As I go through my day today, I will remind myself to relax. Stay loose.
Be flexible in my body and mind.

It’s most important to stay loose and relaxed in mind and body. To enjoy your life, you must be relaxed. When we were children, our bodies were loose, relaxed, and flexible. We could do splits, flips, jumps, and twists without thinking about it. We were pure mind in babies’ bodies.

But you’re never too old — we just get too tense, too stiff. We think too much. One of the most important lessons you can learn doing the Shaolin Workout is how to get back that childlike relaxation and flexibility — to be at home in your body again. It makes no difference if you are in your twenties, fifties, or eighties. Relax. Never feel old. Tell yourself you’re not getting older every year — you’re getting younger!

Sifu explains that there are two kinds of meditation: action meditation and no-action meditation. In the West, we’re most familiar with the no-action kind. We can all form images of Buddhist monks sitting with their legs crossed and their eyes closed, still and silent, for hours and hours, as they strive to achieve enlightenment.

The only problem is that too much no-action meditation can be as bad for your joints, your back, your neck, as sitting at a computer all day. This is what Da Mo saw happening to the monks at Shaolin. They spent so much time sitting in meditation that their bodies were as stiff as wooden dolls. He saw that Ba Tuo had not given them the proper tools to adapt Buddhism to Chinese life. Why do we meditate? To cleanse our minds and open our hearts. But if we burden our bodies with tension and pain, our minds and hearts can’t be cleansed. Your mind and your heart and your body are inseparable.

Kung fu is action meditation. The goal of kung fu is to relax your body and your mind, to extend your body and your mind, to cleanse your body and your mind. To be relaxed in your body, and relaxed in your life, is how you live fully in the present, experiencing this moment, here and now.

In our modern world, there’s another benefit to action meditation. We all have lives, jobs, families. We have wonderful things coming into our lives every day. Who among us has the time to sit and meditate for hours a day, like monks in a monastery? As you’ll find out, a half-hour of action meditation can be as liberating, for your body and your mind and your heart, as several hours of no-action meditation.

Kung fu and martial arts represent a refined form of action meditation. But any exercise program can be a form of action meditation — running, swimming, playing tennis, riding a bike. In the West, we speak of that point in an exercise routine where we “get in the zone,” where we “release endorphins,” where we achieve “the runner’s high.” Those are all Western ways of approaching the same concept: action meditation. A relaxed mind in a relaxed body.

As you go through your day today, relax. Stay loose. Be flexible in your body and in your mind. Enjoy your beautiful life every minute of the day.

Reprinted from: The Shaolin Workout: 28 Days to Transforming Your Body and Soul the Warrior’s Way by Sifu Shi Yan Ming © 2006 Rodale Inc. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling or visit their website at

Author
Sifu Shi Yan Ming, a 34th-generation Shaolin warrior monk, is respected not only in the martial arts world but also in the entertainment world by stars like Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Wesley Snipes, and the Wu-Tang Clan. His kung fu classes have been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, New York Daily News, and Entertainment Weekly. Brian Gray of Inside Kung Fu magazine has called him a “living treasure of China.” He has also appeared on the Discovery Channel, MTV, and CNBC, among other major networks. Sifu Shi Yan Ming lives in New York City.

One simple form of meditation, requires you to sit in a quiet room, either on a pillow, or cross-legged on the floor, or in a comfortable chair, making sure your spine is straight. It is advised that you use the same place every day. It is also suggested that you personalize your spot, by beautifying it with candles, flowers, and pictures of the people that you love.

The idea is to sit quietly, with your eyes closed, and focus on a point inside of your forehead. Try not to think of anything in particular, but don’t try ‘not’ to think either, allowing your mind to become calm, and peaceful. If you find that your mind is ‘chattering’, don’t try to control it, just let it finish what it is that it is working on, it will eventually quiet down. It is also recommended for beginners to begin with ten to twenty minute sessions, each day. After awhile of doing this, you will start to feel deep relaxation and joy during these sessions.

