Meditation May Help Curb Smoking Habits, New Study Shows

Smokers actually smoked less and had increased brain activity in regions associated with self-control after a few hours of meditation, according to a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an article in the LA Times reported. And many didn’t even realize their behavior had changed!

Researchers from a number of institutions recruited 60 college students, including 27 smokers. Half learned a form of meditation called integrative body-mind training, or IBMT, and practiced for five hours over a two-week period. This method of meditation involves relaxing the whole body and remaining “crisply focused on the present moment,” said University of Oregon psychologist Michael Posner, who is a coauthor of the study.

The remaining participants followed the same schedule, but practiced relaxation therapy rather then meditation. This involved periodically concentrating on different parts of the body, the LA Times stated.

The Results
Since cigarette smoke contains high levels of carbon monoxide, scientists measured how much carbon monoxide subjects exhaled to determine how much they smoked before and after the two-week training session.

Smokers in the meditation group smoked 60 percent less at the end of the training, compared to the smoking habits of the relaxation therapy group, which showed little change, the report stated.

Additionally, study participants answered a questionnaire gauging their craving levels, and responses revealed a significant decrease in craving for the meditation group, but not in the relaxation therapy group, according to the report.

 

Why the Law of Attraction Works Every Time

By Sherry Winn

Why should you believe in the law of attraction? After all, you didn’t read about it in school textbooks when you were taught all the important laws of the universe, like the law of gravity and Einstein’s formula for relativity: E=mc2. If it wasn’t written about in your science book, and you didn’t hear about it in philosophy, psychology or history, then how do we know it’s true?

Well, thanks to scientists, we now know we have something called “mirror neurons,” which are neurons that mirror the behavior of others who are being observed. In other words, when we observe somebody smiling at somebody else, that same pattern of brain activation that allows the person to smile is emulated in our brain. Even though we might not physically act on the behavior, the same areas of our brains, the regions that prepare the body for movement and attention are triggered. This means our brains mirror the actions of the other person automatically.

Think about this for a moment. When you are watching a television show or a movie, how do you physically react when tension is building? Even though you are not a part of the scene, your heart is racing; your stomach gets tense; and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, even though you know it’s only a movie. This is because your brain is copying those you are watching.

Through brain imaging, scientists have also detected a portion of the brain called the amygdala. This is the part of the brain that hosts the limbic system or the “fight or flight” system, which is where our fears are recorded.

When people are shown pictures or photographs of fearful faces, the amygdala is stimulated in the observer creating the same fearful response. What is more intriguing is people whose brains have been damaged leading to blindness still have their amygdala fire up when they are subjected to fearful faces.

And what is perhaps more intriguing, is there are ways to change the experiment so people are entirely unaware they are seeing those fearful faces. However, when you look at their brains during the period they are unaware of seeing the faces, the amygdala still activates.

Thus, fear in others will register in our brains as fear. Another person’s lit up amygdala will light up our own. We “attract” the fear to ourselves because we are connected to other people and their brains instantly. That is why anxious people make other people anxious, and fearful people make other people afraid.

The good news is, similar principles apply to happiness and expected reward when our brains will light up those centers that correspond with these emotional states in others.

What Energy is Behind Your Thoughts?
When it comes to the law of attraction, whatever signal you are sending out is being received by a similar vibration. Take a second to inventory what type of thoughts you are sending out into the universe.

Before you are convinced you’re sending out positive thoughts, look behind the thought. In other words, let’s pretend you want a new job and you are continually asking for the new job. Your thought is you would like to have a new job. That single thought emits a somewhat neutral energy. In fact, it could be positive energy when you think about the great things a new job could offer you like a higher salary, better working conditions, shorter hours, and a competent boss.

But what is the energy behind that thought? Maybe you are desperate for a new job, because the job you are currently working is stressful. You need more money to pay your bills. You feel anxious, stressed and even desperate. When you are thinking about a new job, even if you can see some of the potential of the new job, where is your energy mostly focused — on the positive aspects of a new job or the fear of not getting what you want?

This is where quantum physics comes to play. What does quantum physics teach? In a nutshell, the Copenhagen Interpretation by Niels Bohr explained it is meaningless to ascribe any properties or even existence to anything which has not been observed, but the problem with this is that whatever is observed is changed by the observer. So, in essence what we expect to see is what we see.

This is where we can understand the law of attraction is true!

  • Our thoughts and our emotions are energy.
  • Both of these are interrupted by what we expect to see.
  • Our emotions behind our thoughts actually emit a stronger signal.
  • When we can align our emotions with what we desire, we are aligning the energy to our expectations.
  • We are then creating our world through our thoughts and emotions, because we are what we observe.

Perhaps you weren’t taught the law of attraction in school. Heck, maybe you weren’t even taught the basics of quantum physics. BUT know that you can control the creations of your universe. It is time to learn to use your power to manifest your desires!

Sherry Winn - The Law of AttractionSherry Winn is an author, EFT Practitioner, Certified Law of Attraction and Master Life Coach and a motivational speaker, whose topics include “Making the Impossible Possible,” “Loving Challenges,” and “Catching Your Dreams.” As a former elite athlete competing at the Olympic Games in 1984 and 1988 in the sport of team handball and head collegiate coach for 23 years, she possesses a deep passion for helping others become motivated to reach their highest levels of success.

