One of my favorite meditations

A class I taught yesterday at the Center for Relaxation and Healing in Plainsboro, NJ, centered on one of my favorite meditations to share with people.  It is from the Kabbalistic tradition and is 200 years old.  

My first exposure to this particular meditation came 15 years ago.  Rabbi David Cooper included it in his book, God is a Verb:  Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism.  I encountered it again perhaps seven years ago when Rabbi Laibl Wolf, a fellow Australian, was teaching a class in Yardley, PA.

The meditation is named the Archangel meditation and is attributed to Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.  It is a practice that brings comfort and peace to those who work with it. 

Archangels represent attributes or qualities of Divinity.  They have no will of their own and exist to carry out God's instructions.  According to Kabbalistic thought, when a human calls upon an angel, that angel (attribute) must appear. 

The process of the meditation is to call upon the four primary Archangels one at a time.  So we place the qualites of loving-kindness, strength, healing and Divine light around us. The last step is to allow ourselves to be surrounded by Divine femine presence. 

The people with whom I share this meditation often report vivid experiences.  This practice is not passive and yet we have the sense of being held in deep peace and nurturance.

The task of preparing material for the class brought delight and fascination as I delved more deeply into the background of the meditation than I had before.  My knowledge was expanded and I believe this translated into a more rich experience for my students who were certainly enthusiastic in their feedback after the class.

Now to prepare more classes.

The power of mindfulness meditation

Can I say too much about the benefits of meditation?  Of course.  But it's been quite while so I remind readers that meditation is really good for us. 

The claims are heady and supported by science.  So you can believe me when I say that regular mindfulness meditation improves cognition (so students, you'll get better grades), reduces the effects of stress on the body, helps us handles stress, reduces pain perception, improves focus, and helps us regulate our emotional responses.  Believe it or not, regular meditation practice measurably changes our brain within 8 weeks of daily practice.

Many people are familiar with the term mindfulness meditation but don't know what it is exactly.  We can define it as the act of paying attention with no judgement to one's experience in the moment.  And like a new food, we can't know what it is like until we try it.  And like a nutritious food, it is very good for us.

Getting started with mindfulness meditation takes just a few minutes.  That's the easy part.  Staying with it is difficult.  It's gets difficult because we think we are not doing it well, or not doing it properly.  It's hard.

Yes, it's hard but it's also easy.  It's gets easy when we are able to let go of our judgements about ourselves and how well or how badly we are meditating.  So we aim to simply allow the experience to be as it is.  And even experienced meditators tell you that they struggle with meditation. 

The point of meditation is not to do it well.  The point of meditation is to do it.

Here's a video that details an innovative mindfulness meditation program created for the students at York University in Canada called the Healthy Student Initiative.

Wellness Center opens in Kendall Park, NJ

Central New Jersey's newest Wellness Center is now open in Kendall Park.

The Sand Hills Community Wellness Center has an unusual genesis as it is the vision of Community Presbyterian Church of the Sand Hills in Kendall Park. 

The Wellness Center's mission is to provide programs and services that enhance the growth of body, mind and spirit to the community.

Already the schedule is filling up with 18 classes a week in yoga, tai chi, Qigong and meditation.  Additionally, weekly Reiki share and healing circle is offered.  Monthly group sessions in Jin Shin Jyutsu, Family Constellations, sound therapy, full moon sound healing and Argentine Tango round out the opportunities for learning and experiencing in a group setting.

Practitioners also offer individual massage and Reiki sessions by appointment.

Visit Sand Hills Community Wellness Center for more information.