The first step to this self-hypnosis is to sit in a quiet, comfortable spot, making sure you are facing a wall about eight feet away from you. Pick a spot or object on that wall, and make that spot or object your focal point. Looking at your focal point, begin counting backwards from 100, one number for each breath you exhale. As you do this, imagine yourself floating, and feeling very relaxed. You will begin to feel your eyelids getting heavy, and may begin to blink. Let your eyes slowly close, and as you continue to count backwards, imagine yourself as limp as a ragdoll, totally relaxed, and floating in a safe and comfprtable place. Stop counting, and just float in your space. If any disturbing thoughts should come while in your space, just let them flow out again, and allow yourself to continue to feel safe and relaxed. This technique can help you to cope with stress, and discharge the tension that accumulates during stressful situations.

When you are ready to come out of this self-hypnosis, you can either let yourself drift off to sleep, or you can count from one to three and exit. First, count one, and get yourself ready to exit. At two, take a deep breath, and hold for a few seconds. At three, exhale and open your eyes slowly. As you open your eyes, continue to hold on to that relaxed and comfortable feeling.

You may then want to increase the length of your sessions to thirty minutes, or maybe even an hour. In our highly active lifestyles of today, it is imperative that we include a brief time for meditation in our daily schedule. For more self-help techniques and tips, please visit my website.

Binaural beats are unique sounds recorded in such a way that they re-adjust the brain wave frequencies of the listener automatically. Through a technological technique that has been named brain entrainment, binaural beats can change the mental and physical state of anyone who listens.

Analysis has shown that some brainwaves, like intense relaxation, are ideal for learning and retaining new information while delta brainwave states promote relaxed healthy sleep. Until the adaptation of binaural beats tapes, CDs and MP3s, the only technique to create deliberate changes in your brainwave patterns was with deep meditation. For thousands of years this type of meditation has only been possible for practitioners of meditation with over 20 years experience, such as Zen Buddhist Monks.

However, by using binaural beats it is now possible for every person to enter these kind of meditative states within minutes only by using good headphones and a specifically recorded pre-made binuaral beats recording.

Although the science consists of brain entrainment is a bit complex to explore the basic premise is easy to comprehend. Binaural beats were discovered by Heinrich Wilhelm Dove when he was an Assosiate Professor at the University in Berlin. Prof Dove discovered that when 2 similar sounds, that differ only slightly in frequency, are presented separately to left and right ear (Binaural) they will cause a pulsation or beat type effect to occur in the brain.

It was in the late ’70s when Scientific American published the research paper by Dr. Gerald Oster called “Auditory Beats in the Brain”. This paper showed how Dr. Oster took Prof. Dove’s discovery and through research found that by utilizing these binaural beats he could direct the brain processes of the listener to match the internal beat created by the binaural beats. When this occurred the brainwaves of the listener began to resonate with the same frequency as the binaural beats. Thus Oster found that through this technology he was able to change the brainwave frequencies of the listener and bring about deliberate mental states.

To the normal person this would just be another scientific discovery that has lnothing to do with real life and our everyday routines were it not for the fact that everything you do in life has a corresponding brainwave pattern. Most times the effects you wish to create are affected bycorrespond to the state your brainwaves are in at that moment. The things you do have a dominant frequency associated with each and every one. When you are in a state of deep relaxation when asleep your brain has a specific frequency associated with it with specific patterns such as Theta waves. When you a physical state where you are alert and intensly concentarting your brain is engaged in Beta or even Gamma frequency patterns. When you enter a state of focused relaxation like enjoying TV, imagining or while under the influence of hypnosis, you are in the Alpha state. This is also the state experienced with most forms of meditation. However men and women with year of meditative experience, like Zen Buddhist Monks, can enter Theta and Delta states while staying extremely aware. These states, would normally take an entire life to achieve by pratcising meditation, can be prompted within minutes using binaural beats.

“This all sounds great”, you may say but how does it affect me? It is possible to induce meditative states at will using binaural beats? Is this relevant to you and me? In order to answer that question it is best to look at the benefits of meditation.
Some of the benefits of meditation include:

1. Deep relaxation.
2. More profound more restful and energizing sleep.
3. Higher levels of creativity.
4. A slower aging rate.
5. Releasing of past negative emotional turmoil.
6. Relief from Stress.
7. Heightened physical energy.
8. Heightened focus and concentration.
9. Better retention of learned information.
10. Faster recovery times after surgery.

