Allow for contemplation, intuition, and creativity to thrive
The Neuroscience Behind Meditation
Scientists and neuroscientists, through the use of functioning magnetic resonance imaging and cat scans can now demonstrate the effect of meditation on the brain. Cortisol, the stress hormone, can be reduced by simply controlling your breath through the use of mindful meditation. The default network in your brain which is connected to both introspection and concentration slows down activity when meditating. When the mind wanders it tends to concentrate on negative issues thus creating stress but through meditation that function is less active.
In a 7-year study at MIT with the Dalai Lama, several of his monks, and non-meditators, it was established that not only could meditators hold images longer, have more blood sent to the pre-frontal cortex, and have their memory and cognitive function increased, but also non-meditators who were instructed to meditate over several months saw the same benefits. Further, experienced meditators use their brain like an orchestra, connecting various networks whether meditating or not.
There are many neurological advantages to meditation, including:
Calming the amygdala where our fight or flight and emotions live
Strengthening impulse control, which allows you to self-manage stress, pain, depression, and drug and alcohol issues.
Mindfulness Programs at Work and in Healthcare Facilities
Emerging data indicates that by lowering stress and anxiety, meditation can be a beneficial practice in the workplace, as a calming tool for overwhelmed workers. In fact, Google has a very popular program called “Search Inside Yourself,” which teaches mindfulness.
Moreover, some universities, public schools, hospitals, and health care centers have initiated meditation and mindfulness programs. Because stress has been connected with illness over the years, the approach of using meditation in hospitals and healthcare facilities is a particularly important one. As a result, meditation has moved from an outlier position, into the mainstream of American culture.
How to Begin a Meditation Practice
Meditation does not have to be associated with any religious practice. Viewed as secular and scientific, it is easy to get started.
Set your alarm for 20 minutes, twice a day. This is the time you will be meditating. By setting your alarm, you relax and don’t have to worry about how much longer you have to go.
Simply sit or lie down with your eyes shut in a comfortable position.
In the beginning, your mind will wander and bring in outside sounds and thoughts; just invite all of your distractions into your meditation, don’t resist them. What resists persists. Ultimately, all of these distractions will fall away as you learn to focus your mind in meditation.
Some people like using a mantra, some people like using a word. The power of a mantra is that you can’t assign a meaning to it, therefore you can’t associate any thoughts with it as you empty your mind. A simple mantra such as “om” will do.
Before you begin to meditate, relax your body by isometrically tensing and releasing all the muscle groups starting from the tips of your toes and ending at the top of your head. Just squeeze and release and check in with your body, making sure that you are relaxed.
Then, follow your breath. As you breathe in you will notice that the breath is cool, as you breath out you will notice that your breath is warm. Focus on your breath and bring in your mantra while concentrating on the bridge between your eyes.
This is how you meditate.
The Power of Meditation
Through meditation you actually develop consciousness. In fact, by accessing your own unconscious you gather insight into your conflicts, and find the capacity and resources to meet them. Meditation is so powerful, that if I were dying and had only one gift to give to my family, it would be the word meditation.
In my own life, faced with the death of my daughter Dawn, the only solace I could find was the time I spent in meditation. In all major religions, the deepest traditions concentrate on the practice of meditation to access the unconscious — whether Sufism, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, or Christianity — in the deepest meditations, the practice will lead you inside and connect you back to your central core.
Whether it is a psychological journey or spiritual journey- the model is the same: the path to consciousness. In our secularly materialistic culture, dominated by tabloid journalism, and thriving with celebrity, meditation gives you time out and has the capacity to open you to the wholeness in yourself. In our world of artificial images, meditation can awaken you to your own magnificent source and by doing so transform you.
Light of Consciousness – Magazine
B
y the grace or mercy of God, we have been given the faculty of distinguishing what is real and what is unreal, what is permanent or changeful, what is proper or improper. This capacity takes us out of the rut of circular, mechanical thinking, beyond intellectual understanding to insight. The first step is to watch your thoughts. You may not be able to do this during work or in busy times, at least not in the beginning. But as you proceed with silent contemplation or meditation ask yourself, “Is this thought permanent or transitory, real or unreal?” by Swami Amar Jyoti
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