An undeniable fact of modern life is that it's busy. Often too busy, in fact, for us to be able to prioritise the things that really matter including our mental health and wellbeing. We all know that regular

There may, however, be a way to reap the rewards of meditation without investing so much precious time in fact, experts have found that just 12 minutes of mindfulness a day may be enough to bring down the cortisol levels that contribute to heightened stress. Plenty of wellness practitioners have endorsed this so-called magic number, and Apple has even launched an entire podcast series, 12 Minute Meditation, dedicated to the art of slimmed-down meditation, in collaboration with Mindful.

"The latest scientific research reveals that 12 minutes of meditation a day yields benefits like increased attention, focus, creativity, calm, resilience and compassion," says Apple. "With a new mindfulness meditation each week, 12 Minute Meditation invites you to bring the benefits of mindfulness to daily life." Episodes focus on everything from replenishing cognitive energy to cultivating more compassionate self-talk and all are pleasingly quick to complete.

"It's not about the length of your meditation but the regularity of your practice that truly matters," says Leah Santa Cruz, co-head of meditation at Balance, an award-winning meditation app. "Just as with exercise, consistency triumphs over occasional intensity. We've found in research labs that a lot of great benefits begin even within three minutes of meditation. The mind and body start to relax and release stored tension very quickly, and can even access states that are more restful for the body than sleep itself. The goal is to be disciplined enough to establish a habit but not to obsess over perfection."

Regular meditation however you do it can contribute enormously to your wellbeing

So how do you start a 12-minute meditation routine? There are two approaches you can adopt: 12 minutes straight once a day, or a one-minute session every hour. Yes, even 60 seconds of concentrated meditation can be enough, as long as you're making it a regular habit; popular platform Headspace (known for it's supremely relaxing, guided mediations) even offers a one-minute recording that's excellent for de-stressing.

If you opt for one session a day, try to show up at the same time, advises Jamie Greenlaw-Meek, resident psychic at The Wellness Foundry. "Consider incorporating meditation into your morning routine, ideally right after waking up," he says. "This time is ideal, as you're less prone to dozing off and, hopefully, you've had a restful night's sleep. Begin with a five-minute session, then gradually extend the duration."

Whatever method you choose, it's encouraging to know that meditation can be a useful and achievable tool for even the most time-poor among us. Like every habit, mindfulness is honed by small, incremental actions repeated regularly and it could be one of the most valuable additions you make to your routine this year.

Interested? We've compiled a short cheat sheet to help you get going along with some products that could make your meditation journey that little bit easier.

HOW TO START MEDITATING

Start small, and don't expect too much of yourself initially. Try two minutes a day, every other day, and build up your habit from there.

Find a place where there's no distraction your bedroom just after you wake up or before you go to sleep, for example.

Try heart-rhythm meditation. Place your fingers on your pulse, close your eyes and regulate your breathing to match your heartbeat.

Give 'box breathing' a go to focus your mind: breath in for four beats, hold for four beats, exhale for four beats, hold for four beats, then repeat.

A silk eye mask might help you block out the outside world when you're meditating. Try Drowsy's extra thick, strapless version, which is supremely comfortable and won't slip around.

Scent can be incredibly transporting, and this mood-boosting blend of jasmine, gardenia and rose geranium essential oils from Espa functions as an effective on-the-go pick-me-up.

If you like using podcasts or guided meditations, then a good pair of noise-cancelling headphones is invaluable. Providing 20 hours of wireless listening time, this mint-green pair from Apple delivers on sound quality, comfort and sizing.

Are you sitting comfortably? You will be with this mini bolster, which can be used as a backrest, seat cushion and more for a comfortable, supportive position essential when you're meditating.

See more here:

Why you should try a 12-minute meditation - Harper's Bazaar UK

(Adapted from an address delivered today at a joint Muslim-Jewish observance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Srebrenica Memorial Center in Potoari, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alongside the ceremony, the author and Husein ef. Kavazovi, the Grand Mufti of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also jointly issued principles for dialogue for understanding and coexistence, which can be viewed here.)

Seventy-nine years ago today, soldiers and officers of the Soviet Unions Red Army liberated approximately 7,000 prisoners, most of them Jews, who had been left behind in the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau. These victims of the Nazi terror, of Hitlers Final Solution of the Jewish Question, were deemed too weak, too ill to be taken on death marches and transports to camps in Germany as the Nazi troops retreated from Poland.

It is impossible to describe in human words the meeting of the imprisoned, saved from certain death, with their liberators, recalled one of these newly freed survivors, Regina Grimberg, a French Jew. Soviet officers and soldiers in rags, exhausted, freezing cold, but victorious, cried like little children at the sight of piles of corpses in front of barracks and people in agony, resembling skeletons, stacked on bunks. The female prisoners screamed, sobbed, and lovingly touched the clothes of their liberators to find out that these people were real, and kissed their hands.

Today, we remember. Today, we mourn.

Standing here in Potoari, we remember, we mourn the millions of Jewish men, women, and children who were systematically murdered by the German SS and their multinational accomplices at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Majdanek, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, and all the other places of horror.

