Meditation Timer

Why use a timer when meditating? When we meditate, one of the goals is to not get involved with our thoughts. We aren't trying to cease or control our thoughts, but to be aware of them and allow them to pass. A common source of superfluous thought is the need to know how long we have been meditating. The temptation to look at the clock interrupts the stillness. Using a timer helps to calm those 'thought interruptions'. Additionally, a timer helps us set a time goal, devote ourselves to the goal and to honor the committment to ourselves.

This timer relies on javascript for much of its functionality so scripting must be enabled in your browser for it to function. The sound used in the timer is a recording of a Tibetan singing bowl being struck like a bell.

If you enjoy using technology to further your mental and spiritual development, you may appreciate The Journey to the Wild Divine, a biofeedback based meditation training system. His Holiness the Dalai Lama says this.

Thank you for using this timer for your meditation sessions. If you have suggestions or issues, please send them to webmaster@meditationtimer.net.

May your meditation bring stillness and light.

The Four Reflections

Spiritual practice requires a committment to yourself - a committment of consistency and perseverance. My teacher often said, "5 minutes a day is better than 2 hours once a week." The tendancy is to lose the stillness, and thus the benefit, between sessions. Our minds, like a snow globe, settle when we sit in stillness. Allowing the mind to settle at infrequent intervals keeps the 'snow globe' shaken up for extended periods between meditation sessions – even if those infrequent sessions are hours in length.

The Four Reflections are a classic teaching from the Buddhist tradition. The Reflections could appropriately be called The Four Motivations as they provide motivation and inspiration to spiritual practice. Click on the headers below and details will expand.

Control Your Thoughts: A Meditation Misconception

By Ciar AnDyers
9/28/2007

A common misconception about meditation is that the goal is to learn to suppress, cease or otherwise control your thoughts. You are told that meditation will quiet the mind so this misconception is quite understandable - How can you quiet the mind if you don’t stop thinking? It is true that meditation will quiet the mind, however, you don’t arrive at a quiet mind by learning to force your thoughts away.

The idea, rather, is to not get involved with your thoughts. In other words, when a thought enters your awareness, you can either observe the thought and allow it to pass or you can allow your attention to follow the thought into an inner dialogue (also called mind chatter). The difference is significant. Suppression of thought will lead to an inner struggle and will surely lead to a frustrating meditation session. Conversely, observing thought is a much gentler practice - it is an allowing rather than a forcing. When you simply observe thought and allow it to pass, there is a natural settling of the mind. This is the key. The mind will settle like a body of water. You’ve heard the comparison, “That lake was smooth as glass.” A lake doesn’t become smooth by force – you cannot squash the waves and force them to settle.

An analogy is that of a snow globe – you know, those little glass bubbles filled with a wintry scene, fake snow and water. When the snow globe is a shaken, the snow flakes swirl about chaotically. Your mind is normally like this. Thoughts, like the snow flakes, are randomly flying around the mind creating a cloudy environment. Clarity within the snow globe will not come through force. You cannot reach into the globe and push the flakes down. On the contrary, any action you take will likely stir up the chaos further. The only way to settle the contents of the globe is to allow it to settle without action on your part. Similarly, if you allow your thoughts to settle, a stillness will find your mind. Just observe and allow.

Don’t try to force away your thoughts. Don’t take the bait when a thought enters your awareness – you’ll end up following the thought far away from the present moment. Instead, be gentle to yourself. Allow thoughts to come. And just the same, allow thoughts to go.

Meditation Timers

By Eddie Tobey

Meditation is a process of relaxing the mind and the body to release stress and recharge the self. Meditators use various types of meditation to get in touch with their energy body to enable overall health. However, it is found that an effective timer is required to make meditators aware of time lapsed while meditating. Meditation timers are designed to enable meditators clock their meditation time.

Meditation timers were mainly developed to allow meditators to know that the time has come to move out of their trance state. People usually have limited time and prefer to set a time period of five, ten, fifteen or thirty minutes in which they have to complete their meditation exercises. Some people also choose to use meditation timers as their alarm cloaks to help them start their day with pleasant sounds. Many meditators see meditation timers as a tool for progressive awakening, where they can work on their dreams as well as affirmations. Meditation timers are used in meditation classes to facilitate a gentle way of starting or ending meetings and sessions on time.

Meditation timers allow the meditators to direct their full attention to the meditation process and not worry about looking at the clock frequently to check the time lapsed. Meditators, who have limited time, can attune themselves into meditating without any distractions and gain the maximum benefit in the minimum possible time.

Meditation timers are usually designed with pleasant sounds of chimes and bells to bring a fresh clear sound in the surrounding. Meditation timers come in the form of an electronic device, a tape, or a CD recording. The taped recordings usually have a spiritual chant such as "Om" at the specified time interval followed by silence. Some meditation timers can even be attached with the phone to convert the conventional ring into a pleasant chime or music. They can be purchased locally or online after hearing the chimes integrated with the sound system of the meditation timer.

Meditation provides detailed information on Meditation, Meditation Techniques, Transcendental Meditation, Guided Meditation and more. Meditation is affiliated with Tai Chi Videos.

Article Source: EzineArticles.com

The Ultimate Gift

If you haven’t seen the movie, The Ultimate Gift, I can’t recommend it enough. It inspires genuine compassion. Well, “Inspires” isn’t quite right – it oozes compassion leaving the viewer feeling a divine connection with all of humanity.

Based on the book by Jim Stovall, The Ultimate Gift presents twelve gifts that culminate into The Ultimate Gift. Compassion, fulfillment and joy describe the gift well. Check it out at www.theultimategift.com.

The Wild Divine

I've come across The Journey to the Wild Divine system several times and was always a bit skeptical. However, after I saw this response from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, I immediatley affiliated with The Wild Divine project.

"His Holiness the Dalai Lama thanks you for sending Him as a gift your interactive computer game for teaching compassion. He is pleased to know that modern technology is being used for the purpose of teaching compassion.

We are happy that you have sought the guidance of Nawang Khechog in producing this computer game."

Best wishes,
Tenzin Geyche Tethong, Secretary to
His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Office of H.H. the Dalai Lama
Visit The Journey to the WildDivine website