Exercise is a form of stress on the body and mind. Weve all fought to overcome flagging willpower during a workout thats our brains telling us to stop stressing our bodies. Surprise! Meditation can help with that, too. For example, football players who frequently practiced meditation during preseason training showed considerably higher mental resilience, better attention, and improved mood over other players.

Meditation has been shown to provide Marines preparing for deployment with a kind of mental armor. Despite intense stresses, meditation exercises improved their mood, their ability to control emotion, and their focus on complex tasks.

General mindfulness research has shown that mindfulness can reduce stress and increase attention and focus, and these are some of the psychological skills required to achieve enhanced athletic performance. Additionally, research on mindfulness and optimal performance, flow state for athletes, shows a powerful alignment. Mindfulness practice, through awareness and acceptance, has been found to be significantly correlated with increased flow in athletes.

A study involving sport shooters showed mindfulness-based interventions decreased pre-competition stress measured by reduced cortisol, and another study involving young golfers showed that mindfulness and acceptance was associated with performance improvement in competition.

The benefits of meditation for sport are no secret to some of the best athletes in the world: Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Carli Lloyd, Trey Burke, Sam Darnold, LeBron James, Derrick Morgan, and many others reportedly have used meditation to boost focus and performance.

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Meditation - Headspace

Meditating in a hurry.

Have you been meaning to meditate but just haven't gotten around to it? Despite its apparent simplicity, starting a new meditation practice can be intimidating, especially when we are so caught up in our fast-paced and media-saturated lives.

The good news is that practicing meditation only takes a moment.That's right one moment!That's even less than a minute!The skills instilled by mindfulness practices are comprehensive and greatly affect an individuals well-beingas they are repeated over time.

According to the American Psychological Association, the cognitive benefits of meditationinclude enhancedself-control, objectivity, affect tolerance, enhanced flexibility, equanimity, improved concentration and mental clarity, emotional intelligence and the ability to relate to others and ones self with kindness, acceptance and compassion.

Zen blogger,LeoBabauta, claims thatthe mostimportant part of practicing meditationis just creating a daily habit. It doesn't matter how long you meditate each day as long as you do it regularly.

RELATED:Meditation: The 15-Minute Life Changer

And you don't need anything to get started. You can practice mindfulness anywhere and at any time. It doesn't take any great time sacrifice or complicated yogic positions. You can practice mindfulness while waiting in line, during commercial breaks or when walking into a room by pausing to take a deep breath.

Even a few moments of meditation can help you refocus, negate stress and feel more relaxed.Spending a few moments to meditatecan lead toremarkable short-term and long-term changes in the brain.

We all know that we act out in illogical ways when we are stressed. In his book, "Emotional Intelligence" (1996), author Daniel Golemandescribed this concept as the "amygdala hijack." Our amygdala is the control seat of our emotions and initiates the fear response(i.e., the "fight or flight" response).

In our caveman days this reaction was quite handy in the case we came across a saber-toothed tiger that was ready to eat us. In the modern day, though, we still deal with stressors in our environmentthat are arguably much less dangerous.

Imagine that you are late getting ready for work. The traffic is backed up and you get stuck behind a car going 10 miles under the speed limit. Your breath begins to quicken and you feel your blood startto boil.

As you finally pull into work, you sprint hurriedly into the office. Your boss is (of course) waiting toremind you that you are late. You are quickly inundated with a series of work tasks that have already piled up.Even after you have caught up on work, you may still feel that your nerves are on edge and cannot stop your heart from racing.

RELATED:The Real Reason Your Relationship Lacks Intimacy ( Plus A Guided Meditation To Get It Back)

As you can see, even long after the initial stressful event, you find that your stress interferes with your ability to focus and to talk to clients in a calm manner. This is because you are suffering from an "amygdala hijack hangover." Even after the immediate stress-inducing event, your parasympathetic system (the body's stress response)can be amped up forfour hours afterward, flooding your body with adrenaline and cortisol.

One easy way to do this is to utilizemindfulness.

RELATED:How Meditation Yes, Meditation Led Me To True Love

Just by taking a few deep and mindful breaths, you can successfully and quickly distance yourself from the situation and help your body to calm itself down. You can quit being the victim of an amygdala hijack!

