This easy visualization technique can be quite helpful and refreshing when you’re having trouble sleeping, feeling overly stressed, or feeling ill or fatigued. You can use this technique indoors or outdoors.

1. Get into a comfortable position. You can do this technique while lying in bed or on the floor or while reclined in a comfortable chair, wherever you are most comfortable.

2. Close your eyes.

3. As you lie there, visualize your body, wherever it is that you are at this moment. See yourself lying there on the bed or sitting in your chair.

4. Imagine your entire body is …Read more about the Light-Dark Visualization for relaxation

When most people think about meditation, they think of sitting cross-legged on the floor and trying to empty all the thoughts from their mind. Or they think of Tibetan monks chanting mantras in temples far away. While it's true those are forms of meditation, they aren't the only ways to meditate.

Unfortunately, many people never realize meditation doesn't have to be quite so complicated. They give up because sitting in the lotus position is too uncomfortable or because they can't stop the constant stream of thoughts going through their mind or for any number of other very legitimate reasons. They miss out on all the rewards of meditation — better sleep, reduced stress, improved health, deeper self-awareness, and a whole host of other benefits.

That's why we've decided to begin a new series of articles devoted to everyday meditation. We'll offer simple techniques you can incorporate into your day with very little effort, along with suggestions for how to turn daily tasks into a form of meditation.

I'm going to begin with one of my favorites, a technique so easy little children do it all the time. I can almost guarantee you've done it at least once in your lifetime, and …Read more about turning everyday activities into a meditation

In a video segment today, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta offers insight into whether a person's brain can be trained to show compassion.

During the research study referenced by Dr. Gupta in the video, scientists at the University of Wisconsin were able to pinpoint specific areas of the brain that light up during meditation, and more specifically while the subjects performed a compassion meditation technique.

Meditation, once considered a spiritual practice reserved for monks and yogis, is gradually achieving mainstream popularity as more people discover its many benefits.

Meditation doesn't have to be complicated, doesn't require you to subscribe to any particular spiritual belief, and doesn't necessitate sitting cross-legged on the floor and chanting mantras. It can be as simple as sitting in a quiet room and focusing on your breath, or counting your steps while walking around your neighborhood. You can also turn everyday activities like washing the dishes or vacuuming the carpet into a meditation.

There are many different forms of meditation, making it easy for everyone to find a style that best suits their lifestyle. At the end of this article, we'll provide a few simple meditation techniques, including one method that will allow you to meditate deeply without even trying.

But first, let's talk about the top five reasons you should try meditation. …Read more about the top five reasons you should try meditation

This past year brought a wave of interest in the "Law of Attraction" (which is really more like a Hypothesis of Attraction), due in large part to a DVD movie and its companion book, both called The Secret. After applying the techniques described in The Secret, some people experience amazing results while other people get few or no results, and there is a very simple reason for that.

The most important factor — one that was ignored in the movie — is …Read more about what to do when The Secret doesn't work

Here is an easy exercise to help you develop present-moment awareness. We call this technique "practicing opposite behavior."

This exercise also has the added benefit of stimulating activity in both hemispheres of the brain. By reversing your actions and by maintaining an awareness of each action as you perform it, you'll trigger synchronized activity in the left and right hemispheres. Whole-brain synchronization is often seen in EEG readings of the brain activity of people who have practiced meditation for many years.

For one week, try performing all your everyday tasks in reverse. If you always put on your right shoe before your left, force yourself to stop and think, to become aware of what you are doing, and to put on the left shoe first instead. If you always step into your pants with the left leg first, try it in reverse instead. If you always take the milk out of the refrigerator before you get the cereal out of the cabinet, force yourself to stop and deliberately do it in the reverse order.

While you're performing the actions in reverse, take …Learn more about the Opposite Behavior technique for enhanced awareness