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By Diane L. Ross

What is the most powerful tool you have? Your mind, your most powerful resource. Are you using it, or is it using you? How do you learn to use your mind to get what you want? How do you harness your power?

Meditate.

What does that mean and how do you do it? Most people have a vague idea of what meditation means, but that vague idea is just that – vague. Vague is the opposite of what one wants to achieve through meditation.

Meditation is the practice of focusing your attention on a single object or idea, usually of a divine nature. Prayer has been called talking to God. Meditation has been called listening to God. How can you listen to God if your mind is full of chatter? That chatter takes up the space in which God can speak to you. That’s why meditation is so important. Meditation stills the chatter of the mind so that space is available for inspiration, creativity, bliss, and other God-like experiences.

Focusing your attention is easier said than practiced. Ever notice that meditation is referred to as a “practice?” That’s because it requires practice. It’s a skill, and all skills require practice.

Most meditation techniques suggest that you “get comfortable,” and focus your attention on your breath. When your mind wanders off (notice that the mind wandering off is assumed) simply put your attention on your breath again. I dare you to try it!

First of all, how do you “get comfortable?” That statement assumes that you already have the ability to be comfortable in your body and that you know how to access that comfort almost instantly. Secondly, the mind gets bored easily, and focusing just on your breath can become tiresome and boring after about 15 seconds. The mind doesn’t like tiresome and boring. The mind wants a job, but not a boring job.

One of the meditations I teach (Instant Meditation, available at www.dianeross.com/audio.htm) addresses both of these pitfalls. First of all, I take your body through a modified progressive relaxation, so that you are comfortable and relaxed before the mind is addressed. Then you are directed to alternate your attention between your breath and your “third eye.” The third eye is the area in the center of your forehead, about an inch above your eyebrows. It has been called the portal into the spiritual realms, and requires your focused attention in order to be activated.

By first achieving comfort, the mind is more easily harnessed. The attention is directed between the breath and the third eye, therefore eliminating the boredom most commonly associated with meditation. What happens when you begin “practicing?” The side effects are incredibly awesome and truly endless! First of all, you learn to be aware of your thoughts so that you can shift your attention away from the negative and toward the positive.

Studies have shown that the brains of long-time meditators actually change. The frontal cortex grows! This is where all the good stuff is – your ability to reason, your ability to access peace, tranquility and bliss! This is also where your creativity is accessed.

In addition, when you meditate, your heart rate decreases, your blood pressure lowers and your respirations lessen. Stress is released and the benefits of deep relaxation are multiplied. The ability to access happiness becomes natural and automatic!

Want bliss? Begin to meditate and utilize your most important power – the power of your mind!

To harness the energy of your mind, check out my, “InstantMeditation,” CD at: www.dianeross.com/audio.htm.

Bio: Diane Ross, author of Meditations for Miracles and more than 50 audio CDs, has studied meditation since 1970. She has a Master’s Degree in Secondary Reading, is a Certified Hypnotist and is a Master Practitioner of NLP. She is available for public speaking and sees clients privately. Meditation for Miracles is available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.

Gastric band hypnotherapy is a relatively new hypnotic technique that aims to help people lose weight in a rather unique way. Traditionally clinical hypnotherapists help people lose weight with methods just as increasing exercise motivation and decreasing eating speed. However this method is quite different.

Gastric band hypnotherapy helps a person lose weight by convincing their subconscious mind that they have really had gastric band surgery. A hypnotherapist will typically guide a subject to visualise the procedure as if it is really happening. When the mind visualises something clearly, the subconscious will believe that it has really happened. The subconscious part of the mind is responsible for all our automatic urges, so we feel full much sooner than normal – just like as if we have had actual gastric band surgery.

If you look around the internet there are thousands of very satisfied patients that have lost a lot of weight with gastric band hypnotherapy. They usually are happy for several of these reasons…

1. They have lost weight quickly and easily.
2. They have spent far less on the hypnotic procedure than it would have cost on real surgery.
3. They have managed to avoid the risks associated with surgery.
4. They have not had to be cut open and so don’t have to take time off from work or families to recover.