The more you practice mindful awareness, the easier it will become to initiate the relaxation response. This is due to the fact that each time you exercise these responses,the more you forge new and beneficiallong-lasting changes in theneuropathwaysof your brain.

Researchers at Harvard utilized MRI technology to find that, when engaging in meditation just 27 minutes per day, both long-term meditators and people with no meditation experience showed decreased the grey matter density in the amygdala, and an increase of grey matteraround the hippocampusthe region of the brain responsible for compassion, self-awarenessand introspection.

A regular meditation practice has even been shown to have an effect on our genes. Research on epigenetics, or gene expression,have shown that it strengthens those genes known to control the stress response, thus making an individual more resilient to stress overall.

This can be seen in extreme cases such as PTSD-triggering events, which recent research has shown that meditation can actually alter the genetic transcription of neurons in areas like the amgydala and hippocampus. This wiring process occurs whether we are aware of it or not, and results in habitual ways of thinking and behaving.

The good news is that one can engage in "self-directed neuroplasticity" by intentionally engaging in mindfulness practices which, with repeated practice, can lead to a rewiring of the neural pathways in the brain for the better.

This change, in combination with the mind-body connection, can alter our entire body and can reduce rates of contracting life-threatening illnesses that may be caused by stress. For example, according to a health intervention study taken over five years among patients at risk for prostate cancer, researchers found that meditationmay even contribute to increasing the telomerelength of our genes, which the study states "is a prognostic marker of aging, disease, and premature morbidity."

So, if you are thinking of trying meditation, stop yourself before booking a flight to a remote hilltop in the Himalayasor purchasingthat expensive meditation cushion online (although they are incredibly comfy). There are many well-founded mindfulness practices you can try, but this is a simple one you can do RIGHT NOW. It only takes a moment.

RELATED:The One Word You Need To Hear When You're About To Lose It, Per Your Zodiac Sign

Brianna Androff is a journalist living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has a special interest in science writing, particularly within the field of Psychology, and has also written content on trending topics, pop culture and astrology.

Originally posted here:

1-Minute Guided Meditation Technique For Fast Stress ...

I love health tech gadgets. But my infatuation typically fades when the novelty wears off (looking at you, Fitbit).

There's one device I've been using for almost three years that has truly changed my life. And the company recently released a newer version with more features.

It's called Muse. It's a meditation sensing device. Muse uses audio feedback to guide you into a super calm, focused state. As you quiet your mind, the feedback wind/weather sounds grows quieter until you hear birds chirp.

The updated device, Muse 2, has added a bunch of new forms of meditation: body movement, heart rate sensing, breath sensing. Each one is better than the last.

Read: I went to the biggest tech show in the world after not going for the past 7 years and the tech I saw was shockingly old news

This device and its accompanying app has taught me how to become truly calm on command, teaching me to go from anxious to settled, still, calm, focused, relaxed and then to sleepy often in less than 10 minutes and sometimes in less than 5.

I not only sleep better, I sleep better when traveling or in noisy conditions. I can also calm myself if I feel panicky which happens when I'm stressed or overtired.

I've been using Muse 2 for a couple of months and I've found a whole new level of mental peace.

Continued here:

Muse 2 meditation device calms my anxiety and helps me ...

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Lultime Meditation opinion you have Survey

Meditation in Kundalini Yoga contains specific, practical tools that carefully and precisely support the mind and guide the body through the use of breath, mantra, mudra, and focus. The range and variety of meditation techniques in the Kundalini Yoga tradition is truly extraordinary. Yogi Bhajan passed on hundreds of meditations tailored to specific applications. There are meditations that reduce stress, work on addictions, increase vitality, and clear chakras, to name a few.While there exist many, many styles and approaches to meditation, what sets this approach to meditation apart is its precision, effectiveness, and practicality.