We remember the Serbs, Jews, and Roma who were slaughtered by the Ustae at the Jasenovac concentration camp in Croatia. So, too, we remember the 11,343 Jews from Bulgarian-occupied Thrace, Macedonia, and the formerly Serbian district of Pirot who were deported to their death by Bulgarian police and military units in the winter of 1943, and all the other innocent victims of the Holocaust.

Standing here today in Potoari, we also mourn, we also remember the thousands of Bosniak men and boys the Bosnian Muslim men and boys who were murdered by Bosnian Serb chetniks in the Srebrenica genocide in July of 1995.

We remember we must never forget all the Bosniak women and girls who were raped and violated here, and the women, children, and elderly who were forcibly deported from here as part of that genocide.

Individual Memories

Standing here today in Potoari, each of us retreats into our individual memories, into our individual sanctuaries of thought.

[Leader of the Bosnian Jewish community] Ambassador Jakob Finci, who was born in a concentration camp on the island of Rab off the northern Croatian coast in 1943, is thinking of more than 50 members of his family who were brutally put to death in the Holocaust, while [Srebrenica Memorial Center Deputy Director] Amra Begi is thinking of her father, grandfather, 26 other relatives, and her best friend who were brutally put to death in the Srebrenica genocide.

[Srebrenica Memorial Center Director] Emir Suljagi remembers his friend Nehrudin Sulejmanovi, who accompanied wounded Bosniaks out of Srebrenica and disappeared into the ether of that genocide, while Vlado Andrle [president of the Jewish cultural, educational, and humanitarian society La Benevolencija in Sarajevo] thinks of his great-grandmother who was killed by the Ustae in Jasenovac.

[Srebrenica Memorial Centers Public Relations Officer] Almasa Salihovi is mourning her brother who was torn from her arms and murdered by Bosnian Serb chetniks, while I am mourning my five-and-a-half-year-old brother (my mothers son) and my grandparents who were murdered in a gas chamber upon their arrival at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

We join together in sorrow, and our tears become prayers prayers of remembrance but also prayers of hope.

Goodness Breaking Through

We remember the evil that was done to us, but we must also not forget the rare rays of light, of goodness, that broke through the darkness of that evil.

In 1940, Dervi Korkut, the Muslim chief librarian of the National Museum of Bosnia, published an article entitled Anti-Semitism Is Foreign to the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which he argued for tolerance toward Bosnias Jews. Korkut subsequently not only rescued the historic Sarajevo Haggadah from certain destruction by the Nazis, but he and his wife Servet hid a Jewish girl, Dorkica Papo, also known as Mira, in their home, thereby saving her life. More than five decades later, when Korkuts daughter Lamija and her family fled from the ethnic carnage in Kosovo to Skopje in what is now North Macedonia, Mira Papos son Davor was among those who enabled them to settle in Israel.

Two other Bosnian Muslims, Mustafa and Zejneba Hardaga, similarly risked their lives by sheltering their Jewish friends and neighbors, Rifka and Josef Kabiljo, and their two children in the Hardagas Sarajevo home. Zejneba Hardaga went on to save other Bosnian Jews from being rounded up by the Gestapo and the Ustae, resulting in her and Mustafa being recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Israels Holocaust remembrance authority, as were Dervi and Servet Korkut. And here again, goodness was met with goodness. In 1994, at the height of the Bosnian Serb siege of Sarajevo, after Mustafa had died, Rifka Kabiljo arranged for Zejneba and her family to be taken out of that city and brought to safety in Israel.

On Sunday, Aug. 23, 1942, as Jews were being deported from France to Nazi German death camps, Roman Catholic priests throughout the archdiocese of Toulouse publicly read out a pastoral letter from Archbishop Jules-Graud Salige in which he protested that Jewish men, women and children, fathers and mothers were being treated like cattle and dispatched to unknown destinations.

Why does the right of sanctuary no longer exist in our churches, he asked. The Jews are men, the Jews are womenThey are part of the human race. They are our brothers, like so many others. A Christian may not forget this. As a direct result of Archbishop Saliges public protest, popular sentiment in and around Toulouse turned against the Germans and many Jews were saved.

The following year, Metropolitans Stefan of Sofia and Kiril of Plovdiv of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church were largely responsible for persuading King Boris III of Bulgaria not to deport 48,000 Bulgarian Jews to Nazi German death camps, even though they did not succeed in preventing that fate from befalling the Jews of Thrace, Macedonia, and Pirot.

Dervi and Servet Korkut, Zejneba and Mustafa Hardaga, Archbishop Salige, and Metropolitans Stefan and Kiril may have been in the minority during the years of the Holocaust, but they are the role models whom we, as we approach the end of the first quarter of the 21st century, must seek to emulate.

A Joint Commitment

Today is not a time and this commemoration is not the place for politics or to express our respective views or opinions on present-day global developments. Today is a time and this commemoration is the place for remembrance, for not allowing the ghosts of our past to fade away from us.

And yet, today is also a time and this commemoration is also the place for us to jointly commit ourselves to doing everything in our power to prevent the horrors we remember here today from being repeated, and to do everything in our power to prevent or at least ease the suffering of the innocent.

