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Hello!
Thank you for your interest in self-awareness and creating personal peace. I hope you enjoy this newsletter and feel free to forward it to your friends using the link on the right.
I've been writing my manuscript most of the summer and just turned it in to my editor at Hay House on Monday! Soul-Centered, Transforming Your Life in 8 Weeks with Meditation is due out in May 2012. Will keep you up to date!
After the article below you'll find the calendar of classes, upcoming retreats and events, and some special offers I hope you enjoy.
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A Little Being Sure Beats More Doing Written by Jeanna Zelin, a meditation student
It's Saturday morning, and I'm driving north on the 101 to Scottsdale. Only this time I'm not heading to Scottsdale Fashion Square or to some hip, new restaurant. I am off on one of my boundary-expanding adventures. I am stepping out of my daily routine to learn how to meditate.
It's already around a hundred degrees out, so I figure sitting in a cool, studio suite learning to clear my inner clutter might not be such a bad way to spend the day. Besides, taking a break from the techno-charged world of cell phones, e-mail, iPods and Blackberries might do me some good.
Sarah, the teacher, has a very soothing manner, and her eyes dance as she describes the practice of meditation and what we will be learning over the course of the weekend.
My mind wanders as I contemplate how I will ever be able to sit through a class on keeping my mind from wandering.
I would later learn that meditation is not about forcing my mind to be quiet; rather it's a process to rediscover the quietness that is already there underlying the chatter of my thoughts.
Sarah talks about how there's no good or bad meditation, and to stay away from judging or criticizing your experience. Though there are definitely some meditations you like better than others. "Anyone can meditate," she says. "Just bring your attention to the focus of your meditation, and whenever you notice your attention has drifted away bring your attention back to your focus. It doesn't matter how many times you lose your focus, you are training your awareness."
In just a half-hour spent in my own silence, I felt clearer than I ever do in my usual, hyper-distracted and information-overloaded life. So I decided to delve deeper into the realm of meditation. Here's what I discovered.
Webster's Dictionary defines meditation as "engaging in mental exercise (as concentration on one's breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness". Other definitions I've heard describe meditation as a way to tap into the silence that lies within or how to get in touch with your true nature.
The word meditation is derived from two Latin words: meditari (to think, to dwell upon, to exercise the mind) and mederi (to heal). Its Sanskrit derivation medha means wisdom.I like Victor Davich's definition from his book, 8 Minute Meditation: Quiet Your Mind. Change Your Life. He says that meditation is allowing what is.
Sounds simple. Yes. But I would find out that it wasn't that easy. Meditation requires patience (with yourself) and practice (by yourself).
Most instructors agree that it's best to find a fairly quiet place free from distraction. Sitting is preferred to lying down (in order to avoid falling asleep). Then simply relax your muscles and breathe in a natural way.
Meditation periods are usually 15 to 30 minutes long during which you don't try to have a certain experience, instead, you simply keep bringing your attention onto a certain focus, which can be a sound, word, feeling, idea, even a candle flame.
Recent research indicates that meditating brings about dramatic effects in the mind and body in as little as ten minutes. In people who are meditating, brain scans have shown an increase in activity in areas that control metabolism and heart rate. Other studies on Buddhist monks have shown that meditation produces long-lasting changes in the brain activity in areas involved in attention, working memory and learning.
According to Dr. Herbert Benson, author of the Relaxation Response and professor of medicine at the Mind Body Medical Institute at Harvard University, meditation acts as an antidote to stress. Under stress, the nervous system activates the "fight-or-flight" response where the sympathetic portion of the nervous system increases, causing an increased heartbeat, increased respiratory rate, elevation of blood pressure, increased cortisol production and an increase in oxygen consumption.
This fight-or-flight response has an important survival function. It helps an organism run quickly to escape an attack or to fight off an attacker. However, when this stress response is activated continuously, as happens for many people in today's over-scheduled world, the effects are harmful. And the flight or fight response does nothing to help when you have too many emails or are stuck in a traffic jam.
Through his research, Dr. Benson found meditation directly counteracts the fight-or-flight response. Meditation decreases the heart rate, respiratory rate, lowers cortisol levels, blood pressure, and oxygen consumption. Meditators report feeling more relaxed and generally experience an overall state of wellbeing.
There is not just one way to meditate. I googled "types of meditation" and got 2,110,000 results. Some of the more widespread types of meditation include: Transcendental Meditation, vipassana meditation, Zen meditation (Zazen), Taoist meditation, mindfulness meditation, mindfulness meditation, and Buddhist meditation. There are perhaps hundreds more methods out there. It does not matter what technique you choose, the foundation of all techniques is focus and attention. You must find the way that is best for you personally.
I took the Primordial Sound Meditation course from Sarah McLean. Derived from the yoga tradition of India and popularized by Dr. Deepak Chopra, this technique is based on the basic sounds of nature and the sounds you say in meditation are unique vibrations of nature that correspond to the time of your birth. They are incorporated into a mantra that you repeat silently. This practice helpe you to transcend the repetitive thoughts of daily life and brings your awareness to your own inner silence.
