Beginning Meditation

There is no better introduction to the subject of Meditation and a clear guidance for your personal direction of thoughts, than the beautiful words of Longfellow

Let us, then, labor for an inward stillness, An inward stillness and an inner healing; That perfect silence where the lips and heart Are still, and we no longer entertain Our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions, But God alone speaks in us, and we wait, In singleness of heart that we may know His will, and in the silence of our spirits, That we may do His will, and do that only!" Longfellow

When we settle down to relax following effort or activity, it is natural that we want to be comfortable physically. We tend to collapse into an easy chair, to possibly doze off possibly enjoy a nice doze for a minute or twoor many!. However, during this period, if we do go to sleep in order to refresh ourselves, we are unconscious. This is not the same as the state of meditation, which is a conscious and pleasurable refreshment experience.

As a beginner, if we wish to practice the simplest meditation we should choose a time of privacy when we know there will not be any interruption for half and hour or so. It is important to ensure there will be no sudden sound or disturbance.

The following is to serve as a simple guide until you feel confident and allow your own intuition to take over. There is no exact technique that is either right or wrong, so feel relaxed in your approach.

Be seated in a comfortable but upright position with hands relaxed in your lap or resting on your thighs if you are in a hard backed chair. Cross legged positions as usually assumed by Yoga students may be better, but most people have to work hard through exercise to allow their limbs to be comfortable enough to allow the mind to be free when in this position. So observe the two most important factors, these being physical comfort and an erect spinal posture.

The eyes are then closed gently. It usually takes a few minutes to take stock of how you feel. You may become aware of sensations, sounds, feelings, light and shade, movement of the air and so on at first before settling down and able to focus upon your breathing.

Simply inhale through the nose for a count of four, and then exhale to the same count. Keep this rhythm going for a few minutes until you feel you can increase the count to six which is to be continued for a few minutes, increasing the count gradually as your feel inclined.

Then, still with eyes closed, focus upon what you see in front of your eyes on the screen of the mind. Allow impressions, thoughts, and images to pass across the screen and allow any ideas that your subconscious mind throws up for your attention, to have their say.

Then when your inside world begins to quieten down and you perhaps begin to wonder what you should be thinking about, select a quote, or a special word or phrase, poem or prayer that appeals to you and repeat it, over and over until you can concentrate fully upon it. Usually this is continued for some minutes until your mind begins to tire. Then stop.

Continue to sit still. Make no effort to control how you think or feel, just sit.

This is the beginning of the internal adventure into a more profound state of awareness which happens naturally as you regularly practice enjoying the state of just being.

Many find that the physical stillness of the body in contrast to the normal activity of the day is in itself relaxing. Some find these quiet moments filled with interesting feelings, thoughts or psychic experiences. Others are attracted to the practice of meditation as a spiritual experience.

Remember, meditation is a natural practice that allows us to feel peaceful, and refreshed. It is best not to influence your first introduction to it by having any preconceived ideas about how you think you should feel, what you hope to experience and so on, because it is your own private venturing into your inner nature and will bring you unique experiences which are yours alone.

Sally Janssen is one of the best known Yoga teachers in australia, and is a former President of the International Yoga teachers Association. She runs an informational website that deals with the very spirit of traditional Yoga. To benefit from her extensive knowledge be sure to visit her site at http://www.classical-yoga.com

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Have You Got The Balls For The Job?

You are hitting the golf ball further than you ever have, or you will be if you are playing with the correct driver loft and golf ball for your swing. Frankly, this is a good thing. I want to see us all enjoying our golf more.

In 1995 on the pga tour, the average driving distance was 265 yards, with big hitters like john Daly still not averaging past 300 yards. Now the tour average is 290 yards and the big hitters are topping 320 yards on AVERAGE.

While the big headed, high MOI, hot COR 460cc geometric Drivers grab all the attention, the golf ball and the white-coated engineers concerned with ball flight, launch angles and spin rates dont seem to get enough publicity.

But pga tour stats are one thing. Think about your game. Do you boom the driver further today than you did in 1997 or 2000? Even several years older, you should.

And, given that you dont have to buy new equipment to achieve some of the improvements, and just thinking about your golf ball offers you the chance of extra yards, shorter approach shots and more fun; I cant help thinking that I should be talking to more of you about your golf balls.

Standing on the tee this weekend, look at your golf ball and think about it.

The srixon AD333 was designed with a very specific dimple layout to improve aerodynamics and increase the hang time of the golf ball.

For great advice on all aspects of your game visit your local Foremost pga Golf professional.

James Langmead pga Qualified Golf professional and former callaway club fitter of the year http://www.thegolfshoponline.co.uk

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