Winn overcame her fears and limitations when she contracted chronic pain at the age of 33 and was told by 17 different medical professionals there was no answer. Through books, meditation, mentors and Webinars, she discovered the power of healing through positive thinking. 

To receive a free 50-minute Law of Attraction coaching session, or more information about Winn, she can be contacted by email at sherrymwinn@gmail.com, through her website at www.ucancreatesuccess.com or on Facebook.

 

Are You Raising Your Kids Vegan? Try These Children’s Books

Adopting a vegan diet is something more and more people are moving toward – whether it’s the known health benefits from a plant-based diet or to support animal rights – and are also raising their children with the same rules.

But how do you explain your choices to your children? We uncovered four children’s books to help you do just that!

“V Is for Vegan: The ABCs of Being Kind,” By Ruby Roth
Created for three- to seven-year-olds, this book is the newest from author Ruby Roth, explaining the compassionate lifestyle for both vegans and vegetarians. Rhyming lines and colorful illustrations explain animal rights and the vegan diet, introducing children to the major vegan food groups, including grains, beans, seeds, nuts, vegetables and fruits.

“That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals: A Book About Vegans, Vegetarians, and All Living Things,” by Ruby Roth
Dedicated to children between the ages of six and 10, this book features as cast of animals, including pigs, turkeys, cows, quail, turtles and dolphins to create the story of the animals in the natural environment, as well as the factory farm. The book also describes the negative effects eating meat has on the environment.

“Vegan Is Love: Having Heart and Taking Action,” by Ruby Roth
Author and illustrator Ruby Roth broadens the scope of “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals,” showing how our daily choices effect our community and the world, and explaining what we can individually do to protect animals, the environment, and people across the world.

“Steven the Vegan,” by Dan Bodenstein
In this book, the main character, Steven, and his classmates go on a field trip to a local farm sanctuary where his classmates discover he is vegan. Steven, along with many of the farm animals in the story, teach his friends why he made this choice and what it means. The book can help many children learn how to explain their diet and lifestyle to friends or others who ask.

 

“Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself,” by Lissa Rankin M.D.

We’ve all heard of the placebo effect, spontaneous remission and people who have healed when the doctors predicted otherwise, but do we really understand why these things happen?

In her book, “Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself,” author Lissa Rankin M.D., set out to uncover the true reasons people heal, and in doing so managed to heal herself from a number of chronic conditions, including debilitating allergies, high blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmias.

Citing scientific research and clinical studies, Rankin explains how our beliefs, emotions, relationships and lifestyle either elicit the relaxation response in the body or trigger the stress response, known as fight of flight.

“When your body is in the middle of a stress response, your body’s self-maintenance and self-repair functions come to a screeching halt,” Rankin says in the book. “The stressors of daily life – things like loneliness, unhappy relationships, work stress, financial stress, anxiety and depression – result in forebrain thoughts and feelings that repetitively trigger the hypothalamus to elicit stress responses.”

The repetitive triggering of the stress response leads to the breakdown of systems in the body. It’s through the counterbalance of the relaxation response that the body can truly heal, says Rankin.

“When you feel optimistic and hopeful, loved and supported, in the flow in your professional or creative life, spiritually nourished, or sexually connected to another person, the relaxation response takes the place of the stress response … and the body can go about its natural self-repair process, preventing illness and taking its stab at treating disease that already exists. As a result, disease is more likely to be prevented in well people, and disease may even be treated in sick people,” she says in the book.

Rankin walks readers through practices she used to heal herself, including meditation, uncovering and changing limiting beliefs and finding a creative outlet through painting. She offers exercises to help uncover what the root case of a person’s illnesses may be and what needs to change in their life in order to set the body up for healing.

 

Learn to Meditate: Elevated Existence Editor Latest Picks

The many benefits of meditation continue to pour in from clinical studies and scientific research, and every issue of Elevated Existence Magazine features a “Meditation Room” column with the latest research, resources and products to help you find the silence within.

Here are three of the latest resources we uncovered to help both new meditators and those who have been practicing for years, including a guided meditation CD.

“How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind,” by Pema Chodron
Learn the basics of meditation, how to stabilize the mind, the six points of posture, working with the breath, and how to cultivate unconditional kindness from the bestselling author and Tibetan Buddhist nun, Pema Chodron.

“The Healing Power of Meditation: Leading Experts on Buddhism, Psychology, and Medicine Explore the Health Benefits of Contemplative Practice,” by Andrew Fraser
Sharing insights on meditation and the mind, the book offers the latest scientific evidence on the array of benefits to the practice from a variety of contributors including Jon Kabat-Zinn. It also covers mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

“Indigo Dreams: Adult Relaxation-Guided Meditation/Relaxation Techniques Decrease Anxiety, Stress, Anger” by Lori Lite
Filled with guided meditations for decreasing stress and anxiety, this CD teaches four stress management techniques, and includes diaphragmatic breathing, affirmations, progressive muscle relaxation and visualizations set to relaxing music.

Yoga Health Foundation Offers One Free Week of Yoga at a Studio Near You

September is official National Yoga Month (a national observance designated by the Department of Health & Human Services) and is designed to build awareness of yoga’s proven health benefits and inspire people to practice yoga.

As part of the celebration, over 1,600 yoga studios nationwide are offering one free week of yoga to students in their areas. It’s open to new students and can be redeemed during the month of September or October.

Sign up here and simply fill out the form and choose a studio in your area from the list of those participating. And if a studio in your are is not participating, you can invite them to join.