Meditation is a process...At any time which is peaceful (the best is the early morning time, before the dawn),youll be surprised that in a couple of minutes a lot of thoughts will start coming to youthe X-rated thoughts, the ugly, angry thoughts. If you let those thoughts pass by, this is meditation.All those thoughts that can pass at that moment of your life can never enter your subconscious mind, and they will not bother you again.This procedure of cleansing the mind is called meditation...It takes about three minutes to get those kinds of thoughts. And sometimes they continue to bug you for about half an hour. But,if you physically dont move, the mind becomes still.That is the foundation, or the beginning of the meditative mind.Once your mind starts becoming still and not having any thoughts, you will feel cozy,and that coziness cannot be described even by me. All I can tell you is that it is very comfortable, it is very cozy, and you will want to do it again and again. But in the beginning you cannot do it for a long time. Gradually, as you develop that coziness, this thought-hitting process becomes shorter and shorter.~Yogi Bhajan, 2/21/78

There is a myth that when you sit down you should be able to quiet your mind. The mind generates thousands of thoughts per second. When you sit quietly and turn the focus inward, you become very aware of what is going on in the background of your mind. Distractions are the rule. Just keep going back to the mantra or other points of focus. Do not evaluate or react to the extraneous thoughts. Let them be processed by the mantra. Have patience with yourself.

Meditation can frequently be blissful or very cozy as the meditative mind establishes a place of elevated consciousness. Sometimes meditation can be downright miserable. Meditation is a cleansing process. You may find yourself observing some very unpleasant, ugly thoughts while youre meditating. The important thing is, keep up! The mantras and meditations are doing their job. Youre cleaning out and getting rid of negativity that has been covering up the divine light inside you.

"A person who has the patience to allow the mind to go through its antics while remaining firmly planted, will experience something. That something is different for each individual, but it will be, in some way or another, a reawakening of the self. With this new awareness comes inner change, then outer change."~Shakti Parwha Kaur

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Meditation | 3HO Foundation

The study and practice of meditation is on the rise, where the physical and psychological benefits are applicable to just about anybody.

Meditation and mindfulness go hand in hand to resolve mind body complications and symptoms during your sleeping life and your waking life. But first off, it is important to know the distinction between mindfulness and meditation, and how the two overlap in improving overall mind and body wellbeing within an individual.

What is mindfulness versus meditation?

Mindfulness is an active, daily process of focusing on the present moment and existing within it. You are present by being fully aware of your physical body as well as any thoughts and feelings that happen inside your mind and body.

Mindfulness is the ability to identify each thought as it passes through your mind, where you objectively identify them without judging or criticizing each thought. Mindfulness can be achieved through both mental and physical exercises and routines that strive to improve your mind-body relationship.

Mindfulness and meditation have a mirror-like relationship with each other: mindfulness supports and enhances meditation, and meditation supports and broadens mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice you can use continually through the day, whereas meditation is practiced in specific time intervals.

With mindfulness, the focus is on awareness, whereas with meditation, the goal is to clear your mind of everything. The two go hand in hand however, especially when it comes to helping you sleep. Sleep is a vital function of your body that should not be ignored, where sleep deprivation can lead to a number of problems.

Mindfulness and meditation together help in three major ways with regard to sleep problems:

• Mindfulness and meditation work together to combat stress through retraining your body to elicit the relaxation response instead of fight or flight, which can be brought on by chronic stress.  The high cortisol levels associated with fight or flight makes it impossible to sleep, where mindfulness and meditation practices help reduce these high cortisol levels so your body is able to sleep.
• Mindfulness and meditation strengthen different regions of the brain. Studies show that both disciplines have a direct impact on neural structure and functioning. This impact also reaches the part of the brain associated with REM sleep.
• They together increase melatonin levels as well. Research shows that meditating before bed leads to increased amounts of melatonin, the neurochemical called the ‘sleep hormone,’ which makes sleep possible.

Physical and Psychological Benefits of Meditation

The benefits of mindfulness and meditation are many, besides your sleep quality, where the same physical and psychological benefits that help you sleep also help your waking life.

• Physical benefits include: growing your brain; increasing blood flow to your brain; reducing blood pressure and heart rate; increasing production of serotonin and dopamine; boosting immune system, relaxing your muscles, and slowing the aging process.
• Psychological benefits include: reducing stress induced anxiety and depression; increasing stress resilience; increasing positive emotions; stimulating the prefrontal cortex that helps with present moment awareness; increasing emotional stability and intelligence; increasing learning capacity; increasing empathy and compassion; increasing sense of connection to yourself and others in your life; increasing sense of meaning and purpose; and increasing sociability.