Above all, we must not be we cannot be indifferent to suffering, to all suffering. Still, we also must not, we cannot ignore savagery and wanton brutality and cruelty, especially when the proclaimed goal of such savagery, brutality, and cruelty is the annihilation of men, women, children, and infants only and exclusively because of their identity.

And so let me state clearly and unambiguously here today that we must condemn and repudiate the savagery perpetrated by Hamas against Jewish men, women, and children on October 7 on the Israeli-Gaza border, the rapes and violations of Jewish women and girls, and the violent kidnapping of more than 200 hostages into Gaza, over 100 of whom remain there in horrific captivity today, more than three and a half months later.

And at the same time, let me state equally clearly and equally unambiguously here today that we must not, we cannot be indifferent to the deaths and displacements endured by Palestinian civilians in Gaza over the course of these same more than three and a half months. Anyone with a heart, anyone with a soul must have deep compassion and empathy for the suffering of Palestinian civilian men, women, and children desperately in need of humanitarian aid. Anyone with a heart, anyone with a soul cannot fail to shed tears at the sight of dead Palestinian infants in shrouds, the victims of a war for which they bore no responsibility whatsoever.

Simply put, in order for us to move toward one another rather than further and further away from one another, we must, in the words of a man attending a meeting of Standing Together, a grassroots organization of Israeli Jews and Arabs that promotes tolerance and coexistence, be able to feel pain for the other side.

We must also remember, on all sides, that while words in and of themselves do not kill, hateful words can all too easily result in violence, in killings, in atrocities, and, yes, in genocide. An essential element in the perpetration of the Holocaust, in the perpetration of the Srebrenica genocide, indeed, in the perpetration of all genocides, was the dehumanization of the other. When any one group of human beings disparages another group by depicting them as inferior to themselves, as animals or as vermin, the process of dehumanization, of demonization has begun. It is up to us, to each one of us, to insist that the other, even our perceived political or national adversary, is a human being created and existing in a divine image.

While we here today cannot change the past, we can and we must do all in our collective power to change the future, to prevent further destruction and violence, and to reject all manifestations of antisemitism, of Islamophobia, of bigotry, of xenophobia, and of hatred. And we must do so together, as Muslims, as Jews, as Christians, as human beings, all of us created by God, by Allah, by Adonai, in the image of God, of Allah, of Adonai.

antisemitism, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, genocide, Hate Speech, Holocaust, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Islamophobia, Israel-Hamas War, Rwanda, Srebrenica

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Finding Light in the Darkness: A Meditation on Remembrance - Just Security

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) In this weeks episode of Run for Fun, we are exercising our minds with meditation. There are plenty of benefits for athletes of all kinds to sit still and meditate.

Meditation does not necessarily mean chanting or sitting in strange positions. It can simply be taking an extended time to limit distractions and letting your brain focus.

Leigh Spann and Coach Maria discuss ways to incorporate meditation into your daily training. They also sit down with runner Michael Wilsey, who has seen improved performance in the year hes been meditating.

More Run for Fun stories:

Meditating can be helpful for anyone to lower stress and find a sense of calm, but athletes and runners may get additional benefits. It can help restore the body and allow them to train regularly with fewer injuries.

Pushing your body can increase mental stress. Taking time to relax the body and mind can help athletes limit mental drain and re-energize the body.

Athletes can also use the benefit of regular meditation to enhance their mental focus. This focus helps keep the runner or athlete zoned in during tough races or workouts. Limiting distractions allows your body to only focus on the task at hand.

Adding designated rest to your training can help you enjoy running without it feeling like a chore. Its just one way to Run for Fun. Be sure to watch or listen to previous episodes of the show for more tips.

Read more:

Run for Fun: Benefits of meditation for athletes - WFLA

(Photos by Dion Ogust)

Blessed are the cold days

When nothing moves and no one stays

The air is clear and bites the face

And all things sleep in winters grace

Nowadays, we dont get the cold here in the Catskills and Hudson Valley as much as we used to. Maybe its climate change or just an attitude copped by old man winter, but I can distinctly recall periods of time up to say a decade ago with a duration that could approach a week at a time where the Fahrenheit would slip below the zero mark, as far down as minus 7 or -8.

On those auspicious days, the hearty among us might get up and get out of the house between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. and walk up Mill Hill Road into the middle of Woodstock, just stroll Tinker Street past the W.A.A., past the library, past Lashers Funeral Home (though you hustled on through for fear you might get stuck there), down toward Bearsville right on the double yellow line in the center of the street, just ambling down the road. Owning the territory, you might do some figure-eight loops covering the width of Route 212, reveling in the freedom of solitude, in the extreme circumstances.

Sweet times are the frozen nights

When all my woes turn small and slight

We nestle warm by the oak wood fire

while the flames kindle old desire

oh your touch restores my soul

and we stay young while we grow old

How cold is cold?

Well, suffice to say that the approximate minus 8 F weve enjoyed and shivered through over the years can feel like a balmy day in Denver.

Heres some very superficial investigations I made, using at least two sources for each on the web.

Turns out that the temperature has plunged to its lowest recorded on the planet, as reported by the World Meteorological Organization in 2023, when, on the East Antarctica Plateau a record of minus 144 degrees Fahrenheit was reported. NASA calls that spot the coldest place on Earth.

