Meditation

[suzy-sue]

I have to agree about the Chant relaxation?meditation dvds .I find they do lower my stress levels and relax me quicker than anything else .I used to think all that stuff was stupid ,but find it can offer so much to compliment western medicine .Sue

[PUGLETMUM]

hey graham, yes it is gaia house - in my excitement i forgot to say what it was called

there is a big buddhist centre in manchester -about 20 miles from me - my sister used to go with a friend - she thought she would get into it - but she didnt! lol - but she did like the food there, at the time she was a vegi.

shes never been depressed, but i have on/off since i was 14 - im now 37, so its more important to me than ever to not be depressed again - i have never felt so strong in my life -through practicing mindfulness meditation and mindfulness throughout the day - you do have to have a formal practice, as otherwise the 'doing' mind takes over and before we know it we have 'forgot' how to be present.

i was excited about gaia house because it was listed in my jon kabat zinn book as 'the' place to find out about retreats in europe - thats the only one they listed - so i knew it was good.

btw - that book is called 'the mindful way through depression - freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness' and it isnt only by jon kabat zinn - the other guys are profs at oxford uni and another is at toronto uni - they are hoping that this is how depression will be treated, but obviously its still relatively new - however i have spoke to ppl in the medical profession who do know what your talking about when you say 'mindfulness' - i completely agree with jon kabat zinn - that awareness is an inevitable part of the future - we cannot as the human race carry on in such ignorance -as we develop we have to become aware?

anyway - i will make it there one day - i dont know when, but i will - i am committed to this practice now for life - i cannot beleive how strong i have become in the 2 years since i found it.

id also like to say that others were practicing this when i first came to nmp as a basket case in 06 - but i ignored it - i didnt even read the threads - but so long as there are ppl talking about it- it should filter through to ppl as an option - id also like to say that it will help with all anxiety disorders - its not just for depression - plus i think most ppl with anx disorders are prob to some degree, depressed anyway - i think you have to be thinking weirdly and beleiving it to think and worry about the irrational things us anx sufferers do?

thanks graham and other for continuing interest - its nice to chat to others with similar interests - and you have given me an idea to try to connect with others who are interested in this practice closer to home - i am now going to look into and plan a trip to the buddhist centre in manchester - thanks!

[graham58]

You're welcome Emma :hugsback: With motivation like that I'm sure you'll find a way to Gaia (or the Buddhist centre in Manchester) and probably soon.

Best wishes,

Graham .