The practice of meditation must be ongoing as part of a daily routine, where the benefits will start to show even immediately but especially over a period of time. You have nothing to lose - give it a shot!

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by: Inner IDEA

Meditation is an approach to training the mind, similar to the way that fitness is an approach to training the body. But many meditation techniques exist so how do you learn how to meditate?

In Buddhist tradition, the word meditation is equivalent to a word like sports in the U.S. Its a family of activities, not a single thing, University of Wisconsin neuroscience lab director Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D., told The New York Times. And different meditation practices require different mental skills.

Its extremely difficult for a beginner to sit for hours and think of nothing or have an empty mind. We have some tools such as a beginner mediation DVD or a brain sensing headband to help you through this process when you are starting out. In general, the easiest way to begin meditating is by focusing on the breath an example of one of the most common approaches to meditation: concentration.

Concentration meditation involves focusing on a single point. This could entail following the breath, repeating a single word or mantra, staring at a candle flame, listening to a repetitive gong, or counting beads on a mala. Since focusing the mind is challenging, a beginner might meditate for only a few minutes and then work up to longer durations.

In this form of meditation, you simply refocus your awareness on the chosen object of attention each time you notice your mind wandering. Rather than pursuing random thoughts, you simply let them go. Through this process, your ability to concentrate improves.

Mindfulness meditation encourages the practitioner to observe wandering thoughts as they drift through the mind. The intention is not to get involved with the thoughts or to judge them, but simply to be aware of each mental note as it arises.

Through mindfulness meditation, you can see how your thoughts and feelings tend to move in particular patterns. Over time, you can become more aware of the human tendency to quickly judge an experience as good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant. With practice, an inner balance develops.

In some schools of meditation, students practice a combination of concentration and mindfulness. Many disciplines call for stillness to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the teacher.

There are various other meditation techniques. For example, a daily meditation practice among Buddhist monks focuses directly on the cultivation of compassion. This involves envisioning negative events and recasting them in a positive light by transforming them through compassion. There are also moving meditation techniques, such as tai chi, qigong, and walking meditation.

If relaxation is not the goal of meditation, it is often a result. In the 1970s, Herbert Benson, MD, a researcher at Harvard University Medical School, coined the term relaxation response" after conducting research on people who practiced transcendental meditation. The relaxation response, in Bensons words, is an opposite, involuntary response that causes a reduction in the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.

Since then, studies on the relaxation response have documented the following short-term benefits to the nervous system:

Contemporary researchers are now exploring whether a consistent meditation practice yields long-term benefits, and noting positive effects on brain and immune function among meditators. Yet its worth repeating that the purpose of meditation is not to achieve benefits. To put it as an Eastern philosopher may say, the goal of meditation is no goal. Its simply to be present.

In Buddhist philosophy, the ultimate benefit of meditation is liberation of the mind from attachment to things it cannot control, such as external circumstances or strong internal emotions. The liberated or enlightened practitioner no longer needlessly follows desires or clings to experiences, but instead maintains a calm mind and sense of inner harmony.

This meditation exercise is an excellent introduction to meditation techniques.

Maintain this meditation practice for two to three minutes to start, and then try it for longer periods.

Maintain this meditation practice for two to three minutes to start, and then try it for longer periods. If youd like to follow along with a Meditation for Beginners DVD, we can help with that.

Continued here:

Meditation 101: Techniques, Benefits, and a ... - Gaiam

Transcendental Meditation (TM) refers to a specific form of silent mantra meditation called the Transcendental Meditation technique,[1] and less commonly to the organizations that constitute the Transcendental Meditation movement.[1][2] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi introduced the TM technique and TM movement in India in the mid-1950s.

