Mindfulness: How to Stay Sane in an Insane World by Helen Nicholson

Author:Helen Nicholson [Nicholson, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: TNCo Publisher
Published: 2022-02-05T23:00:00+00:00

men or the entire body. Become aware of your in-breath, your out-breath and the space in-between.

(Short pause)

If you like, you can think of this exercise as resting the mind on the breath. You can visualize the breath to be a resting place, or a cushion, or a mattress, and let the mind rest on it, very gently.

Just be.

(Long pause)

If at any time you feel distracted by a sensation, thought or sound, just acknowledge it, experience it and very gently let it go. Bring your attention very gently back to the breathing.

(Long pause)

Let us end this meditation by inviting joyful inner peace to arise.

Breathing in, I am calm.

Breathing out, I smile.

This present moment.

Wonderful.

(Pause)

Thank you for your attention.

The Science Behind Meditation

One of the most telling research studies on meditation was conducted by two pioneers in the field of neuroscience, Richard Davidson and Jon Kabat-Zinn. The study was eye-opening for many reasons. It was the first major study conducted in a business setting, with employees of a biotech company as subjects.

The study showed that after just two weeks of regular meditation, the anxiety levels of the subjects were measurably lower than the non-meditators. More surprisingly, when the electrical activity of the subjects’ brains was measured, those in the meditation group showed significantly increased activity in the parts of the brain associated with positive emotions. The most fascinating finding though, had to do with their immune function. Near the end of the study, subjects were given flu shots, and those in the meditation group developed more antibodies to the flu than the non-meditators. This is especially relevant in COVID times.

After eight weeks of meditation subjects were significantly happier (as measured in their brains) and showed a marked increase in developing immunity.

How do You Keep it Going?

Mindfulness is like exercise – it is not sufficient to just understand the topic, you can only benefit from it with practice.

I find it fairly easy to get our delegates excited to start a mindfulness practice, especially when you show the compelling neuroscience and the all-round benefits. They are ready to go. That is the good news.

The bad news is that after the first few days, many people find it hard to sustain the practice. Many of them start with great enthusiasm, committing themselves to 10 or 20 minutes a day. After a few days, it starts to feel like a chore, and you sit there bored and restless wondering why time goes by so slowly. Then after a while you decide you have more important

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