Years of sport's injuries have made me an expert on pain management, especially with the lower back. Meditation is one of my main tools to help me stay active and enjoy golf on a regular basis. I hope this information is helpful for you.

Pain management is big business in health care. Health care estimates suggest that Americans spend over $100 Billion on back pain treatment. Lower back pain is a major cause of sick leave in the business world. We look to medication, surgery, physical adjustments, yoga, herbs and healers to find relief. One cost effective method is meditation.

Western medicine has become more understanding of the mind/body connection. Scientific research has shown that the mind has power to positively impact the body. A strong, positive mind state may be one of the most important factors in health.

Meditation practices use the power of the mind to create wellness and well-being. Research studies have found many positive results from those who meditate on a regular basis. The National Institute of Industrial Health in Japan taught 447 industrial workers Transcendental Meditation and compared them to a control group of 321 non- meditators.

They found Significant decreases in the meditation group in the following areas:

• Physical complaints
• Impulsiveness
• Emotional instability
• Neurotic tendencies and anxiety
• Insomnia
• Smoking

In addition, the TM group experienced:

• Better relationships with co-workers
• Better relationships with supervisors
• Improved job satisfaction
• Greater improvements in general health and employee effectiveness
• Greater decrease in sleep fatigue, job worry and tension

With all these positive outcomes, it is easy to see why meditation lowers stress. Along with the external improvements in life, meditation lowers the stress response: blood pressure decreases, heart rate decreases and breathing rate decreases. The proper meditation techniques also include diaphragmatic breathing, which increases oxygen to the cells. It is well know that stress is the greatest cause of health problems and pain is more exacerbated when an individual is feeling stressed out.

I am available for Peak Performance and Spiritual Counseling. World Wide appointments available by telephone. Do you want to deepen your spiritual life? Do you to remove the mental and emotional blocks that slow down your psychological and spiritual development? Are you ready to take your life to the next level? Are you ready to change? Do you want to speak with someone who can really understand you? Click here for more information and call now!

I just heard on the news a man killed is children, wife, mother-in-law and himself because of economic problems. This sounds like the 1920's when people were jumping out of buildings when the stock market crashed. This man's response was much more violent and much more tragic. My heart goes out to all those who knew him and his family.

We are in difficult times. We have political unrest and a very divisive presidential race. We have international conflicts that have no end in sight and economic disasters unfolding every few days. Most of us have never had to face such economic problems in our lifetime. How do we keep calm, clear and sane when the world is collapsing around us?

First of all, one of the things that helped to create this mess is our identification with the material world and our greed to get more than we can afford. Much has been said about the bad business practices of banks and Wall Street regarding the subprime loans, but who took those loans: everyday people who wanted more than they could afford. Greed leads to a lot of problems. Eventually whether is it overeating or over spending we get hurt. When we are psychologically and spiritually caught in believing that we are defined by how much we have, how much we own and how much we can get, then we are in deep trouble. We have lost grounding in our soul and forgotten the deeper values of life (love, service, simplicity, humility, moderation) that lead to peace of mind and a balanced life. If we are continually striving to acquire more and more "stuff" then it might be that we are really attempting to fill some inner emptiness in our soul.

Peace of mind results when the heart and soul are full. A spiritually grounded life feels the "Presence" in every moment and trusts that, in the end, everything will be all right. It is so easy to get caught in fear, worrying about security and safety. Death is probably the biggest fear, but loss of identity, money and love are right up there as well. Peace of mind is found when we realize who we are and no longer define our existence by outer material rewards.

A balanced life is filled with good decisions about everyday events. It is wise to make smart decisions about investments and future planning. However, it is almost impossible to make good decisions when we are overwhelmed with anxiety. Peace of mind and emotional control allow us to react well to difficult circumstances and solve problems, not create new ones.

One tool to help lower stress, clear the mind and realize the soul is meditation. The techniques are simple, yet powerfully effective. Most systems use the breath along with an internal mental sound (mantra). I have a very good meditation CD or MP3 download, Inspiration for Meditation, for such training on my website at ronmann.com.

Faith and trust are important sources of support during difficult times. The world has gone through difficult times before and has recovered. We will pass through these times as well. It is easier to manage change when we are not too attached to the results and flow with what is. If you define yourself by your material, outer environment, it will be a very depressing time. Learn to go inside and seek a deeper, truer sense of Self. This more conscious realization will help guide and direct you in all that you do. If you would like help in finding and/or solidifying your connection to Self, please let me know.

Eternal Blessings of Peace,
Ron Mann, Ph.D.

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