That shattered the record of -128.6 degrees Fahrenheit reported in 1983 in Vostok, Antarctica that had been confirmed by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in Russia.

Here are several more pieces of perhaps relevant information, without going deeper than this modest meditation can handle.

There are four different scales scientists use to measure temperature: Celsius, Fahrenheit, Kelvin and Rankine. None of them can make it hotter or colder, they just assign different scales and numbers.

Then there is this measurement called Absolute Zero. Physicists call it the coldest conceivable temperature, or the lowest possible temperature. Its calculated to be minus 459.67F. The web tells us that at a temperature of absolute zero there is no motion and no heat.

And finally, as we teeter on subjects we know little about and can conceive of even less, theres the Boomerang Nebula, or a protoplanetary nebula (look it up yourself), some 5000 light years away, which, NASA says provides us with the coldest spot in the known cosmos at one degree Kelvin, or minus 457.87 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cold culture

(Recite the following as fast as you can. Sing the Hank Williams line.)

Cold beer, cold feet, cold hands, cold cuts, how can I free your doubtful mind and melt your cold cold heart, ice cold, cold fish, cold shoulder, cold shower, cold pizza, cold rain, cold war, head cold, cold cider, cold blood, cold turkey, out cold, cold comfort, cold hard facts, Stone Cold Steve Austin, cold cream, cold sweat, cold noodles and on and on

Some opinions about living in cold country hey, it aint Minnesota!

Quote on TV: Hey, its New York. Its supposed to snow

Al, on the street: Just give me June, July and August. You can keep the rest .

Jamey says: Covid taught me to like cold because the only way I could get together with friends was outdoors. So I learned to get better garments on. Once I dressed more warmly, I learned to enjoy it . Tim loves cold weather, and it was always a big difference between us, so it was good for the marriage .

Tim says: I moved up here on New Years Day 1970. I hit the Thruway and saw these ice waterfalls along the road, and I thought, am I driving into paradise here? When I was a kid a state of bliss would come over me when it started to snow .

Geoff says: When its hot I look forward to it, when its here, its bring on the spring.

Tom E, musing on extreme cold: Does anybody like that? I feel like I like it a lot less than I used to like it.

Jana says, Its a shocker. I found a balaclava as long as my ears are warm, Im okay. I took a walk this morning, I layered. Its easier when the sun is out I dont like being cold, but I can deal with it for a little bit. I like moderate,

Oh carry me back to the well

When signs of spring begin to tell

I lean my heart to the howling wind

And arch my back to the grind again

But you are here, and Ill be, too

When the days turn cold, Ill be there for you

Song lyrics by Brian Hollander

More here:

Cold days, a meditation - Hudson Valley One

This post expresses the views and opinions of the author(s) and not necessarily that of The Sun Times News management or staff.

Relax, unwind, and allow yourself to calm the overworked, overstimulated nervous system, by allowing the healing frequencies of sound to flow through you. Sound Bath Meditation is an immersion in soothing sounds and vibrations that are relaxing and rejuvenating for your body, mind, and spirit. Often simply called a Sound Bath, it is an experience that washes you with the sounds of intentionally chosen instruments that bring calming vibrations to reduce stress and tension.

Supporting yourself with blankets and bolsters, surrender to the deeply soothing, all-enveloping musical backdrop using a blend of crystal and metal singing bowls to create layers of soothing sound waves, there will be nothing for it but for you to slip effortlessly into a state of deep release, opening and relaxation. Pure bliss.

Thought to help heal depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and insomnia, and to deepen meditation and spark creativity, sound bathing envelopesyou in specific frequencies of sound that can bring both our physical and subtle (energy) bodies into a state of balance.

These classes feel a bit like a yogi slumber party. Even if you do happen to nod off, you'll still feel the powerful vibrations of sound flowing through you. Something will shift. It really is an experience not to be missed!

What to bring: Things that makes you feel super comfy and supported on the floor - a yoga mat, blanket, and maybe even a pillow. While we have several yoga mats, blankets and bolsters to borrow, these items are first-come-first-serve, and participants are also welcome to bring their own. Make sure to wear comfortable clothing and warm socks.

This special event will be instructed by Rob Meyer-Kukan of 7 Notes Natural Health.

Investment: $28.

Sign up here: https://breatheyogaschedule.as.me/february-soundbath

THIS WILL SELL OUT! So please register in advance to secure your spot. If also registering for a friend or partner, please ensure they are registered under their own name and account. No refunds week of class.

See the article here:

Sound Bath Meditation: Mid-Winter Warm Up - thesuntimesnews.com

Beyond fight and flight lies another option for people in stressful jobs like policing.

Its easy, free and anyone can do it pretty much anywhere: Meditation.

All it requires is a few minutes spent concentrating on breaths coming into the body, then exhaled.

Instructor Billy Rosenbeck says concentrating on something the body does automatically takes the mind away from negative thoughts for a few moments and to a more serene place.

Meditation allows the body to step back from the brink, calm itself and return to its non-threatened state.