This list is a small sample of the benefits of meditation and this list is certainly not extensive.

It is evident then that the benefits of having a technology that can induce desired brain states that correspond to beneficial changes in mind and body is very advantageous. We are very blessed to live in a time where we have access to different forms of this technology from Holosync and Brain Entrainment, designed for major self improvement, to individual Binaural Beats recordings designed to create definate states in mind and body.

The experiments conducted into binaural beats and its effects shows that this technology produces results and can be used very successfully by any person. I have listed some resources that i have found for your interest.

It was proposed that a binaural beat occurs in the brain if you apply slightly different frequency sine waves independently but simultaneously to each ear. This beat affect is created by the brain itself and is largely due to the structure of the brain’s internal wiring.

These binaural beats are auditory brainstem responses, originating in the superior olivary nucleus of each hemisphere of the brain due to the interaction of the two different impulses.

The frequency of the two tones is between one and 30 Hz. Lets take the example that the difference between the two tones is 10 Hz. This 10 Hz difference is experienced within the superior olivary nuclei as a beat . The brain has a tendency, through the frequency following response, to resonate at the same frequency as the auditory stimuli being presented. In our example this would be 10 Hz, which is that frequency of the Alpha state. If we offer a binaural frequency of 5 Hz, the brain will begin to resonate with that and produce Theta brainwaves. If we present a binaural beat of 3 Hz, Delta brainwaves are detected. Alpha, Theta and Delta brainwaves are connected to altered states of consciousness that can be used to reprogram the subconscious mind, eliminate negative thought schemas and release emotional connection to memories.

In layman’s terms all this means is that you can relax, put on some stereo headphones and let your mind synchronize with the binaural beat frequency to create real measurable changes in your mind and body.

There are immediate benefits of using these beats such as the creation of relaxed states, aided sleep or even energy boosts. However, this is not the limit of binaural beat technology. It is also possible to produce very unusual states of consciousness like lucid dreaming, creativity, out-of-body experiences, and transcendental meditation, to name but a few. However, there are also very real permanent benefits from using binaural beat technology. This technology has been used to create some very dramatic life changes.

The Monroe Institute have over forty years experience changing effects on states of consciousness with the use of binaural beats in their audio sound patterns, called Hemi-Sync. Centerpointe have conducted a lot of research into the use of binaural beats also. They created a program called Holosync which concentrates more on self improvement and achieving a higher level of conscious interaction, by creating desirable emotional, physical and environmental changes through a reduction in your anxiety threshold. They use their technology to reprogram your brain, remove old emotional thinking and negative emotional connection to long buried memories. You can even create your own affirmations later in their course to reprogram your beliefs.

These technologies can be expensive but the overall benefits of there use are immeasurable. However, there are cheap alternatives to both the above mentioned. Binaural beats in audio technology now come in affordable one CD sets. These can be used to instantly create a variety of different states such as sleep, meditation, creativity, lucid dreaming etc. You can also get your hands on software to create your own binaural beats but I believe, when dealing with brain entrainment, this should be left to those with more experience. The technology is fascinating and it works but you really won’t know that until you try it yourself.

When brainwave patterns change it has been documented that there is also a change in chemical reactions within the body which can have a profound effect on your entire physical structure. In effect these beats have the same impact and benefits of a deep meditative state akin to hypnologic trance or transcendental mediation. Now very few people can enter such deep states of hypnosis and transcendental meditation takes a lifetime to perfect. So the immediate benefits of using binaural beats is apparent.

An added benefit of using such technology is that the states it creates allow you to access the subconscious parts of the mind. Those parts that are subliminal and just below the conscious threshold. Binaural beats can be used with many other self improvement tools (such as subliminal recordings, affirmations or visualization etc.) to increase your personal development dramatically as it creates deep states of relaxation and can put you into Alpha and Theta states. Therefore they can be used as an aid to alter beliefs, heal emotional issues or create behaviour changes. They can even be used for a quick energy boost. It is believed that by using binaural beats you can:

1. Create deep states of meditation.

2. Boost your intelligence and creativity.

3. Slow aging.

4. Create remarkable emotional changes at a very deep level.

5. Eliminate Stress & anxiety.

The beauty of binaural beats is that they can be used to induce these states and create these changes with no effort on the part of the listener. You just wear a set of headphones and let the sound technology do the rest.