The Maharishi taught thousands of people during a series of world tours from 1958 to 1965, expressing his teachings in spiritual and religious terms.[3][4] TM became more popular in the 1960s and 1970s, as the Maharishi shifted to a more technical presentation, and his meditation technique was practiced by celebrities. At this time, he began training TM teachers and created specialized organizations to present TM to specific segments of the population such as business people and students. By the early 2000s, TM had been taught to millions of people, and the worldwide TM organization had grown to include educational programs, health products, and related services.

The TM technique involves the use of a sound called a mantra, and is practiced for 1520 minutes twice per day. It is taught by certified teachers through a standard course of instruction, which costs a fee that varies by country. According to the Transcendental Meditation movement, it is a non-religious method for relaxation, stress reduction, and self-development. The technique has been seen as both religious and non-religious; sociologists, scholars, and a New Jersey judge and court are among those who have expressed views.[4][5][6] The United States Court of Appeals upheld the federal ruling that TM was essentially "religious in nature" and therefore could not be taught in public schools.[7][8]

TM is one of the most widely practiced and researched meditation techniques.[9][10][11] It is not possible to say whether it has any effect on health as the research, as of 2007, is of poor quality.[12][13]

Transcendental Meditation dates its origin back to the Vedic traditions of India.[14] The Transcendental Meditation program and the Transcendental Meditation movement originated with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the organization, and continue beyond his death in 2008. In 1955,[15][16][17] "the Maharishi began publicly teaching a traditional meditation technique"[18] learned from his master Brahmananda Saraswati that he called Transcendental Deep Meditation[19] and later renamed Transcendental Meditation.[20]The Maharishi initiated thousands of people, then developed a TM teacher training program as a way to accelerate the rate of bringing the technique to more people.[20][21] He also inaugurated a series of world tours which promoted Transcendental Meditation.[22] These factors, coupled with endorsements by celebrities who practiced TM and claims that scientific research had validated the technique, helped to popularize TM in the 1960s and 1970s. By the late 2000s, TM had been taught to millions of individuals and the Maharishi was overseeing a large multinational movement.[23] Despite organizational changes and the addition of advanced meditative techniques in the 1970s,[24] the Transcendental Meditation technique has remained relatively unchanged.

Among the first organizations to promote TM were the Spiritual Regeneration Movement and the International Meditation Society. In modern times, the movement has grown to encompass schools and universities that teach the practice,[25] and includes many associated programs based on the Maharishi's interpretation of the Vedic traditions. In the U.S., non-profit organizations included the Students International Meditation Society,[26] AFSCI,[27] World Plan Executive Council, Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, Global Country of World Peace and Maharishi Foundation.[28] The successor to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and leader of the Global Country of World Peace, is Tony Nader.[29][30]

The meditation practice involves the use of a mantra for 1520 minutes twice per day while sitting with the eyes closed. [31][32] It is reported to be one of the most widely practiced,[33][34] and among the most widely researched, meditation techniques,[9][10][11][35] with hundreds of published research studies.[36][37][38] The technique is made available worldwide by certified TM teachers in a seven-step course,[39] and fees vary from country to country.[40][41] Beginning in 1965, the Transcendental Meditation technique has been incorporated into selected schools, universities, corporations, and prison programs in the US, Latin America, Europe, and India. In 1977 a US district court ruled that a curriculum in TM and the Science of Creative Intelligence (SCI) being taught in some New Jersey schools was religious in nature and in violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.[5][42] The technique has since been included in a number of educational and social programs around the world.[43]

The Transcendental Meditation technique has been described as both religious and non-religious, as an aspect of a new religious movement, as rooted in Hinduism,[44][45] and as a non-religious practice for self-development.[46][47][48] The public presentation of the TM technique over its 50-year history has been praised for its high visibility in the mass media and effective global propagation, and criticized for using celebrity and scientific endorsements as a marketing tool. Also, advanced courses supplement the TM technique and include an advanced meditation program called the TM-Sidhi program.[49]

The Transcendental Meditation movement refers to the programs and organizations connected with the Transcendental Meditation technique and founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Transcendental Meditation was first taught in the 1950s in India and has continued since the Maharishi's death in 2008. The organization was estimated to have 900,000 participants worldwide in 1977,[50] a million by the 1980s,[51][52][53] and 5 million in more recent years,[54][55][56][57][58][59][60] including some notable practitioners.