What it does is it takes your body out of the stress response to its relaxation response, to bring the body into homeostasis, Rosenbeck said.

Rosenbeck has created a four-week how to on meditation for law enforcement professionals called The Warriors Code: Meditation in Law Enforcement. In February, Easthampton police officers, the Hampden County Sheriffs Department and the Hampshire County Sheriffs Department personnel, as well as dispatchers, will learn how to control their own responses to stress.

Rosenbecks introduction of meditation and mindfulness came in the form of a life change. An abrupt change in his emotional state set him in search for something. He didnt know what.

I was pretty much a happy person for a long time until it stopped, he said. A meditation app on his phone called Headspace brought him to meditation.

I would meditate for 10 minutes a day, he said. It was something I needed for myself.

What started as a personal practice blossomed into a life change. He now teaches meditation and mindfulness in classes across Western Massachusetts and is hooking up with academic, corporate, state and municipal agencies to help bring mindfulness training to those who need it. He is available through his website, themellowelephant.com.

For the average cop, work is stressful. Cops are more likely to die from suicide than in the line of duty. They have five times higher rates of depression than the general population and nine to 10 times the rate of PTSD.

The problem stems from the bodys fight or flight reaction that anyone who finds themselves in confrontational situations must deal with.

They are awash in a wave of chemicals their brain sends out when scared or threatened.

It is in the amygdala, part of the brains limbic system. When you are faced with a particularly stressful or unpredictable situation, the brain is going to react in a way that keeps the organism safe, said Rosenbeck.

For police officers, the job can be very predictable, until it is not. A situation, a call comes in and adrenaline is going to spike, and fight or flight is going to kick in. Stress hormones like cortisol get released, which is good for the moment, but lingers around for a while afterward. If there is no process for releasing those stress chemicals, it can be damaging to the body and the brain over the long run.

There is a process, Rosenbeck said.

The basic idea is to bring meditation and mindfulness to places you might not expect to find them, he said. Anyone can come to the presentation. Even if the whole department doesnt want to come, thats OK. Whoever wants to can come.

This is not the first time Rosenbeck has worked with police officers. Easthampton Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator Emma Reilly brought him on board when she was searching for wellness programs for the police and decided to include meditation.

I had surveyed the police force earlier about things that would be interesting to them, and mindfulness and meditation came up. I was surprised but more (officers) than I expected were interested, she said.

After she heard from an officer who knew Rosenbeck, she said it was a natural choice.

We have interest, and we have an instructor, she said. We just put the two together.

Rosenbeck has done preliminary presentations for the department, and some officers find meditation helpful, if initially a little off-putting.

Sgt. Kyle Gribi said he was not exactly open to the idea when it was proposed. I thought it was kind of goofy, he said. I didnt see the benefit right off.

He went to that first presentation dragging his feet. I promised Emma I would go, and I did, he said. I really didnt want to.

Gribi said Rosenbeck put meditation into a perspective he could understand.

Its not all Kumbaya or anything like that, he said, laughing. He talked about stress and how we might be dealing with it, how we emotionally react to things.

Controlling his breathing, and keeping negative thoughts at bay, helped Gribi find a path to relaxation.

It allows me to disconnect from what I think about some things I am dealing with, he said. It helps me shut off part of my brain for a little bit shut my brain down and just chill out for a little bit.

That, Rosenbeck said, is the natural state of relaxation in which we best operate.

Research has measured how the body reacts to long-term exposure to stress and how meditation can reverse some of those effects.

Sarah Lazar, a researcher with the Harvard Brain Initiative, demonstrated that abnormal physical reactions in the brain, caused by prolonged stress and anxiety, can be reversed through meditation and mindfulness.

The Sarah Lazar studies found there are structural changes that take place in the brain in just a few weeks of meditation, Rosenbeck said. CAT scans have shown that the amygdala, where anxiety and stress hormones are triggered, gets smaller while the frontal cortex with focus, learning, memory and emotional integration grows.

Top athletes use mindfulness as a means of improving their performance.

Rosenbeck said the first writings on meditation come from the Bhagavad Gita and the warrior Satria. In Japan, the samurai, steeped in the code of Bushido, practiced meditation and mindfulness. In all the martial arts, meditation and mindfulness help train the mind to be able to pick up a weapon, and to know when to act and when not to.

In all these often hyper-masculine arenas, we think of meditation as the antithesis of police work or combat or whatever, Rosenbeck said. But it has always been there.

Continued here:

How meditation and mindfulness can bring healing for stressed cops - MassLive.com

Im just not feeling it today.

How often have you reached for that excuse? Many of us can be quick to cast ourselves as the victim of a sluggish heart.

Now, making peace with a pokey heart is a very strange phenomenon, even as it now is a widespread assumption and typically goes unquestioned. It may be no big deal if were talking about whether you want peanut butter on your breakfast toast. But far more is at stake when this becomes an excuse for neglecting God, whether in his word, prayer, or Christian fellowship.

Specifically, this excuse has served to undermine habits of spiritual health related to beginning each day with the voice of God in Scripture. Some of us are gaunt, frail Christians because weve learned, like our world, to cater to the whims of our own fickle hearts rather than direct them and determine to reshape them.

