KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

by Heather Tick, M.D.

Meditation is [a powerful] antidote to the harmful effects of stress. It changes your body chemistry and brings your body rhythms into sync with one another. It can lower your levels of stress hormones, decrease excessive muscle tension, normalize blood pressure, reduce anxiety, and increase pain tolerance. The particular practice called mindfulness-based stress reduction is based on Buddhist meditation techniques and has been studied and made popular by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Research has shown it to be a powerful technique with benefits for patients with chronic pain and anxiety.

There are many different types of meditation. Some use concentration: you focus your attention on only one thing, such as a sound or mantra. Some employ mindfulness: you quiet your mind by excluding outside thoughts and plans, and you focus on the awareness of everything you are experiencing in that moment and from moment to moment. People think of meditation as something they have to sit still for. That appeals to some, but others just don't have the time or get bored. Some forms of meditation involve stillness and some involve movement. The real meditation, says Kabat-Zinn, is how you live your life.

You can practice using a variety of things: your breath, eating a meal, going for a walk, or a series of movements (as in yoga, qi gong, and tai chi). Any moment in your life can become mindful if you clear your mind of the daily clutter and attend to it: the look on a child's face, the fragrance of a flower, the taste of a meal...

Mindfulness Meditation

Sit in a comfortable position, either cross-legged on the floor (use pillows to prop up your knees if you need to) or in a chair. Rest your hands comfortably on your knees and take a few deep, cleansing breaths. Close your eyes to limit distraction. Focus on your breathing: breathe in...breathe out.

You may notice that your mind is wandering and thinking about the office or the next chore you must do. Just acknowledge the thought and bring yourself back to focusing on your breathing. Each time your mind wanders, bring it back to your breathing, without judgment.

Mindfulness is about being rather than about doing. Do this for ten minutes each day.

Walking Meditation

This is one of my favorites because it combines two things I love to do. You don't have to walk very far. Wear comfortable clothes and shoes.

As you step, pay attention to the feeling in your feet as you place your heels on the ground and then roll toward your toes. Your weight shifts, and you are about to put your other foot to the ground and take the next step. Just observe the sensations in your feet, ankles, legs, and hips, and up through your body.

Are you swinging your arms? What do they feel like? How does the air feel on your face? Is there a breeze? What can you see? People, flowers, the horizon? Are there noises? Loud ones, like cars and voices? Soft ones, like the air as you brush past? The sound of your footsteps? Your breath?

When thoughts of your to-do list come to mind, just acknowledge them and then bring your attention back to your walk.

Eating Meditation

Food tastes better when you don't eat quickly — when you give your taste buds a chance to really experience the food. When my three children were young, I used to inhale my meals. Mealtime was so rushed that I didn't think I would get to eat if I ate slowly. If I could change that part of history, I would. It was not good for my health, my weight, or my children. I set a bad example for them, and now when I nag them to eat more slowly, they point and say I am a hypocrite. I am trying to eat as many meals as I can mindfully, and I have slowed down my overall pace of eating. I find I enjoy the food more and am satisfied with smaller portions.

Try to choose one meal each day during which you eat mindfully. Take your plate of food and sit down comfortably. Take a moment to look at the colors of the food on your plate. Then smell the aromas of the food. Try to distinguish as many different aromas or just enjoy the blend of them. Take a forkful of food and, before you put it into your mouth, hold it close to your mouth and see if you can already taste it. Then slowly put it in your mouth and feel the texture.

Begin to chew slowly. You will feel digestive enzymes being released along with saliva to help you digest your food. Chew for twice as long as you ordinarily would. Then swallow and wait a moment before you decide which morsel of food you will pick up next.

Choose a different part of the meal, if there is more than one type of food on your plate. Notice the different aromas, textures, and tastes, and continue eating this way until you are full. Then ask yourself, How did it feel to eat this way? Did it change your attitude to the food?

I recently heard of a woman who used to gobble a fast-food burger and fries each lunchtime. After learning about mindful eating, she ate one of those lunches mindfully. After that, she stopped eating fast food because she no longer liked the aroma, texture, and taste, which all seemed acceptable when she used to gobble it down.

Gratitude Meditation

Focusing on gratitude allows you to open your mind to those things in your life that are good. We all have something to be grateful for: waking up to a new day, a beautiful sunset (or cloud formation if you live in Seattle), having relatives or friends who have touched us, perceiving the beauty of a flower, experiencing the companionship of a pet. In a psychology study, each week for ten weeks, people wrote down five things they were grateful for. They were compared to two other groups, one whose members wrote down five burdens from the week, and another whose members simply listed five events. The gratitude group became 25 percent happier than either of the other groups. Perhaps gratitude moves us outside of our ego or makes us feel connected. Whatever the reason, it is a good practice.

