Meditating

For reasons from personal to silly I wanted to start meditating. A friend recommended Herbert Benson’s “The Relaxation Response”. In it Dr. Benson begins by telling how he began looking into meditation as a way to reduce anxiety in his patients. He then goes on to give some scientific backing for the practice and a survey of a variety of traditions that employ meditation. If this type of information interests you buy the book. It’s kind of boring so, though it’s short, it’s kind of a tough read.

I’ve given my copy to a friend that could use some stress relief so I can’t give you Benson’s 4 tips for eliciting the relaxation response.

But…

I did find a link to the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital. After looking around a bit I found a page that teaches you how to elicit the relaxation response. I haven’t found the page where you can buy the red pill, but I’ll post when I do.

Try it. Buy the book or just check out the above links. I’m going on 4-5 weeks of meditating almost daily. I’ve enjoyed the practice and it’s been really easy to fit into my mornings. Please note, this isn’t about pseudo-mystical auras, chakras, or special energy. I like to see it as practicing to get a little more control over my own personal hardware and software.