In what may be his most insightful and deeply spiritual book, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (2014), the late Tim Keller introduces us to a side of the great English theologian John Owen (16161683) that is especially out of step with modern assumptions. Owen, according to Keller, would not be so quick to grant the excuse, Im just not feeling it today. In fact, he likely would respond forcefully and many of us might be better for it.

Owen would at least challenge whether our initial feelings determined anything significant at all. He surely wouldnt say to skip Gods word (or prayer or church) to cater to whatever unspiritual inclination you woke up feeling. Rather, he might say, as Keller summarizes, Meditate to the point of delight. Dont give in to your hearts first inclinations. Rather, take hold of them, and direct them. Open the Bible, and turn your attention to the one who is supremely worthy, and keep your nose in the Book, and your mind on Jesus, until your sluggish heart begins to respond like it should.

Thats striking counsel for a generation conditioned to follow your heart and, in time, presume to reshape our external, objective world based on the subjectivity and flightiness of our own desires.

How often do we hear even Christians concede, as a veiled excuse, to be wired a certain way? Indeed, God has wired us in certain ways. But how often do we resign ourselves to being hardwired in ways were actually far more pliable? And the worlds not helping us with this. Our society has come to feign plasticity in precisely the places were hardwired (like biological sex) and to pretend hard-wiring in the places were actually plastic (desires and delights).

Long before anyone talked about neuroplasticity, Owen believed in what we might call affectional plasticity that is, your desires and delights are not hardwired. They are pliable. You can reshape and recondition them. You can retrain them. You may be unable to simply turn them with full effect in the moment to make yourself feel something, but you can reshape your heart over time. Oh, can you. Your desires, good and bad, are not simple givens. Stretched out over time, as the composite of countless decisions, they are wonderfully (and hauntingly) chosens.

In chapter 10 of Prayer, Keller adds his commentary to Owens premodern insights for a much-needed perspective on the wedding of Gods word with our prayers through meditation. Its a perspective on forming and reforming our pliant hearts that will challenge readers today. It will frustrate many, but certainly inspire a few.

In general, we are far too easy on our minds and hearts. We grant we can train the body. In fact, youre always training the body, whether for the better or the worse. And most will agree that you can train the mind the mind is a muscle, so to speak. You can set it on a particular object and learn to keep it there. It will take practice. Such training is vital for engaging with Gods word as we ought, and few skills are more difficult or important to cultivate.

And far more controversial, you can train your heart not just in sinful emotions to avoid but also in righteous emotions to entertain. With a Bible open in front of you, you can learn, as Keller summarizes Owen, to meditate to the point of delight.

Some well-meaning Christians set out to read their Bibles, dont feel much (if anything), move on swiftly to pray a few quick, shallow petitions, and then embark on their day. Owen would say, with C.S. Lewis, you are far too easily pleased that is, if youre even pleased at all. Rather, Owen would have us wrestle like Jacob across the Jabbok, until light dawns. Wrestle with your own sluggish soul. Direct it. Turn it. Grapple with it until it does what its supposed to do, and feels more like its supposed to feel about the wonders and horrors of the word of God. Say, in effect, to the God of the word, I will not let you go unless you bless me, and discipline your heart to receive the joy for which God made it.

Now, a few clarifications are in order to recover this lost art of meditation. Owen distinguished between study, meditation, and prayer. Meditation is the bridge between receiving Gods word (in reading and study) and responding back to him (in prayer). Meditation, says Owen,

is distinguished from the study of the word, wherein our principal aim is to learn the truth, or to declare it unto others; and so also from prayer, whereof God himself is the immediate object. But . . . meditation . . . is the affecting of our own hearts and minds with love, delight, and [humility]. (quoted in Keller, Prayer, 152)

Meditation, then distinct from study and prayer, though overlapping with them might be parsed into three sequential stages.

Begin with Bible intake, through reading, and rereading the slower the better. And as we encounter various knowledge gaps in what the passage says and means, we might turn briefly to some study to learn the truth or rightly understand the text. Beginners will have more questions and need to navigate how frequently to stop and study or just keep reading and pick up clues as they go. But the main point is that meditation begins with immersion in the words of God.

Unlike Eastern meditation, which seeks to empty the mind, biblical meditation requires the filling of the mind with the truth of Gods self-revelation in his Son and Scripture. We dont just up and meditate not in the deliberate sense. We begin with Bible, fixing our thoughts on God and his Son through the content of his word.

Fixing our thoughts can be difficult enough, but inclining the heart is imponderable for many. Not because it cant be done, but because we have been socialized to assume it cant. So, this is where Owen (and Keller) seems forceful, and surprising. But Owen counsels us, having fixed our minds on Gods word, to persist in spiritual thoughts unto your refreshment (Works of John Owen, volume 7, 393). That is, meditate until you begin to feel the word. Preach to yourself until you begin to feel more like you ought. Does the word declare Gods majesty? Feel awe. Does it warn sinners? Feel fear. Does it announce good news? Feel joy.