The discovery of binaural technology is mostly accredited to Dr. Gerald Oster. Oster first published research about binaural beats in 1973 in Scientific American after he had conducted extensive studies.

However, this is not as well known, binaural beats where in fact first discovered as far back as 1839 by an Associate Professor, at the University of Berlin, called Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. Dove accidentally discovered that when two similar sounds, that are only slightly shifted in frequency, are given separately to left and right ear they cause a pulsation or beat type effect within the brain.

However, it was Dr. Oster who uncovered the full benefits of using this new technology when he discovered the effects that binaural beats have on the mind and body.

There are many producers of binaural beat technology competing in the market today. It is possible to create your own with the proper software. However, an in-depth knowledge of brainwave patterns and their effect on the mind and body is advisable before ever trying to create your own. There are many forum threads on the web that claim binaural beats have had a negative or even damaging effect on certain listeners. For that reason I believe it is safer to stick to the tried and tested pre-made recordings that are available for a reasonable fee. You can purchase separate binaural beat recordings to induce almost any emotional state or you can even enrol on a binaural beat program for self improvement that takes several years to complete.

I, myself, have no experience of any damaging effects due to the use of binaural beats. However, if you are using binaural beats for personal development purposes their use can be uncomfortable. All my experiences have been extremely positive, although not always pleasurable. Let me explain.

ECC machines have been used in the past to monitor the brain activity of life-long meditaters. While in a deep meditative state, these meditational experts, displayed alpha, theta and delta brainwave patterns. These are the very states that binaural beats create.

Alpha wave patterns in the brain occur in a relaxed state and during this time we are very susceptible to suggestion. This is the state that you enter during hypnosis. Theta brainwaves allow for the absorption of huge amounts of information while Delta brainwaves are most apparent when you enter a state of deep but dreamless sleep. It is the Delta state that is the main aim of such practices as transcendental meditation. Although for many entering the delta state while fully conscious can be very relaxing, for most it is not, for it is during such brain activity that internal change occurs.

By bringing the listener into this extremely deep state of meditation, binaural technology, can activate major positive changes in your emotional, mental and physical make-up. Now this can be a profoundly life altering experience. You will find past buried memories resurface as the beats direct your brain to restructure its neural network and raise your “comfort level” to a new high. After several listening session you find yourself less stressed out than before and your reaction to situations, that in the past would have sent you screaming round the halls, much more composed. The technology literally eliminates negative emotional, mental and physical patterns. The discomfort I spoke of earlier comes from the restructuring of your brain’s neural network as old buried uncomfortable memories are triggered in the brain before the connecting emotional response is wiped away. You are still left with the memory of the event but you no longer have any emotional attachment to it. Don’t worry, for some reason, it doesn’t affect positive memories! It may be due to the natural state of the mind and body, for this system of mind/body is always seeking equilibrium and harmony, which tends to lead to feelings of joy and happiness.

Binaural beats is a proven technology that can create brainwave changes which alter your mood and changes the chemical reactions in your body to encourage faster healing and harmonious interaction between cells. However, there is currently research being conducted to determine if these beats can actually direct the brain to reformat DNA encoding. If this is possible the possibilities are almost limitless – decrease in illness, genetic disorders, a reversal of aging etc.

If personal development and self improvement isn’t your main aim for investigating binaural beats (and don’t want to get younger) then the single recordings designed to induce specific mind/body changes is enough. You can get recordings for an energy boost, meditation, to spark the creative areas of the brain, induce deep sleep and even one that acts like a digital drug!

All these changes happen effortlessly and easily. All you need is a pair of stereo headphones and a comfortable chair. The recording does the rest.

Meditation is commonly seen in many Yoga classes, but it has been practiced by a variety of cultures, including Roman Catholic priests, as well as
Japanese Samurai, who practiced a form of Zen meditation. I mention this so you can see the full spectrum of meditation and its many facets.

