Soaring Solo 2010

[Gardener]

wii,
Went to yoga only twice but absolutely love it. There are so many different kinds of yoga yet I have no idea what kind this is. It's free with my gym membership, is rather fast-paced (posture after posture after posture) yet I love it. The teacher's Namaste/winding down talk at the end which, though only a minute or so long, she repeats word for word a second time when she's finished is so affirming and uplifting. I've exercised for years. Stretched for years (The Whartons' Method). Meditated for years. This just seems to bring them all together. And has made me aware that though my arms, legs, shoulders, back, chest, etc., are flexible and strong, my core (abs, hips, lower back) are not.

Okay, meditation: While I am a religious man, I have practiced a non-religious/non-spiritual method of meditation known as The Silva Method (www.silvalifesystem.com) for over twenty years. Like most, they started small, simply, with something that worked, but have since become an industry, a Brand. They espouse E.S.P., intuition, and manifestation along with their simple mind/body control, mind/body quieting system known as The Centering Exercise.

They were one of the first (pre-E.E.G., I believe) to differentiate - and tap into - the electrical vibrations and pulses of brainwaves in different states (Alpha, Beta, Delta, Theta, etc.).

I have used The Centering Exercise for years on an old, almost worn-out cassette tape. It takes about twenty-five minutes. Though with practice and repetition (and I've had much), one can invoke these states and results instantly with a word ("relax") or a number ("one," "two," "three").

I am just now beginning to look into their Manifestation exercises. You can download The Centering Exercise for free from their website, which I recently did if only to hear a different voice than the one I've been hearing on my audiocassette for years. They will, however, bomb you with spammail (some of which is good, free reading) once you do so.

Another recent addition has been that of Dr. Jeffrey Thompson's CDs (www.neuroacoustic.com). Same theory of different electrical brainwave pulses/cycles but acoustically induced/enhanced. I came across him and one of his "passive" Cds, Healing Mind System 2.0 last year about four months into my sitch. It's passive in that you do nothing: just put it on in the background.

All I can tell you is that within 10 days or so, something...happened. My mind slowed. Became more peaceful. The "chatter" slowed.

I've since bought several of his more "active" CDs to be used during mindful meditation. All different. All tappimg into/inducing different levels and results.

All good. All meditation is a journey, even if just one into still-ness.

There ya go, wii: you asked two simple questions and, not surprisingly, got two Gardener verbose diatribes!