Category Archive: Stillness

Attention and Awareness

The Monkey in Our Mind The aspect of mind we’re working with in meditation is our meddlesome, hyperactive and mischievous attention – the part of the mind we were nagged about all through childhood, all… Continue reading

Rhythm of Breathing Affects Memory and Fear

NEUROSCIENCE NEWS DECEMBER 7, 2016Summary: A new study reports the rhythm of your breathing can influence neural activity that enhances memory recall and emotional judgement.  Source: Northwestern University. Breathing is not just for oxygen;… Continue reading

Meditating From the Source

A while ago I was doing an online session with a meditator, and we were talking generally about what it is to practice meditation, and how difficult it can be to maintain a… Continue reading

The Brain Changes Itself

Meditation is not a panacea or any kind of quick fix. Nor is it simply a relaxation exercise, as it’s often marketed. When we meditate, we’re training the mind to be more efficient.… Continue reading

Depression: Is it The Immune System?

  From The Age News – originally from The London Telegraph One in 10 of us will experience depression at some point. Just what causes this highly debilitating disease, and the best way to treat… Continue reading

Meditation the Journey

” The things that trouble our spirits are within us already. In meditation, we must face them, accept them, and set them aside one by one. Cristopher Bennett I was thumbing through a popular tabloid news… Continue reading

Mindfulness and Habits

Roger – I meditate every day and I think it helps my life. But I’m told by my teacher I should be mindful as well as meditate, and I’m not that sure about… Continue reading

The Breath, Only the Breath.

In my audio course, and in some of the posts I’ve written for this blog, I’ve spoken at various times about emotions and pain during meditation, and described methods for dealing with these… Continue reading

Fail Gladly to Succeed

Just found this wonderful interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates on the writing process, in which he says: “I always consider the entire process about failure …” Like with any skill, I also believe this to… Continue reading

Meditation – Gym for the Mind

  Lakshmi commented: “I am new to meditation and I went in with the delusion that at the end of the 20 minute I will emerge with a halo around my head and… Continue reading

Love Your Pain!!

Most people, as they go through the process of learning how to meditate, pass through a number of stages, some pleasant, some unpleasant. And my view is, no matter whether pleasure or pain,… Continue reading

Making Friends with the Bird

Hi Roger, I have gotten a lot out of your audio course, especially the exercises which I use most days, and I’ve had many peaceful moments meditating. And this is what provokes my… Continue reading

Neuroplasticity and Meditation

Neuroplasticity is a subject very pertinent to meditation – particularly meditation as consistent practice. Because rest assured, for all the difficulties you might experience as you meditate, and no matter how hopeless you… Continue reading

Facing What Disturbs You

  Following is a question concerning an unusual condition that keeps repeating each time Jacques meditates: “Hi Roger, I liked your book but I got a big problem meditating. I have given it… Continue reading

Beginning To Meditate

Recently I sent out an email to all the people who bought the Practical Meditation Audio Course, asking them if they had any questions, so i could post my replies for everybody. Since… Continue reading

Riding the Storm During Meditation

In the early ‘80’s a friend of mine began practicing a popular form of meditation being propagated by a famous Indian guru and his followers. This group had centers all over the world… Continue reading

Becoming Mindful

  “Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep… Continue reading

Feeling Before Thinking – Always

As much as I’ve covered this subject in numerous posts, people still consider compulsive thinking to be the main obstacle when they meditate. And its completely understandable. After all, in a culture such… Continue reading

Letting Go of the Void

MEDITATION QUESTION FROM AUDREY:I had only been meditating for a short while before I entered “the void”. I was meditating in my back yard one night and I guess you could say that… Continue reading

A Little More

I was looking through a meditation journal from one of my retreats in Thailand the other day and I found something that made me smile – a vibrant little note scrawled in my… Continue reading

Make Friends With Yourself

So, let’s go back to basics. Meditation is not a big deal. All we’re doing is learning to sit still, and be still, mentally and physically, without it making us anxious. We’re teaching ourselves to… Continue reading

Don’t Think about Meditation – Do It.

A question came up from a previous post, and It is such a good question, I thought I’d make it into a new post. (Thank you Peter)” …I have some questions surrounding the… Continue reading

Stillness is Not Stopping

A lot of people have a mistaken view that when they meditate, in being still, everything should stop – thinking, sensations – everything. They have the impression that stillness is a state in which… Continue reading