There are many varieties and types of meditation, but the easiest form to learn is, “breath awareness meditation.” Compared to many other meditation techniques, this will enable anyone to experience the benefits of meditation in much less time.

At this point, let’s consider that meditation and Yoga teachers often compare the mind to a monkey. Many thoughts are running through your brain, at the same time, and it is hard to control all of your impulses – let alone, sit still and meditate. So why go through all this trouble?

Meditation has many rewards, and we will now consider one of extreme value. Through daily practice of meditation, you will release the unlimited potential of your mind. The ability to change, or alter the universe, starts as a single thought within your mind.

One human decided to harness the power of fire, and did he/she foresee the global warming effect? How could he/she imagine where we are now? This is just one of many thousands of examples of Karma – the law of cause and effect. Therefore, one seemingly small change, of any kind, will have a ripple effect on the universe.

Some of the seeds to change the universe, rests locked up in your mind, but you have the ability to shape the future by any small changes that you make.
Let’s say you have a friend, family member, or associate, who cares for you deeply, but, up to now, you have always taken it for granted. Can you imagine what would happen if you take the time to groom that relationship?
The answer is you would have a loyal ally and all you had to show was kindness or appreciation.

You have the ability to alter your own personality and affect the world around you. Hopefully, your personality will always continue to change for the better; if so, this will alter everyone around you for the best.

As I have mentioned earlier, this will change the lives of people who you come into frequent contact with. Therefore, you must always be kind, trustworthy, and considerate to others. You should make a change in that direction at this very moment.

Why the sudden need for character improvement? It goes hand-in-hand with using power and influence wisely. Remember Lord Acton’s saying: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” The power of your mind has the ability to alter reality. Therefore, this is a power that must be controlled.

How is this possible? Here is an example: If you had two identical twin boys, who haven’t eaten for two days, and you put an apple in front of them; what would they do?

Most likely, they would fight over it, and the winner would eat, most or, all of it. You and I know they should divide it equally, but each of them has really felt starvation, and that is a reality you and I do not feel at the moment. So we are not talking about imagination, but three legitimate points of view, that each becomes our own reality.

Meditation will allow your mind to see multiple points of view, without judgment. If you can see only one point of view, you haven’t meditated long enough. The best leaders, negotiators, and diplomats, know that you have to understand the opposing viewpoint, to move forward, on any issue. There is always justification, on both sides, in any conflict, but true compromise is meeting the opposition in a different reality, than you both started from.

If you had the ability to travel in the space shuttle, your view of earth, from within your space vehicle, would be much different from the person living in poverty, within a refugee camp. You could not see, or feel, that person’s pain, and each of you would have a vivid picture of life on earth.

You can meditate from a mountain top, but once you have seen the full picture, you have an obligation to help mankind, with acts of kindness. Once you have discovered how easy it is to help others, you are no longer struggling with; “who is right and who is wrong.”

Your new reality becomes, “how can I help?”

By far the most popular binaural beats recording is Holosync. This program is designed to remove negative programming from your past and free you from past traumas, bad memories, emotional issues and negative beliefs. But does it work? To answer that question let me explain a little about the technology.

Binaural Beats are specific frequencies that can bring you into a profoundly deep state of meditation within minutes using the latest innovations in sound technology. They utilize a specific audio mixing technique designed to alter the listener’s brain wave activity. By sitting or lying down in a quiet environment and wearing headphones these beats can be used to create Alpha, Theta and Delta brainwave patterns.

When brainwave patterns change it has been documented that there is also a change in chemical reactions within the body which can have a profound effect on your entire physical structure. In effect these beats have the same impact and benefits of a deep meditative state akin to hypnologic trance or transcendental mediation. Now very few people can enter such deep states of hypnosis and transcendental meditation takes a lifetime to perfect. So the immediate benefits of using a binaural beats recording is apparent.

