Meditation Tools For Inner Strength And Monkey Mind

In reviewing the results from my survey question from yesterday (What question do you have about mental strength and what results do you want to get from having it?) a lot of people are curious about mediation.

Oh yea…in case you haven’t provided your input to the survey please do so by going here:

http://mindcoach.wufoo.com/forms/z7x4m1/

All though this specific post does not go into detail about how to mediate and stop monkey mind, I will cover some mediation tools that I use to develop inner strength.

For those not familiar, monkey mind of ind monkey or monkey mind, from Chinese xinyuan and Sino-Japanese shin’en [lit. “heart-/mind-monkey”], is a Buddhist term meaning “unsettled; restless; capricious; whimsical; fanciful; inconstant; confused; indecisive; uncontrollable”

Remember, like any tool….use what works for you and leave the others till later.

The market today is awash with all sorts of products that are supposed to help in meditation. This abundance of goods is a far cry from what was available two or three decades ago and some critiques feel that they direct too much attention to external paraphernalia rather than the internal or inward focus of the act itself. Nevertheless, many practitioners use meditation products in their daily exercise and if you want to explore the option of using them as well, a brief survey of basic products available would serve you well.

Meditation Beads

This particular product is highly obtainable in the market today. These beads are alternately called prayer beads, meditation beads, or malas. Malas are used to keep count of the times that a mantra is mentally repeated, recited, or chanted. They are comprised of 16, 27, 54, or 108 beads with one large bead called the Guru bead. This stands for the Guru from whom a disciple has received his or her mantra. Malas are strung with three, five or nine threads which are symbolic of Buddhist beliefs.

Prayer beads can be made from a wide assortment of materials, which add their own energy to the act of meditation. For example, malas made of gold or silver is supposed to increase lifespan while those made of quartz crystals are believed to lend themselves to healing as energizers. Turquoise beads give wisdom while those made of mother of pearl cleanse and purify. Malachite beads help bring harmony. Beads made of Rudraksha beads or even human bones are used while reciting powerful mantras meant to drive away evil spirits. Evidently, the latter are not meant for ordinary occasions.

Singing Bowls

Singing bowls, actually standing bells, are often referred to as ring gongs, Himalayan bowls, suzu gongs, or Tibetan singing bowls. The sound produced by striking a Tibetan singing bowl is said to facilitate the release of mantras while its vibrations are supposed to calm and balance the mind. Traditionally, these bowls were used during meditation. They were also used to signal the beginning and the end of sessions. Today, however, their utilization has branched out to many other fields of endeavor. In classrooms and workshops, they are used to help focus attention. They are also used in massage therapy, in psychotherapy and cancer therapy.

Choosing a bowl does not require special expertise. The important thing in this task is to find a one that beckons to you and produces a sound both soothing a joyful to you. Because these bowls do not usually come cheap, take your time when looking for one and do not just settle for a bowl thinking it will do.

Candles, Incense and Fountains

Each of these three meditation products is meant to produce the environment that makes meditation easier. At no other time has such a limitless variety of these meditation products been available both in specialty shops as well as over the internet. None of these are prerequisites for success in meditation, but if you think they can help, by all means get some and put them to good use.

Aside from creating the atmosphere for meditation, candles in themselves have been used in a distinct technique. This technique involves using a lit candle as a focal point while letting thoughts come and go. A similar use is to visualize that the flame of the candle is flowing in with each meditative breath.

Incense is said to purify air and rid it of negative energy. Working on the sense of scent, its aroma is supposed to provide tranquility thereby leading to a calm, positive state of mind. When you use specific incense while meditating, you send signals to the brain that it is time to prepare for meditation. Partly because of this, incense used for meditation should be exclusively devoted to the activity. This helps in setting not just the atmosphere, but also a person’s total disposition.

Fountains are a popular product today although they may be used more as home and garden accessories rather than aids to meditation. Fountains produce the soothing sound of water trickling or falling and these are supposed to help activate good energy and build inner harmony. There are no special requirements in choosing a fountain for this purpose except that it should be placed in an area where a person can really have the space and silence needed for meditation.

Warrior Mind Programming

Warrior Mind Programming incorporates a number of techniques, schools of thought, disciplines, theories, and practices to stop monkey mind. Its basic goal is to change one’s reaction to internal and external stimuli or to help the mind create a physical or emotional effect on its own (e.g.: happiness, confidence). It harnesses the brain’s built-in programming mechanisms to help enhance intelligence, end bad habits, stop negative mental patterns and much more. It allows you to focus more of your subconscious resources on tasks you wish to accomplish. In other words,

Warrior Mind Programming can help achieve inner strength.

The truth is everyone’s mind is programmed, and at one point or another, everyone has reprogrammed their mind in some way. Do you start to feel better almost instantaneously when taking medicine, despite being aware of the time it takes for the medicine to take effect? Can you make yourself hungry by thinking of food? Have you ever experienced the placebo effect? Did you know that if you smile for approximately sixty seconds you will become happier? All of these things are a direct result of the mind being conditioned, or programmed.

Warrior Mind Programming however, is much more broad and powerful than these examples.

Warrior Mind Programming has existed for thousands of years. Yogis and Buddhists have been using deep meditation for mind programming, among many other things. Hypnotists have been programming the minds of people for over a century. Psychotherapists have been helping people install new and healthier programs. In fact, until just recently, programming the mind in this deeper sense has been an expensive, lengthy process.

It has required extreme practice, patience, and dedication. And while it still requires (and will always require) these three things, Warrior Mind Programming has advanced far past older methods. It is now faster, inexpensive and easier to learn; actually this application does most of the work for you!

Thanks to recent advances, people are able to use carefully prepared audio and visual stimulation to induce an extensive variety of mental states. Many of these leave the mind more receptive to reprogramming.

Your subconscious is constantly working, constantly responding to situations, and constantly acting on your fears and desires (although not always in the way you would like). After reprogramming your mind, your subconscious will work for you and you alone. If you want something of yourself, let your subconscious be your ally, program it in!

Getting What You Need

Online buying is today’s most popular method for acquiring meditation products and you might choose this option to get the tools you need to improve your meditation. Specialty shops also offer good choices with the added advantage of you being able to actually see and even test the products. Through entire selection process, remember that the products only work when they suit you so keep in mind that they are only useful if you know without reservation that they are right for you.