This place of being still and connecting to something deeper within yourself is available at every moment. And given our current manic pace and over-scheduled lives, a little "being" sure beats more "doing." I loved it!
Jeanna wrote this article a few years ago, and just this week committed to becoming a meditation instructor! We are very excited about that!
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Learn to Meditate
 Want to reduce stress, feel better, find your inner peace, or feel more connected to everyone and everything? You can with meditation. Even if you've never tried it before, you'll find meditation is easy to learn and to do if you are taught correctly. Once you take a class with the Sedona Meditation Training Company you'll have everything you need to meditate on your own. Everyday Meditation Class: Once you take this class, you can take it again at no charge to refresh your practice! Learn how to meditate in as little as 2 hours. Instruction with Sarah McLean. $165 per person. Reduced rates for seniors, students and veterans. Offered in Sedona on Sunday, September 25, 1:00 - 3:30 pm or Sunday, October 2, 1:00-3:30 pm, or Sunday, November 13, 1:00-3:30 pm. Meditation classes are held in a private meditation studio in the Broken Arrow area of Sedona. Also offered in Phoenix at Storm Wisdom on Sunday, August 14, 3:00-5:30 pm, and Saturday October 1, 10:00-12:30 pm. Click here for more info. To register for the Everyday Meditation class or to set up a private appointment contact (928)204-0067. Or click here. Primordial Sound Meditation in Sedona, Arizona, Saturday, August 13th, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm. Offered again Saturday, October 29, and Friday, December 2. Get your own personal mantra as recommended by Deepak Chopra. If you have taken the Everyday Meditation class, you can apply your course fee to the Primordial Sound Meditation Course. Taught by Chopra recommended and certified instructor Sarah McLean (who served as the Chopra Center education director.) Find out more about Primordial Sound Meditation here. To register for the Primoridal Sound Meditation class or to set up a private appointment contact (928)204-0067. Or click here. Outside of Sedona or Phoenix? Listen anytime to guided meditations here. Or receive instruction and 3 powerful meditations on the popular CD Meditate. Read more about it here. Check the calendar for updates including meditation retreats and special events. Or call 928.204.0067. |
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Woman Arising! a boutique destination event in Sedona
I want to be inspired by women, I want to hear how women have followed their paths. I put together the Woman Arising event - a weekend with powerful and dynamic women presenters.
Did you read the book Women Who Run with the Wolves? Did you discover something new about yourself while reading it? Well that's what this Woman Arising conference is about. Discovering that powerful aspect of yourself and honoring your own path, no matter where it has taken you. I hope you can come to share this event with me.
In the early 90's reading Women Who Run With the Wolves, was a life-changing experience for many women. And now, almost 20 years later at Woman Arising, Dr Estés unveils stories from her new book due out in November, Untie the Strong Woman. We are so excited and fortunate that she'll be sharing it with us in Sedona Arizona!
On October 9 & 10, she and other wise and spiritual women will gather at Sedona's beautiful Enchantment Resort for two days of inspiring dialogues and stories of self-discovery. Joining Clarissa Pinkola Estes are these inspirational speakers:
Along with presentations with these fabulous, inspirational women, the program includes delicious vegetarian lunches, beautiful music, a silent auction, fabulous gifts, opportunities to have your books signed by the authors, morning meditations, gentle yoga practices, walks in the red rock wilderness, and optional spa treatments! It's a weekend not to be missed. Find out more about the Woman Arising event here. Come a day early and begin the weekend on Saturday, October 8th with an intimate day-long meditation retreat Quiet the Mind & Open the Heart facilitated by actress and advocate Lindsay Wagner Though the dialogues are open only to women, the one day retreat on October 8 is open to men and women. Space for the day retreat is very limited - only a few spaces left - so if you want to join this retreat, you have to sign up right away. Woman Arising!is sponsored by Sedona Meditation, Heart Wisdom Journeys, The Sanctuary at Sedona, Stone Nation Rising, Sedona artist Victoria Nelson, Four Corners Magazine, Green Living AZ, Natural Awakenings, Heart Wisdom Journeys, and Namaste Publishing. The prorgram is limited to 150 women. Get the details, visit www.WomanArising.com or call 928.202.7995. Here's a link to the secret sale (for newsletter subscribers only.) Register by September 1 and save a lot! |
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I'll leave you with a quote from Joseph Campbell, from his Power of Myth: "People say that what we're all seeking is a meaning for life... I think that what we're really seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonance within our innermost being and reality, so that we can actually feel the rapture of being alive."
Enjoy your life!
Sarah McLean, Director
Sedona Meditation Training & Retreat Co. 
Email us info@sedonameditation.com Call us (928) 204-0067 Visit http://www.SedonaMeditation.com
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