Gratitude meditation is easy. As you fall asleep each night, review five things you are grateful for. You can combine this with a relaxing breathing exercise or one of the other meditations. Be prepared to be happier over time. Meditation practices are one way people feel connected to something larger than themselves and appreciate the spiritual aspects of their lives. Many people find that the experience of, and connection to, the mysterious, the sacred, that which is beyond their everyday experience, helps keep their day-to-day stresses in perspective.

Dr. Heather Tick is the author of Holistic Pain Relief and has been an integrative medical practitioner for over 20 years. A sought-after speaker, she lives in Seattle and works at the University of Washington, where she is the first Gunn-Loke Endowed Professor for Integrative Pain Medicine. Visit her online at heathertickmd.com.
Adapted from the book Holistic Pain Relief ©2013 by Dr. Heather Tick. Published with permission of New World Library.

My mother-in-law passed away at home. She was only 41 when she died from cancer. At the exact moment she left us, the lights went out. They were only out for about a minute or two. We all believe she didn't want us to watch her go so she turned the lights out for us. Is this possible or are we just being sentimental? There weren't any power outages in our area at the time, and no one could have flipped any switch because it was the entire house that went dark.

Julia

Susyn:

When people transition from a physical form to a spiritual one, as happened when your mother-in-law passed away, they will often draw on electro-magnetic fields to help themselves cross over. This would explain why all the lights in the home went out for a few minutes upon her passing.

People have reported this type of phenomenon as well as clocks stopping at the time of death or being suddenly awakened at the exact moment of someoneís passing even if the person passing was miles away.

Most paranormal researchers agree that for spirits to manifest, they must draw upon energy sources nearby to make their presence known. Along with electrical power sources, batteries can be drained, devices can mysteriously turn off, and all the warmth in the atmosphere can disappear. These same things can happen when one is in the process of moving out of the physical body and on to the next plane of existence.

Because these synchronicities happen so often, it seems that people who are passing over often have a higher spiritual awareness of what is going on, and can either consciously or unconsciously send a special message to loved ones who are left behind. While it's possible that your mother-in-law did not want anyone to witness her cross over, it is more likely that she was simply using all the energy available to her to make this transition.

As we become more aware of the spiritual mysteries of life, certain patterns become evident. If you research this a bit more, you may also discover other signs or events that suggest your mother-in-law knew that her time was near. Statements that she made a few weeks prior to her passing or activities she engaged in could also give hints that she was preparing to pass over.

Now that your mother-in-law resides in the spirit world, she may use this same phenomenon to let you know when she is near. If lights flash or the power goes out for a short time for no apparent reason, she may be trying to get your attention.

You may also be able to contact her through a channeling session. When you would like to connect with her, begin a meditation session and after a few minutes, flash the lights off and on or blow out burning candles and then relight them. This will be a special way you can signal to her.

With some practice, you should be able to feel her presence near you. This may also open the door to a conversation with her so you can affirm that she is doing well and watching over you from a higher plane of existence.

*****

Mata:

If you research the term deathbed phenomena, you'll learn that all sorts of wonderful things can happen during the special moments when a person is in the process of leaving this world.

Perhaps the most common is for the dying to report visits from loved ones who have already died. They may suddenly become very alert and stare into what seems to be empty space. They may talk to people no one else can see or describe the presence and appearance of departed loved ones.

Usually they indicate that these spirits have come to comfort them and help them cross over to the other side. In many cases, at least some of the living people present have also seen these spirits or seen lights or other strange phenomena where the spirits are supposed to be.

Often the dying will suddenly become very conscious and alert even after being in a coma for an extended period of time. It is as though they come back to this world for those last few moments so that they can bid the living goodbye.

Electrical phenomena are very common surrounding the moment of death. Many families and hospice workers have reported clocks stopping at the exact moment of death or lights flickering and going out as the last breath is expelled. Some have even seen a misty shape leaving the body at that time. Often these electrical devices will begin working fine again some time later for no apparent reason.

There have been cases that involve cell phones, television, computers, cameras, and all sorts of other equipment that suddenly turn on or off or cease to function at the moment that someone dies, only to begin working again some time later. As the same phenomena can be seen with equipment when spirits are trying to communicate with us, it may be that the dying are drawing upon the electrical energy around them in order to transition or in an effort to give us some sign or message.

If you all feel that she purposefully knocked the power out so that you wouldn't witness her final transition, I think it's wise to trust that intuition. It may be that she was trying to distract you from that painful moment while at the same time giving you a fascinating sign to boost your faith in the afterlife.

I think it's wonderful that your whole family was able to witness the power going out. Too often amazing deathbed phenomena are only experienced by individuals who are alone with the dying, and are so subjective in nature that after some time, they begin to wonder if their minds were playing tricks on them.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.