Meditation and its accompanying relaxation have been shown to physically decrease pulse rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, oxygen consumption, and muscle tension. Mentally, it produces an alpha brain wave and heightened cognitive ability. Spiritually, relaxation and meditation are the keys to opening up to your higher guidance.

Picture your mind as one of those flashlights that you can twist one way so that the light becomes brighter, stronger, and concentrated and turn the other way to scatter the light to cover a larger area. Meditation takes a mind that is scattered (the flashlight when it is set to spread out) and through focus makes thoughts more concentrated — and therefore more powerful (like the flashlight on the most concentrated setting). When your thoughts are focused and concentrated, you think more clearly and are more productive with your time.

Meditation as a form of mindfulness practice has been proven to increase focus, lessen stress, strengthen memory, lower blood pressure, improve sleep, and promote stronger intuition. A recent study was performed over four days with one group doing mindfulness training and another group listening to an audio book. Both groups had a general mood improvement, yet only the participants using the short-term mindfulness training experienced reduced fatigue, less anxiety, and increased mindfulness. Plus they significantly improved working memory and executive functioning. The research findings suggest that even short-term practice can provide benefits that have previously been reported by long-term meditators. This tells us that we can obtain many of the health and spiritual benefits of meditation from shorter practices.

Meditation: Getting in Touch with Your Soul's Encyclopedic Knowledge

Meditation has long been taught as one of, if not the most important tool for spiritual growth. Your soul will thank you for adding meditation to your day. While you are gaining physical and mental benefits, meditation will also assist you in training your mind to allow your soul’s wisdom to be heard.

Your soul is an important part of your daily life. You probably don’t think about your soul when making your to-do list. Yet your soul contains all you need to know in order to make the most of the time you have here on earth.

Your soul is in constant interaction with you, helping you to be patient and kind as well as assisting you when it is time to stand up for yourself. Think of your soul as having an encyclopedia that contains all you need to be the best parent, teacher, child, lover, coworker, and good person in general. Your guides and angels are also available for help. Think of guides as having written the encyclopedia. You have worked with your guides in planning this lifetime and they are there, along with the angels, to assist you in making the most of your time on Earth.

Developing Clearer Communication with Your Soul and Other Higher Guidance

When you gain even the smallest amount of control of your mind through meditation, your soul, guides, and angels can start to download helpful information for you to use. Your guidance may come through a thought, hunch, idea, or even a synchronistic event, when two connected events happen together even though it is unlikely they would. A synchronistic event, demonstrating your guides working with you, could be when you need to contact a person and that person calls you. Be assured, your soul and other higher guidance is in constant contact with you, supplying the help you need. The best way to achieve this clearer communication is through developing stronger focus through mindfulness, deeper relaxation, and keener intuition. Meditation offers you all of that.

As you continue to get comfortable with focus and mindfulness meditations, your ability to connect with your guides’ and angels’ higher guidance will increase. Accessing your higher guidance will allow you to recognize the opportunities your soul, guides, and angels are presenting to you for growth and service during the day, in a way that you can evolve and still pick up the kids on time!

Are Your Misconceptions About Meditation Sabotaging Its Benefits?

Many people have misconceptions about meditation and these can sabotage your ability to enjoy the benefits of it. The biggest misconception is that you “should” be able to clear your mind. “Should” is one of the chief stress-creating words in the dictionary. There is no “should” in this type of meditation, and you are not expected to clear your mind. What you will do is find you’re getting better at ignoring the thoughts that come through during your meditation. For example, think of your thoughts like TV commercials. You know you don’t have to pay attention to them and you’re bound to come across them again. You can hear them without listening to them. In meditation, your stray thoughts are treated the same way. You know the thoughts are playing, you can acknowledge them, but you don’t have to focus your attention on them or let them frustrate you.

Another misconception is that you “should not” be frustrated by meditation. Even with short meditations, you may be compelled to admit how hard it is for your mind to focus where you want it. This will undoubtedly frustrate you! But don’t worry; this is normal at the beginning. Since poor focus is likely one reason why you decided to meditate, you can feel better knowing you are going to improve. So, release any expectations you might have.

If At First You Don't Succeed in Meditating, Try Again, and Again, and Again...

In first attempts at meditation your mind is like a little child. It doesn’t want to be controlled and its attention span is minuscule. Little by little, you will find your ability to meditate growing. Like a child, it takes time for the mind to adjust to each level of growth. At first, just laugh at your mind’s immaturity. Laughter is a meditation in itself.

Most likely, you will not get it right the first time or the second time. Getting it right isn’t the objective. Feeling relaxed and ready for your day by offering yourself a healthy “time-out” is the goal!

*Subtitles by InnerSelf

©2013 by Cindy Griffith-Bennett. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher,
Findhorn Press. www.findhornpress.com. 

Article Source

Soul Soothers: Mini Meditations for Busy Lives
by Cindy Griffith-Bennett.

Featuring one-page meditations that can be practiced all day — while doing the dishes, waiting at the doctor’s office, or even in the shower — this book is designed to calm those with busy lives. In addition to the easy-to-look up meditations for a myriad of circumstances, the book also includes information on the importance of meditation as well as spiritual topics such as energy, breathing, chakras, light work, vibrations, mindfulness, and intuitive listening.

Click here for more Info and/or to Order this book.

About the Author

Cindy Griffith is an internationally renowned psychic, teacher, and author, with a diverse background in Metaphysics and Energetic Healing. Cindy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Spiritual Counseling and Healing from SUNY Empire State and is a graduate of a three year Metaphysical Teacher Training Program based upon the teaching of the Theosophical School and other spiritual Masters. She also graduated from Openway, a four-year healing school in Charlottesville, Va. You can visit her website at PsychicSupport.com