How Meditation works

Those who meditate find inner peace more easily and become more relaxed. It also has a positive impact on health.

Can subtle products support meditation?

Becoming calmer - that was my goal when I started to meditate. And what happened? My thoughts were racing! Worse than before, I thought. And that did not change. "I cannot meditate," I told my friend, who had recommended meditation to me. "That is not suitable for me." She smiled: "Welcome to the club. That is the way it is for everyone. Because only when one is calm and observes, one notices that the mind is constantly producing thoughts. You cannot just turn your mind off. The thoughts also rush, if you do not meditate. Only then you do not notice it. The more you meditate, the quieter it gets. "

That's true. Today I can confirm that. And that is also witnessed by acquaintances and many seminar participants.

Why the thoughts rush when we meditate

The experts call this constant thinking "monkey mind", the spirit of the monkey, because the mind is constantly moving like a monkey and jumping from thought to thought, as a monkey jumps from branch to branch. When you learn to observe your thoughts, it gets better. Then there are brief moments of thoughtlessness - until our monkey mind is caught again by an interesting thought and begins to jump.

How do you calm your mind?

What I never wanted to hear, which unfortunately is true: exercise, exercise, exercise. The Buddhist teachers call it "practice". Luckily, there are different meditation techniques, so that everyone can find the technique or start with a technique that fits.

What is Meditation?

Meditation is a technique, or rather different techniques, to become calmer and to reach a state of consciousness in which clear, wide-awake awareness and deepest relaxation are simultaneously possible.

That is, people meditate for two reasons:

1. To increase general well-being and improve health. You will be altogether more relaxed and stable. As a result, nothing bothers us so much anymore in everyday life. High blood pressure, stress symptoms and other complaints are positively influenced.
2. As a spiritual practice to experience states of consciousness that are also called silence, emptiness, oneness, being in the here and now and in which one obtains insights that one did not have before. In the eastern traditions these states of consciousness are called "enlightenment", in the Western-Christian culture "experiences of God".

"By meditating on the true nature of mind, we cleanse disturbing thoughts and feelings," says the Dalai Lama

Meditation and relaxation techniques - what is the difference?

There are many relaxation techniques such as autogenic training, progressive muscle relaxation or visualization. Massage can also be used as a relaxation technique. Relaxation techniques aim to relax the body and muscles and to calm down. Mental training, visualizations and fantasy travels calm the thought-carousel and the emotions. Meanwhile, these techniques are also offered in the context of sports and fitness training.

While relaxation techniques affect the physical body, the world of ideas and the emotional world, meditation touches on a fourth area: the true being, the self, the innermost core, the connection to being, to silence, to emptiness. There are many different terms for this self.

More than just relaxation: What does meditation do

Ultimately, meditation is more than deep relaxation. It changes life, because it makes aware of and dissolves energy blockages and obstructive feelings and thought patterns, leading more and more to what teachers call "the true being". In addition, meditation enhances awareness and consciousness. At this point, the common orientation of meditation and LICHTWESEN©-essences shall be displayed: Both solve energetic blockages and hindering patterns of behavior, thereby enabling more and more to become who one is. The goal is the same, the way different. The effect of either meditation or the use of LICHTWESEN©-products can be increased by the combination of both.

Often life changes slowly and the changes are not obvious to you. Until you notice at some point or get the feedback that you have become calmer, more relaxed, more stable, "more you yourself".

Forms of meditation

Simplified, meditation techniques can be divided in two categories:

1. The physically passive, quiet, contemplative meditation, in which one does not move. Silent sitting is the best known passive technique. The guided meditations of Dr. Petra S. Schneider belong in this group (only in german available).
2. The physically active meditation, which includes walking meditation, yoga, and even dance. It starts with movement and then usually goes into a quiet phase.

Please note: There are also hybrid forms, which first break down emotional and physical tensions through active movement, only then to pass into silent meditation.

Silently sitting and sinking inward - which is also practiced in Zazen or Vipassana meditation - can initially be difficult for the beginner, not only because the constant flow of thought becomes aware, but also because in silence there are fears, inner restlessness and other emerging, unpleasant feelings. Even for active people who like to move, sitting still is often difficult. For them, active meditation forms or guided meditations that work with visualizations are easier.

Tips for meditation

• Choose the meditation technique that suits you the most: Either active (dancing, yoga, archery, walking in nature and concentrating on the breath), or passive.
• The easiest way to quiet meditation is through breathing. You can always watch inhaling and exhaling.
• Posture - The traditional posture is the lotus position with crossed legs. But who does it at the beginning? In old age it often gets more difficult. But meditation is not dependent on posture. You can also lie down, stand or sit comfortably in a chair. Lying down has the disadvantage that you quickly dose off loosing attention. In addition, an upright spine supports a flowing breathing. Therefore: Try out in which position you can stay 15-20 minutes without pain and posture change. Who wants to meditate in lotus position, can use soft pads, blocks or meditation cushion to relieve the knee.
• Start with shorter time intervals, 5-10 minutes.
• When thoughts and feelings emerge that interfere with concentration and change the breathing rhythm, do not rate, do not annoy, do not fight, do not judge. Instead, return to the breath or observe the thoughts. The following picture helps: observe the thoughts as you watch passing clouds.
• Starting meditation is easy. It is usually hard to stick to meditation and to do it regularly. Helpful: Sit down rather than not at all. That's why there are always long and short pieces on Dr. Petra S. Schneider's meditation CDs.
• Regular, daily practice is helpful. For structured people it is supportive to meditate at the same time and in the same place. The habit accelerates the state of immersion. Important: Do not judge yourself if you sometimes skip the meditation. Just start again.

DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED MEDITATION TECHNIQUES

• Breathing meditation: Close your eyes and watch the breath flow through your nose and trachea into your lungs, lifting your chest and lowering your chest as air escapes.
• Bodyscan: Move your attention through every part of the body, from the toes to the head.

Meditate, if you cannot sleep

I also find meditation awesome when I cannot fall asleep or wake up and do not fall asleep again. Then I meditate while lying down, mostly with the breathing meditation. Meditation has a positive effect on the body and brain - and for the next day's rest and performance it is at least as important whether I sleep or meditate.

LichtWesen©-Essences, which support meditation and stillness

• Lao Tse: It is as it is. - Accept when the thoughts wander off.
• Elohim blue (German: Elohim blau): Deep inner peace
• Strength out of tranquility (German: Kraft aus der Stille): Connection to the silence of being
• Zero (German: Null): Immersion in the infinite, the emptiness, the everything, the being
• Hilarion: Feel secure in the structure of creation and thereby become quiet.

Scientific results

Meanwhile, there are numerous scientific insights into what effect meditation has on health, stability and the ability to master crises (also called resilience):

• That brainwaves change was confirmed by electroencephalography (EEG)-measurements.
• Meditation has a significant positive effect on depression, anxiety disorders and Burn-out syndromes.
• Mindfulness meditation serves as subsequent offense prevention in depression.
• Meditation has a positive impact on the body, high blood pressure, blood sugar levels, body weight and the level of stress hormones in the blood.
• Meditation stimulates the neuroplasticity of the brain. Brain areas are being restructured and become more efficient. Brain areas that are responsible for attention, the regulation of emotions, memory and body awareness are getting bigger.
• The brain areas for stress and anxiety also change: The gray matter in the amygdala, which plays an important role in anxiety and stress, is reduced. In contrast, the hippocampus, the region for memory and emotions, had a greater density.

Mindfulness meditation is now used in clinics as therapy.