Ommmmmmmm! The proven benefits of meditation

It's official - meditation can physically change the brain in astonishing ways.Several studies suggest that these changes through meditation can make you happier, less stressed -- even nicer to other people. It can help you control your eating habits and even reduce chronic pain, all the while without taking prescription medication.

And if you want evidence that the brain is capable of change, check out a book titles "The brain that changes itself" - fascinating reading.

I learned transcendental meditation in college (a trendy thing at the time).  One of the hardest things to learn then was simply 'to let go'.  Imagine a Type A sitting in the half lotus position, eyes squeezed shut, brow furrowed, hissing "I'm definitely going to let go!" (that was me!) - and you realise that the idea of 'passive volition' is real easy to describe - but much harder to practice.

(I googled 'passive volition' and came across the following description of meditative states which I quite liked (and can identify with):

• phschophysiologic receptivity    (am I prepared to have this experience?)
• (meditation begins)
• boredom (!)
• distracting thoughts
• deep relaxation
• detached observation
• supraconsciousness

I recently visited the Chicago Science Museum and participated in an experiment.  I sat at a table which had a small ball bearing sitting in a groove running the length of the table.  Opposite me sat another volunteer.  We each donned a head band with electordes to measure our brain waves.  The headbands were connected to a computer which measured who was more excited or more relaxed.  The challenge was to relax - the computer would then move the ball away from the more relaxed person toward the other.  When the ball ran the length of the table to one of the opponents, the other was declared the winner.

(You know what's coming?) I simply dropped into my meditation routine and within seconds was declared the winner.  Large flat screens above our heads confirmed that as soon as I started to meditate, the brain activity fell like a stone into a relaxed state.  Q.E.D.?

Just be.

:-)

Find happiness in the job you have now.

I like the following advice:

Many people expect the right job or the right career to dramatically change their level of happiness, but happiness research makes it clear that your level of optimism and the quality of your relationships eclipse the satisfaction you gain from your job.

If you have a positive outlook, you will make the best of any job, and if you have good relationships with people, you won't depend on your job to give your life a greater sense of meaning. You'll find it in your interactions with the people you care about. Now that doesn't mean you shouldn't aspire towards a job that will make you happier; it means you should understand that the capacity of your job to make you happy is quite small in comparison to your outlook on life and your relationships with people.

John Lennon gets it right - again. . .

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

John Lennon