The goal is not to meditate for a particular duration of time, but to meditate until the point of delight, to persist unto your refreshment. The apostle Peter speaks of the present, not merely the future of joy the Christian experiences now, in this age, not only in the one to come when he says, Though you do not now see [Jesus with your physical eyes], you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory (1 Peter 1:8). Inexpressible, glorified joy is offered even now, and by no better means than fixing our minds on the word of God himself and meditating until he smiles on us, and warms our souls, with some real measure of delight.

Owen offers hope for those who think this is impossible: Constancy in [this] duty will give ability for it. Those who conscientiously abide in its performance shall increase in light, wisdom, and experience until they are able to manage it with great success. Keller then comments, leaning on Psalm 1, Trees dont grow overnight. Meditation is a sustained process like a tree growing its roots down toward the water source. The effects are cumulative. You must stick with it. We must meditate day and night regularly, steadily (161162).

Questions arise not only because of our sin but our humanity. Owen knew this every bit as much as we do, if not far better. Anticipating our objection, Keller writes,

Owen is quite realistic. He admits that sometimes, no matter what we do, we simply cannot concentrate, or we find our thoughts do not become big and affecting, but rather we feel bored, hard, and distracted. Then, Owen says, simply turn to God and make brief, intense appeals for help. Sometimes that is all you will do the rest of your scheduled time, and sometimes the very cries for help serve to concentrate the mind and soften the heart. (Prayer, 161)

A huge difference lies between occasional realism and a daily pattern of resignation. Theres a world of difference between a lazy beginner and the wise veteran, who has learned the lost art and come to experience the third stage with regularity, despite the sometimes of dryness and distraction.

In the final stage, we give vent, or give space, to the enjoyment (or crying out) begun in the second. We fan the flame of fitting affection for the truth in view. This is the high point of meditation enjoying God in Christ which fills our souls with an answering response. As Keller comments, we listen, study, think, reflect, and ponder the Scriptures until there is an answering response in our hearts and minds (55, emphasis added) which leads us to prayer. According to Keller,

meditation before prayer consists of thinking, then inclining, and, finally, either enjoying the presence or admitting the absence and asking for his mercy and help. Meditation is thinking a truth out and then thinking a truth in until its ideas become big and sweet, moving and affecting, and until the reality of God is sensed upon the heart. (162)

And this sensing of God on the heart, through meditating on his word, issues in our response of prayer.

Without immersion in Gods words, our prayers may not be merely limited and shallow but also untethered from reality. We may be responding not to the real God but to what we wish God and life to be like. Indeed, if left to themselves our hearts will tend to create a God who doesnt exist. . . . Without prayer that answers the God of the Bible, we will only be talking to ourselves. (62)

So, we want our prayers to be prompted by and tethered to the intake of Gods word. We would never produce the full range of biblical prayer if we were initiating prayer according to our own inner needs and psychology. It can only be produced if we are responding in prayer according to who God is as revealed in the Scripture (60).

Keller ends this blessed tenth chapter with Jesus himself as the chief focus of our meditation. Not only did the God-man delight in the word of God like the happy man of Psalm 1, but he himself is the one to whom all the Scripture points (163). As Christians, we learn to meditate both with him and on him.

In our reading and rereading and study and lingering over Scripture, we persist to know and enjoy not just truth but the Truth himself. For Christians, the final focus of our meditation is personal, and both perfectly human and fully divine in the person of Jesus Christ.

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Start the Day Happy in God: The Lost Art of Bible Meditation - Desiring God

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Global Meditation Management Apps Market

Dublin, Jan. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Meditation Management Apps Market Analysis & Forecast to 2024-2034" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The meditation management apps landscape is undergoing a transformative phase, with a recent comprehensive market analysis predicting considerable market expansion over the next decade.

As mental health takes precedence on a global scale, the demand for mobile solutions that cater to psychological well-being is surging. Enhanced consumer awareness and a digital revolution across various regions are propelling the growth of this market.

The latest report sheds light on the expected rise to USD 9.46 billion by 2034 from its valuation of USD 1.50 billion in 2023, navigating through a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.23% over the forecast period from 2024 to 2034.

Notable factors contributing to this significant growth include the heightened prevalence of stress, anxiety, and mental health issues, corroborated by a surge in smartphone penetration, digital health initiatives, and developments in mindfulness app functionalities.

Market Segmentation Insights

The analysis indicates that by platform, the iOS segment has taken the lead in revenue generation for 2023, attributed primarily to the robust adoption of iPhones and rapid digital transformation. Meanwhile, Android platforms are anticipated to witness the fastest growth rate due to the affordability of Android devices and initiatives by key players to tap into this extensive user base.

In terms of deployment type, cloud-based services have emerged superior, providing users with seamless access, cost efficiency, and the flexibility of real-time data monitoring. Prominent market players are increasingly investing in cloud technology, exemplified by the latest release of Mettle, an app devised to improve mental concentration and manage stress.

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When it comes to service offerings, free services dominated the market in 2023, as users show a propensity towards no-cost meditation management options. Nevertheless, in-app purchase models are poised for the fastest growth trajectory, propelled by rising disposable incomes and the availability of personalized, incentive-laden features within paid applications.

