Articles

We're always on the lookout for practical methods to help people get a night of deep, restful sleep. When an easy technique accomplishes that much and also improves mental and emotional health at the same time, it's definitely worth sharing.

This technique takes very little time, can be done while lying in bed before falling asleep, and will work for just about everyone.

The Daily Rewind Technique

A Daily Rewind is a swift and painless way to clear all the clutter out of your mind in preparation for sleep and dreaming. The technique simply involves a …Continue reading about this easy technique to help you sleep

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

In today’s world, it seems like there are never enough hours in the day to do what we need or want to do. This can cause you to feel stressed from the moment you wake up, and those little stresses throughout the day can add up quickly. Yet, there are some folks who seem to have it all together. They accomplish whatever they set their mind to and all the while appear completely calm…but how? How do some people manage to fit everything in without experiencing the stress of such a busy schedule?

A large part of it is time management. We all have the same 24 hours to work with. It’s truly a matter of using every moment to its fullest. When you manage your time effectively, the unavoidable daily stressors become much easier to handle because you’ve removed so many of the smaller ones that can make the day so hectic.

Time management takes commitment and a bit of effort but there are many small and easy things you can do to get started. Each one may only add a few minutes to your day, but soon the minutes add up to hours, you find you have more time than you once thought you did, and everything seems to flow much more smoothly.

Add just one of these tips each week and you'll quickly be on the road to less stress and a lot more time: …Click here to read more about time saving tips to reduce stress