Enhancing Your Life With Meditation Datuk Dr. Victor Wee

What is Meditation? Mental cultivation by bringing the mind to one-pointedness Focusing the mind on a suitable meditation object for some time without wandering

Most Dynamic Force A single thought can save or destroy the world No enemy can harm us more than our thoughts of craving, hatred and jealousy Mastering our mind is the key to self mastery

Settling Murky Water When the sediments of murky water settle down, the light shines right through When the mental defilements settle down, there is clarity and peace

Two Analogies A magnifying glass A hen hatching its eggs

Why Meditation? To know the mind To shape the mind To free the mind

Know the Mind So near to us and yet is so unknown Gain a deeper understanding of ourselves at the experiential level Our habits, compulsive tendencies and reactive nature The nature of positive and negative mental energies Why we are what we are

Shape the Mind So unwieldy and obstinate, and yet may turn so pliant Taming our monkey mind Bringing an integration of our mind, body and emotions Making it agile, focused, and alert

Free the Mind In bondage all over, and yet may win freedom here and now Developing wisdom and understanding into life Becoming creative rather than reactive Better mastery over our life

Four Basic Elements Quiet environment Meditation object Passive observer mental attitude Comfortable position

Misinterpretation of Meditation Making the mind go blank Sitting and doing nothing Going into some kind of trance or self- hypnosis Sitting quietly and thinking about things

Misuse of Meditation Hoping to gain psychic powers Using it with bad intentions

Two Approaches Samathatranquil meditation that leads to deeper levels of calmness Vipassanainsight meditation that leads to clear understanding of the nature of phenomena

Samatha Meditation Objects Many objects have been used for meditation, such as prayer, mantra, sound, colours, etc. depending on tradition, teacher, and student Two useful techniques: Awareness of breathing (anapana sati) Cultivation of loving kindness (metta)

Vipassana Meditation Objects Mindfulness of body, feelings/sensations, mental states and mental objects Instructions given in the Satipatthana Sutta or Discourse for the Establishment of Mindfulness Vipassana meditation systems include zen, Mahasi Sayadaw, and Goenka

Short Practice Awareness Metta

Benefits of Meditation

Achieve Better Health Achieve deeper level of relaxation Overcome stress Reduce blood pressure Reduce occurrence of pyschosomatic diseases, e.g. migraine, ulcers, cancer

Increase Personal Effectiveness Increase learning power Increase job effectiveness Increase creativity and self-confidence

Improve the Sense of Wholeness Achieve peace and happiness Better sense of integration Living life more fully Greater alertness and a sense of being

Scientific Research Herbert Benson, MD. Harvard Medical School Keith Wallace, UCLA Archie K. Wilson Kasamatsu and Hirai, Univ. of Tokyo Thorndike Memorial Laboratory, Harvard Beth Israel Hospital, Boston

Stress Increasing numbers of people at younger ages are suffering from high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes All of us must deal with our own emotional upset and tension caused by the everyday pressure of living

Fight or Flight Response Area of hypothalamus stimulated Marked increase of blood flow to muscle Increased heart rate and blood pressure Sweating and increased breath rate Increased sympathetic nervous system activity Increase body metabolism

Relaxation Response Area of hypothalamus stimulated Decreased breath rate Decrease blood flow to muscle Decrease heart rate and blood pressure Decreased sympathetic nervous system activity Decrease body metabolism

Meditation VS Sleep

Decline in Blood Lactate BeforeDuringAfter

Physiologic Changes of Meditation Oxygen consumptionDecreases Respiratory rateDecreases Heart rateDecreases Alpha rateIncreases Blood pressureDecreases

Conclusion Meditation has been used in the religious traditions of both East and West The peace and happiness derived from meditation is a natural gift that anyone can turn on and use Technique can be used without religious labels