EXERCISE 16 - Changing thought patterns

You have noticed by now that stray thoughts interrupt you each time you are meditating. This is inevitable. Now it is time to develop a particular line of thoughts to think about. You can consciously choose one of these when you are meditating, when you are working, or when you are feeling stress.

1. Sit and relax. Take a few deep breaths.
2. Recall a place that you enjoy visiting. Consider its colors, sounds, and smells. Notice how you relax more deeply as you think of this place. Mountain meadows are one of my favorites.
3. Put that place on your written list.
4. Recall a melody that you particularly like. It can be anything; Bach or the Beatles, even the loudest music may help you relax if it is something you really enjoy.
5. Put that melody on your list.
6. Imagine a range of colors. Choose one that feels peaceful to you, and add that to your list. I like the violet color that I see when alpha brain waves are present.
7. Remember a poem, a quotation, or words of encouragement—even the fortune you found in your last fortune cookie. Add that to the list. "Stay in the flow" works well for me.
8. Write the word "breathe" on the list too.
9. Write up your list on a small card and carry it in your wallet or purse. Put it where you keep your paper money. That way it will turn up frequently to remind you of things that are relaxing.

Whenever you read the items on your list, you will be taking a brief moment to enter a state of relaxation. As you practice, you can do this more easily. You will find that those moments are like a breath of fresh air. And speaking of breath, one or two deep breaths are enough to significantly alter your state of mind. So simple!

We think of consciousness as being a relatively static state of mind, when in fact we enter an altered state of consciousness on a moment-to-moment basis. The flexibility of mental states is what allows us to move from one task to another very easily. Because we can change our minds so easily, meditation can help us use this capacity to make positive changes in our lives.

How Much to Meditate

Previous chapters have shown that you don't need to meditate for hours at a time to achieve real benefits. Let's look at the evidence of the benefits.
Cary Barbot has written:

Recent research indicates that meditating brings about dramatic effects in as little as a 10-minute session. Several studies have demonstrated that subjects who meditated for a short time showed increased alpha waves (the relaxed brain waves) and decreased anxiety and depression.

In "Why Meditate?" I mentioned that short amounts of time are beneficial, and that you don't need to set aside hours each day. Now research documents that even ten minutes can prove very beneficial.
Ten minutes a day, according to many meditation teachers, is far more beneficial than an hour and ten minutes once a week. 

We can set aside ten minutes a day. That is less than the average break time you get at work, for example, and a meditation break has healthy advantages.

Cary Barbor again:

"I was approached by young practitioners of transcendental meditation who asked me to monitor their blood pressure . . . what we found was astonishing. Through the simple act of changing their thought patterns, the subjects experienced decreases in their metabolism, breathing rate and brain wave frequency. These changes appeared to be the opposite of the commonly known "fight or flight" response, and I called it the "relaxation response."

 This study included a control period during which the subjects simply sat quietly, but were not meditating. The results suggest that by learning to meditate, you can effectively change your body's response to events. The "fight or flight" response triggers a surge of adrenaline, speeds the heart rate, and may prepare the blood to clot more readily. A continued, or prolonged "fight or flight" response can lead to cardiovascular stress and disease. The "relaxation response" has the reverse physical result, and is shown to reduce indicators of heart disease.