Regional Market Expansion

The North American market is forecasted to maintain its revenue supremacy through the forecast period, bolstered by technological advancements and strategic partnerships meant to enhance mental health support systems. Conversely, the Asia Pacific region is forecasted to chart the most rapid growth, driven by increased smartphone usage and digital health adoption amongst its burgeoning population.

Key Developments in the Marketplace

Launch of 'Lets Get Happi', a mental health app offering 24/7 therapy access for comprehensive, stigma-free mental healthcare.

Introduction of 'Mettle' by Bear Grylls, aiming to assist in managing stress and improving mental focus.

Headspace's strategic initiative to ameliorate healthcare visit-related anxiety and collapse barriers to preventive health screening via its partnership with One Medical.

The report provides an in-depth segmentation analysis of the market, dissecting the data by platform, deployment type, service, and region, fractioning into sub-categories such as Android, iOS, on-premise, cloud-based, paid, free, and regional bifurcations, encompassing the U.S. and Canada in North America; Germany, France, UK, Spain, and Italy in Europe; China, Japan, India, Australia, and South Korea in the Asia Pacific; Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina in Latin America; and South Africa and GCC in the Middle East & Africa.

This study offers a granular view of the current market dynamics, pivotal trends, and future growth potential, serving as an essential resource for stakeholders across the meditation management apps industry spectrum.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute

Details

No. of Pages

200

Forecast Period

2023 - 2034

Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023

$1.5 Billion

Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2034

$9.46 Billion

Compound Annual Growth Rate

18.2%

Regions Covered

Global

Report Segmentation

By Platform

By Deployment Type

By Service

Paid (In App Purchase)

Free

Companies Profiled

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/z77lty

About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Global Meditation Management Apps Market Set for Robust Growth, Forecasted at 18.23% CAGR from 2024-2034 - Yahoo Finance UK

How Julia Hogarth Went from Librarian to Meditation Teacher to Successful Entrepreneur and Creative Coach  LA Progressive

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How Julia Hogarth Went from Librarian to Meditation Teacher to Successful Entrepreneur and Creative Coach - LA Progressive

Updated Jan 31, 2024, 10:30 PM IST

It's believed that these bowls have a history that dates back to thousands of years and every bowl has a unique vibration. (Picture Credit: Canva)

Have you ever logged on to any music app or website and just played the Tibetan Singing Bowls? The soothing sound of the Tibetan Singing Bowls are known to release stress and promote relaxation.

For the unversed, Tibetan Singing Bowls are hollow metal bowls (typically made from a combination of metals, including copper, tin, zinc, iron, silver, and gold) that produce soothing sounds when it's rubbed with a wooden mallet. It's believed that these bowls have a history that dates back to thousands of years and every bowl has a unique vibration. It's through these vibrations that healing energy is released.

Tibetan monks use singing bowls in their spiritual and meditative practices. The sounds and vibrations from the bowls serve as powerful aids in meditation, fostering a tranquil and focused atmosphere for practitioners. Monks incorporate these bowls into ceremonial rituals, where the soothing sounds are believed to purify the environment and invoke spiritual energies. Additionally, the therapeutic qualities of the vibrations are utilised for healing purposes, contributing to physical and mental well-being. In the context of chakra balancing, monks explore the harmonics of the bowls to align and balance energy centers within the body. Beyond their functional roles, these bowls become instruments of sacred sound exploration, allowing monks to create intricate sonic landscapes. Used in teachings and lectures, the bowls serve as both captivating educational tools and conduits for conveying spiritual wisdom in a unique and experiential manner.

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Benefits Of Singing Bowls For Meditation

An observational study, "Effects of Singing Bowl Sound Meditation on Mood, Tension, and Well-being" found significant beneficial effects of Tibetan singing bowl meditations on a number of markers related to well-being. As reported in the study, "While it may require a very minimal amount of practice, extensive training is not necessary to learn to play the singing bowls and other instruments; one merely taps or rubs the bowls gently with a mallet. Thus, this type of meditation could be taught to health and counseling professionals and provided in an almost unlimited number of settings to induce the relaxation response, reduce stress, and potentially stress-related disease in the body". Here are a few benefits of Singing Bowl Meditation:

Stress Reduction: The calming and harmonious tones produced by singing bowls can induce a state of deep relaxation, helping to alleviate stress and tension. The meditative nature of the practice encourages a sense of tranquility.

Enhanced Meditation: Singing bowl meditation is often used as an accompaniment to traditional meditation practices. The resonant sounds can serve as a focal point, making it easier for individuals to enter a meditative state and maintain concentration.

Improved Sleep: Regular practice of singing bowl meditation has been associated with improved sleep quality. The calming effects of the bowls may help relax the mind and body, promoting better sleep patterns.

Balanced Energy Centers (Chakras): Some practitioners believe that the vibrations of singing bowls can help balance and align the body's energy centers, known as chakras. Each bowl's unique frequency is associated with specific chakras, contributing to overall energetic harmony.

Mindfulness and Presence: The process of listening to the sounds and feeling the vibrations in singing bowl meditation encourages mindfulness and being present in the moment. This heightened awareness can contribute to a greater sense of clarity and focus.

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Tibetan Singing Bowl: Benefits Of Using It For Meditation - Times Now