If you have difficulties finding a hypnotherapists, or simply don’t want to hire one, then there is an alternative. HypnoBusters have created a gastric band hypnotherapy mp3. It is a very affordable four session audio pack that also contains loads of bonus extras. You can listen to each session as many times as you want, and it costs a traction of the price that it costs to hire a hypnotherapist.

If you are interested to learn more, please click on the following link…

GASTRIC BAND HYPNOTHERAPY MP3s

Meditation is a powerful for mental health, clarity, and overall well being. However, the benefits of meditation can go beyond our immediate selves and extend its powers to improve life at the office as well.

Employee Health

Meditation can make you physically healthier. Studies have shown that those who meditate often boast a stronger immune system those who don’t meditate. A stronger immune system means fewer illnesses for employees, which means fewer sick days from the office. Additionally, improved employee health keeps insurance costs down and leads to a more positive office moral.

As for employee mental health, the positive benefits of meditating are clear. The ability to drone-out the static noise which clogs our day through quiet reflection provides an avenue for less stress and heightened creativity. Additionally, quiet reflection allows for more clarity and focus which helps employees better tackle the task at hand.

Office Dynamics and Increased Productivity

As Meditation Den has previously noted, “If you’re looking for an effective way to get more done in your workday in a more efficient manner, meditation can be a practical solution. Meditation can reduce anxiety about your job and help you identify priorities that you can act on one at a time instead of worrying about everything and accomplishing nothing.”

Meditation produces mental clarity which strengthens thinking skills to foster fewer mistakes and enhances job satisfaction which leads to increased productivity and profitability.

Two important components of healthy employees and a healthy business: less stress and more creative productivity. Reduction of stress and anxiety is a clear benefit of meditation. The ability to tune out the static of a hectic day and pool one’s thoughts into a calm central string of consciousness allows for the hectic stress of a workday to fade way. Once stress and daily static fade, meditation allows for attention to focus on tasks at hand and creative ways to develop tasks in the future.

Working In Time With Retreats

With all of the benefits, it’s no wonder that retreats focused on meditation practice and training are popular among small businesses and corporations a like.

Retreats allow for employees to learn and establish meditative practices in serene setting. Meditative retreat provides insight into exploring ways to integrate meditation into office life. This will help solve conflict or provide insight into alternative therapies and healing methods to boost communication and clarity amongst co workers.

The holistic health of a business is important for maintaining healthy businesses practices and retreats are a tax deductible method of healing an office.

Deducting expenses and covering costs

According to the IRS publication 535, for an expense to be deductible, “it must be both ordinary and necessary. An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your trade or business.” A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your trade or business.

Maintaining a healthy office is essential to a productive business. Meditative retreats provide an outlet for promoting and sustaining employee health and increasing performances. This is often necessary and appropriate for most types of businesses. Particularly those which seem to be lacking focus or a work group which lacks cohesion.

Establishing a clear set of goals shaped at strengthening company weaknesses. The beneficial properties of meditation such as increased focus, clarity, creativity, and understanding will undoubtedly strengthen almost any work group. Understanding the needs of your particular office will help establish the necessity and appropriateness of the retreat which will help provide a more beneficial experience and make deducting the expenses much easier.

In order to deduct expenses, an accountable plan must be utilized. Meals and entertainment are typically deductible to up to 50% of the cost. Sole proprieters use the travel reimbursement on line “24a and the deductible part of the meals and entertainment reimbursement on line 24b, Schedule C (Form 1040) or line 2, Schedule C-EZ (Form 1040).” Corporations include meals and travel deductions lumped with the amount claimed on the Other deductions line of Form 1120, U.S. Corporation Income Tax Return. Other types of businesses should follow instructions with regard to deducting expenses.

Meditation is a wonderful tool for increasing mental clarity and performance. Engaging in meditative retreats and meditative practices helps arm employees and businesses with those tools to provide a more productive and profitable workplace.

Author Bio

Katei Cranford is a recent UNCG graduate and freelance journalist who’s making her mark beyond academia and advising others not so far behind.