Stress is of course unavoidable, and the point of stress reduction and stress management programs is not to eliminate stress from our lives entirely. Life is always going to be full of challenges, and a life without some turmoil is not only impossible but is also undesirable.
Many stress therapists, of course, recognize that regular meditation and relaxation can be of significant help in reducing stress to manageable and healthy levels, and relaxation and meditation exercises are now widely taught. Many therapists and psychiatrists are taking up meditation themselves, not only so that they can teach it more effectively to others but in order to deal with the very stressful demands of their own jobs, which can result in burnout.
A considerable amount of research has shown that meditation has benefits on mental health, including a reduction in proneness to depression, an increase in emotional positivity, and an increased ability to deal with life’s inevitable stresses.
People often think of meditation as being nothing more than relaxation, and there is a famous book on meditation and health entitled “The Relaxation Response.” Meditation, however, not only involves relaxation (the cessation of unnecessary effort) but promotes mindfulness, which helps the stress-sufferer to recognize unhelpful patterns of thought that give rise to the stress response, and also involves the active cultivation of positive mental states such as lovingkindness, compassion, patience, and energy.
This section explores how meditation can help you to deal with your stress, and gives information on a program called “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction”, or MBSR, which is a program developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, and which uses the principles of mindfulness meditation to help long-term pain sufferers learn to deal with their afflictions.
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Hello Bodhipaksa, while I was meditating last night I saw purple and indigo colors on my meditation, I usually see bright white light that vanishes, but this time the colors of purple and indigo keep on coming to my meditation while I was having thoughts of being on a different frequency. I don't know if this makes much sense to you, but I am curious if something like this has happened to you or if you are aware of any of this?
It's quite common, Markus.
Meditate while commuting to work on a bus or train, or waiting for a dentist appointment. Try deep breathing while you are doing housework or mowing the lawn. Mindfulness walking can be done while exercising your dog, walking to your car, or climbing the stairs at work instead of using the elevator.
Dear Bodhipaksa,
I'm highly impressed of your multidimensional website, and I'm going to order your books, too. I'm 70. Way back almost 45 years ago, I got dependent, iotregenically, on benzodiazepines and now I'm fighting hard to be free from clonazepam. I quit this drug 10 months back and since then, I'm battling serious withdrawal issues. Please advise me if mindfulness meditation (anapana sati) is going to help me or not. In fact, I've got into it seriously for the last 3 days. I don't know of ramifications of this practice manifesting on my sick and injured brain in near or distant future. I'm sure, you can understand my state and guide and help me with metta. Best wishes and regards.
Hi, Naresh.
Thank you for writing and for your kind comments.
I have a friend (one of my meditation students) who may be going through something very similar to you. He's experiencing intense anxiety as he reduces the dose of the prescribed drug he's been dependent upon for something like 20 years. The other main side effect he's experiencing is severe chronic insomnia. To his credit he's kept his meditation practice going, and he does find it a useful support, even though he is still having a very hard time. I'd be happy to put you in touch with him, if you'd like.
I've never had the kind of chemical dependency you've been dealing with, but with other kinds of suffering — in fact with any suffering I've experienced — the practice of self-compassion has been invaluable.
Mindfulness meditation is a useful tool; it teaches acceptance of unpleasant sensations/feelings and it can also teach us curiosity. It also helps us to see unpleasant feelings (such as anxiety) as being just sensations. And it can teach us to look closely at the nature and texture of those feelings, and see them as being more "empty" and transparent than we'd originally assumed. But what is particularly helpful is to cultivate an attitude of supportive love toward our pain — seeing it as a part of us that is in need of support rather than aversion. This supportive love can involve talking in a kind and reassuring way to our pain. It involves an attitude of looking with a loving inner gaze. And it can include reassuring touch.
I've linked to a few articles here that explain a little more about what I mean, practically speaking.
You mentioned buying my books, but the only one I think you need is "This Difficult Thing of Being Human." I think you might find it helpful.
All the best!
Bodhipaksa
PS. I probably need to completely overhaul this section on stress. It was all written a long time ago and probably no longer reflects how I teach. The articles I've linked to here are more up-to-date.