An added benefit of using such technology is that the states it creates allow you to access the subconscious parts of the mind. Those parts that are subliminal and just below the conscious threshold. Binaural beats can be used with many other self improvement tools (such as subliminal recordings, affirmations or visualization etc.) to increase your personal development dramatically as it creates deep states of relaxation and can put you into Alpha and Theta states. Therefore they can be used as an aid to alter beliefs, heal emotional issues or create behaviour changes. One of the great benefits they can give is a quick energy boost equivalent to a few hours sleep. It is believed that by using binaural beats you can:

1. Create deep states of meditation.

2. Boost your intelligence and creativity.

3. Slow aging.

4. Remove emotional blocks, old traumas and create profound emotional changes at an extremely deep level.

5. Eliminate Stress & anxiety.

The beauty of binaural beats is that they can be used to induce these states and create these changes with no effort on the part of the listener. You just wear a set of headphones and let the sound technology do the rest.

The discovery of binaural technology is mostly accredited to Dr. Gerald Oster. Oster first published research about binaural beats in 1973 in Scientific American after he had conducted extensive studies.

However, this is not as well known, binaural beats where in fact first discovered as far back as 1839 by an Associate Professor, at the University of Berlin, called Heinrich Wilhelm Dove. Dove accidentally discovered that when two similar sounds, which are only slightly shifted in frequency, are given separately to left and right ear they cause a pulsation or beat type effect within the brain.

However, it was Dr. Oster who uncovered the full benefits of using this new technology when he discovered the effects that binaural beats have on the mind and body.

There are many producers of binaural beat technology competing in the market today. It is possible to create your own with the proper software. However, an in-depth knowledge of brainwave patterns and their effect on the mind and body is advisable before ever trying to create your own. I have read several forum postings that state the use of binaural beat technologies has created negative and even damaging results on listeners. For that reason I believe it is safer to stick to the tried and tested pre-made recordings that are available for a reasonable fee. You can purchase separate binaural beat recordings to induce almost any emotional state or you can even enrol on a binaural beat program for self improvement that takes several years to complete.

I, myself, have no experience of any damaging effects due to the use of binaural beats. However, if you are using binaural beats for personal development purposes their use can be uncomfortable. All my experiences have been extremely positive, although not always pleasurable. Let me explain.

ECC machines have been used in the past to monitor the brain activity of life-long meditaters. These experts at meditation showed alpha, that and even delta brainwave patterns while in a self-induced meditative state. Through binaural beat recordings you can create such states easily.

The alpha brainwave patterns are only apparent during a relaxed state. Alpha brainwaves are the most apparent brainwave state encountered during hypnosis and when we experience this state, which do constantly throughout the day, we are extremely susceptible to suggestion. This is the state that you enter during hypnosis. Theta brainwaves allow for the absorption of huge amounts of information while Delta brainwaves are most apparent when you enter a state of deep but dreamless sleep. It is the Delta state that is the main aim of such practices as transcendental meditation. Although for many entering the delta state while fully conscious can be very relaxing, for most it is not, for it is during such brain activity that internal change occurs.

Through deep meditative states you can activate profound positive changes in your body, mind and emotional state which remain permanent. As binaural beta recordings bring you into these states effortlessly, you can gain all the benefits without any of the work. This can be a very profound and extremely life-changing experience. You will find past buried memories resurface as the beats direct your brain to restructure its neural network and raise your “comfort level” to a new high. It only takes a few listening sessions before you see positive results. You will feel less stressed in situations that previously sent you up the wall, will be more focused in the moment and your tasks at hand, much more centred and composed. The technology literally eliminates negative emotional, mental and physical patterns. The discomfort I spoke of earlier comes from the restructuring of your brain’s neural network as old buried uncomfortable memories are triggered in the brain before the connecting emotional response is wiped away. You are still left with the memory of the event but you no longer have any emotional attachment to it. Don’t worry, for some reason, it doesn’t affect positive memories! It may be due to the natural state of the mind and body, for this system of mind/body is always seeking equilibrium and harmony, which tends to lead to feelings of joy and happiness.

Binaural beats is a proven technology that can create brainwave changes which alter your mood and changes the chemical reactions in your body to encourage faster healing and harmonious interaction between cells. However, there is currently research being conducted to determine if these beats can actually direct the brain to reformat DNA encoding. If this is possible the possibilities are almost limitless – decrease in illness, genetic disorders, a reversal of aging etc.