Programs include the Transcendental Meditation technique, an advanced meditation practice called the TM-Sidhi program ("Yogic Flying"), an alternative health care program called Maharishi Ayurveda,[61] and a system of building and architecture called Maharishi Sthapatya Ved.[62][63] The TM movement's past and present media endeavors include a publishing company (MUM Press), a television station (KSCI), a radio station (KHOE), and a satellite television channel (Maharishi Channel). During its 50-year history, its products and services have been offered through a variety of organizations, which are primarily nonprofit and educational. These include the Spiritual Regeneration Movement, the International Meditation Society, World Plan Executive Council, Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, the Global Country of World Peace, and the David Lynch Foundation.

The TM movement also operates a worldwide network of Transcendental Meditation teaching centers, schools, universities, health centers, herbal supplements, solar panel, and home financing companies, plus several TM-centered communities. The global organization is reported to have an estimated net worth of USD 3.5 billion.[64][65] The TM movement has been characterized in a variety of ways and has been called a spiritual movement, a new religious movement,[66][67] a millenarian movement, a world affirming movement,[68] a new social movement,[69] a guru-centered movement,[70] a personal growth movement,[71] a religion, and a cult.[67][72][73][need quotation to verify] Additional sources contend that TM and its movement are not a cult.[74][75][76][77] Participants in TM programs are not required to adopt a belief system; it is practiced by atheists, agnostics and people from a variety of religious affiliations.[78][79][80][81] The organization has also been criticized as well as praised for its public presentation and marketing techniques throughout its 50-year history.

The first studies of the health effects of Transcendental Meditation appeared in the early 1970s.[82] Robert Keith Wallace, the founding president of Maharishi University of Management, published a study in Science in 1970 reporting that TM induced distinct physiologic changes and a novel state of consciousness in practitioners.[83] In contrast, a 1976 study by independent researchers found that TM was biochemically similar to sitting with one's eyes closed.[84] A second 1976 study of five subjects found that TM practitioners spent much of their meditation time napping rather than in the unique "wakeful hypometabolic state" described by Wallace.[85] By 2004 the US government had given more than $20 million to Maharishi University of Management to study the effect of meditation on health.[86]

It is not possible to say whether meditation has any effect on health, as the research is of poor quality,[12][13] and is marred by a high risk for bias due to the connection of researchers to the TM organization and by the selection of subjects with a favorable opinion of TM.[87][88][89] Most independent systematic reviews have not found health benefits for TM exceeding those produced by other relaxation techniques or health education.[12][90][91] A 2013 statement from the American Heart Association said that TM could be considered as a treatment for hypertension, although other interventions such as exercise and device-guided breathing were more effective and better supported by clinical evidence.[92] A 2014 systematic review and meta-analysis funded by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found no evidence that mantra meditation programs such as TM were effective in reducing psychological stress or improving well-being.[93][94] A 2015 systematic review and meta-analysis found that TM may effectively reduce blood pressure compared to a control groups, although the underlying studies may have been biased and further studies with better designs are needed to confirm these results.[95] A 2014 Cochrane review found that it was impossible to draw any conclusions about whether TM is effective in preventing cardiovascular disease, as the scientific literature on TM was limited and at "serious risk of bias".[96]

In the 1960s, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi described a paranormal effect claiming a significant number of individuals (1% of the people in a given area) practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM) could have an effect on the local environment.[97] This hypothetical influence was later termed the Maharishi Effect. With the introduction of the TM-Sidhi program in 1976, the Maharishi proposed that the square root of one percent of the population practicing the TM-Sidhi program, together at the same time and in the same place, would increase "life-supporting trends". This was referred to as the "Extended Maharishi Effect".[98][99] Evidence, which TM practitioners[100] believe supports the existence of the effect, has been said to lack a causal basis.[101] The evidence was said to result from cherry-picked data[102] and the credulity of believers.[101][103]

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Transcendental Meditation - Wikipedia

Kanan Jarrus meditates on Lothal.

