INTRODUCTION Meditation as the gaining of a calm yet alert mind - the centring of consciousness, for physical, mental and spiritual health How it can help you cope better with the stresses of daily life and add clarity of thought in decision-making How it de-stresses both body and mind for improved overall well-being CHAPTER 1: MEDITATION IN ANCIENT TRADITIONS Meditation as part of human experience going back untold generations (examples include Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen,Taoism) Meditation as part of the mystical side of global religions (including Judaism, Christianity, Sufism, Islam) Secular Western approaches to meditation CHAPTER 2: MEDITATION AND SCIENCE Scientific evidence of both physical and mental benefits, including improvement in sleep patterns and reduction in the need for medication such as tranquillizers How modern monitoring techniques allow us to understand what takes place in the body and how it is positively affected by meditation Overview of academic studies, including how meditation has been shown to have a direct effect on the patterns of electrical waves in the brain CHAPTER 3: PRACTICAL MEDITATION: THE BASICS Posture: some traditional postures and simple alternatives, and the importance of keeping the spine erect Location: tips on setting up an appropriate meditation space for regular use (including outdoor locations) How to prepare body and mind for meditation - diet, clothing, time of day, and so on The importance of regulating your breathing pattern, including techniques to aid in meditation CHAPTER 4: GUIDED VISUALIZATION - STARTING THE INNER JOURNEY How guided visualization is the best way to start reining in the mind, due to its image-rich nature engaging the mind more readily on inner focusing Guided visualization themes, including: The Walled Garden (based on the powerful ancient psychogram that is the Kabbalistic Tree of Life), Taking Wings and Going with the Flow CHAPTER 5: SINGLE-POINT MEDITATION Introduction to this more minimalist visualization technique requiring greater mental focus (with experience, you will become able to hold it for an extended period of time) Meditation themes, including: Star Bright and Bini (a little-known Tibetan Buddhist technique) How to use external objects for single-point meditation (such as a candle flame or a dot drawn in a circle) CHAPTER 6: THE POWERS OF LIGHT, SOUND AND NATURE How meditation can be helped by environmental factors such as light and, especially, sound Light as a springboard for meditation (for example, sunlight sparkling on water shimmers light into the eyes, inducing alpha brain rhythms and a sense of reverie) Sound as a strong stimulus for meditation; white, pink and brown noise - using nature's sounds for meditation (for example, the roar of a waterfall, rain falling on foliage, or wind in the trees) CHAPTER 7: THE POWER OF SILENCE Use the fading ringing resonance of a Tibetan-style `singing bowl' to lead you into silence Meditation with the famous Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hum, and the silence that follows Advanced meditation techniques for spiritual meditation APPENDIX Guarding against dozing off! The power of Kundalini energy