If personal development and self improvement isn’t your main aim for investigating binaural beats (and don’t want to get younger) then the single recordings designed to induce specific mind/body changes is enough. You can get recordings for an energy boost, meditation, to spark the creative areas of the brain, induce deep sleep and even one that acts like a digital drug!

All these changes happen effortlessly and easily. You will need a place to sit or lie quietly and a good pair of stereo earphones. The recording does the rest.

Centuries ago, monks began practicing Christian meditation by reading over verses in the Bible and then thinking about the truths in these verses. Often, they would say the verses to God as a prayer. In this way, the monks learned to speak to God in prayer, and learned how to tell God their own thoughts and concerns. By meditating on Bible verses and praying to God, the monks trained their minds to always think about God. They called this “contemplation”, and it helped them to have a close, loving relationship with God.

By following this method of communicating with God, the monks created what is called the “ladder of prayer”. The rungs of the ladder included reading Bible verses, thinking about the truths in the verses, praying to God, and learning to think about God always.

In the 1900s, two types of Christian meditation were used. Using a mantra, or word that is repeated to help the Christian focus on God, was one type of meditation. An example of a mantra would be the word Maranatha, which is an Aramaic word for “come, Lord”. Christians would also use what is called a Centering Prayer, which uses a sacred word or words to bring the Christian into God’s presence. These two types of Christian meditation helped the people using them to take their focus off their own problems and to turn to God to hear what He had to say to them.

A woman named St. Theresa of Avila created five steps to help Christians focus on God when praying. These five steps are known as the five R’s.

-    The first R is Ready: this is the step in which the Christian realizes that he/she is in the presence of God. To be ready to continue in prayer, the Christian thanks God for the many blessings He gives, and confesses any sins.
-    The second R is Read, and includes reading prayers, spiritual books, and the Bible.
-    The third R is Reflect. In this step, the Christian focuses on what he/she has just read in order to come closer to God.
-    The fourth R is Respond. It is at this step that the Christian speaks with God in an open and honest way about what he/she has been reading and thinking about. It is the most important step, as this is when God can share His wisdom and thoughts with the Christian.
-    The fifth and final R is Resolve. This is when the Christian thanks God for what he/she has learned, and closes the time of prayer.

These different types of Christian meditation can all be useful in helping Christians to meet with God, come close to Him, and learn His truths. Christian meditation does not save a person from their sins; it is a tool that can be used by people who are already saved to build a stronger relationship with God.

Any activeness–including –will create new pathways and strengthen certain areas of the mind. “This fits into the whole neuroscience literature of expertise,” says Stephen Kosslyn, a Harvard neuroscientist, in a New York Times article (14 September 2003), ” taxi drivers deliberate for their spatial memory and concert musicians for their sense of pitch. If you do something, anything, even play Ping-Pong, for 20 years, eight hours a Day, there’s going to be something in your head that’s different from someone WHO didn’t do that. It’s just got to be.” monks pattern three forms of : 1) focused attention on a single object for long time periods 2) cultivating pity by thinking about angercausing situations and transforming the negative emotion into compassionateness and 3) ‘open presence,’ “a Department of State of being acutely aware of whatever thought, emotion or sensation is present without reacting to it.” Knowing the that has on the monks’ brains, Davidson decided to realize what effect has on neophytes. He set up a cogitation with 41 employees at a nearby biotech company in Wisconsin River (Psychosomatic Medicine 65: 564-570, 2003). Twenty-five of the participants enlightened ‘mindfulness ,’ a accent-reducing form that promotes nonjudgmental awareness of the present and is taught by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

They knowing the praxis during a 7-hr retreat and weekly classes. During that 8-calendar week period, these participants were asked to think over for I 60 minutes each Clarence Day, six days a hebdomad. Brain measurements were taken before instruction, at the remainder of the eight weeks, and four months later. Measurements showed that increased bodily process in the left field frontal region of the nous, “an area linked to reduced anxiety and a positive excited State Department.” Also, at the remnant of the 8 weeks, the participants and 16 controls did not ponder received flu shots to test immune responses. researchers took blood samples from them ace month and two months after the injections, they found that the meditators had More antibodies against the flu virus than the non-meditators.