Meditation was a mental technique performed by living beings. By meditating, Force-sensitives could reach a deeper state of relaxation, making them easier to connect with the Force with a clear mind.[1] This technique, which consisted of opening a connection to the Force, was something even the eldest of Jedi Masters studied over a lifetime.[2] On the other hand, whereas the Jedi meditated to quiet their minds and connect with the Force, Sith Lords meditated to concentrate their anger, their fear, and their hatred into a pure point of ruthless power within them.[3] As meditation was to have a stronger and more direct connection with the Force, it could sometimes affecting one's surroundings without the practitioner's conscious control, usually causing surrounding objects, or even the practitioner themselves to levitate. [4][5]

The basics of Jedi meditation were to focus on whatever emotions were uppermost in one's mind, to be honest with oneself about the feelings one experienced and their effects. Then, one was to let each emotion gothe goal being to make of oneself an empty vessel that the Force would be able to fill.[2]

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Meditation | Wookieepedia | FANDOM powered by Wikia

The Book of Mormon teaches that all are alike unto God, including black and white, bond and free, male and female (2Nephi 26:33). Throughout the history of the Church, people of every race and ethnicity in many countries have been baptized and have lived as faithful members of the Church. During Joseph Smiths lifetime, a few black male members of the Church were ordained to the priesthood. Early in its history, Church leaders stopped conferring the priesthood on black males of African descent. Church records offer no clear insights into the origins of this practice. Church leaders believed that a revelation from God was needed to alter this practice and prayerfully sought guidance. The revelation came to Church President SpencerW. Kimball and was affirmed to other Church leaders in the Salt Lake Temple on June 1, 1978. The revelation removed all restrictions with regard to race that once applied to the priesthood.

On September 30, 1978, at the 148th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the following was presented by President N.Eldon Tanner, First Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church:

In early June of this year, the First Presidency announced that a revelation had been received by President SpencerW. Kimball extending priesthood and temple blessings to all worthy male members of the Church. President Kimball has asked that I advise the conference that after he had received this revelation, which came to him after extended meditation and prayer in the sacred rooms of the holy temple, he presented it to his counselors, who accepted it and approved it. It was then presented to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who unanimously approved it, and was subsequently presented to all other General Authorities, who likewise approved it unanimously.

President Kimball has asked that I now read this letter:

To all general and local priesthood officers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world:

Dear Brethren:

As we have witnessed the expansion of the work of the Lord over the earth, we have been grateful that people of many nations have responded to the message of the restored gospel, and have joined the Church in ever-increasing numbers. This, in turn, has inspired us with a desire to extend to every worthy member of the Church all of the privileges and blessings which the gospel affords.

Aware of the promises made by the prophets and presidents of the Church who have preceded us that at some time, in Gods eternal plan, all of our brethren who are worthy may receive the priesthood, and witnessing the faithfulness of those from whom the priesthood has been withheld, we have pleaded long and earnestly in behalf of these, our faithful brethren, spending many hours in the Upper Room of the Temple supplicating the Lord for divine guidance.

He has heard our prayers, and by revelation has confirmed that the long-promised day has come when every faithful, worthy man in the Church may receive the holy priesthood, with power to exercise its divine authority, and enjoy with his loved ones every blessing that flows therefrom, including the blessings of the temple. Accordingly, all worthy male members of the Church may be ordained to the priesthood without regard for race or color. Priesthood leaders are instructed to follow the policy of carefully interviewing all candidates for ordination to either the Aaronic or the Melchizedek Priesthood to insure that they meet the established standards for worthiness.

We declare with soberness that the Lord has now made known his will for the blessing of all his children throughout the earth who will hearken to the voice of his authorized servants, and prepare themselves to receive every blessing of the gospel.

Sincerely yours,

SpencerW. Kimball

N.Eldon Tanner

MarionG. Romney

The First Presidency

Recognizing SpencerW. Kimball as the prophet, seer, and revelator, and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it is proposed that we as a constituent assembly accept this revelation as the word and will of the Lord. All in favor please signify by raising your right hand. Any opposed by the same sign.

The vote to sustain the foregoing motion was unanimous in the affirmative.

Salt Lake City, Utah, September 30, 1978.

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Official Declaration 2 - lds.org