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The three stages of meditation practice Stage One: Survival. Meditation is keeping oneself afloat in a raging sea of inner voices and extreme emotions. It’s a refuge from being dragged down. The challenge here is the voices have a big foothold and talk the practitioner out of meditation and other things that could help. It’s hard to practice when the circumstances of life are challenging. Unfortunately, it’s also the time when most people seek practice in the first place. __________________________________ Stage Two: Maintenance. Meditation is keeping oneself balanced. It’s a preventive measure from going into survival and dysfunction (again). The challenge here is to keep going because, typically, the novelty has worn off, and the voices are angling for “results” to warrant continuing. If everything is going well or something new shows up, the voices will suggest quitting or moving on. __________________________________ Stage Three: Thriving. Meditation is seeing through the illusion of mental constructs and a shift in consciousness. It heightens one’s awareness and ignites creativity, full expression, and increased performance. The challenge here is the same as usual: The voices. They still come up with excuses to quit and suffer, but the practitioner is now using the voices as “flags” to deepen their practice. The voices are worthy opponents to overcome in the process of mastery, freedom, and compassionate self-mentoring. In lovingkindness, Alex p.s. Now that I am no longer a Zen monk in a Zen Buddhist monastery, I spend my time privately coaching my clients worldwide via Zoom. Together, we meet three times each month to focus on creating conscious, compassionate health, relationships, and livelihood. If you’d like a trusted guide to help you along your life’s journey, please feel free to schedule a call with me on my website. I’d be happy to explore what’s possible for you. Want to learn more about the work I offer? I encourage you to pick up a FREE copy of my book, “A Shift to Love,” from my website. In this book, I share my experiences of Zen training and the power of the practice I learned there. And if what you read in there resonates with you, you are welcome to take the next step: Register for my FREE Zen Workshop. In it, I teach the basics of the practice. It’s how it all began for me. My website with all of this information is in my profile description. Thanks for reading, and I hope to meet you someday!

I have been away the last 2 weeks on a journey inward :) Though going inward and spending time on self-reflection is not new to me, Vipassana has provided a fresh sense of direction For the uninitiated, Vipassana, the meditation course is an intensive retreat designed to teach the technique in a structured and supportive environment. Vipassana means “seeing things as they really are,” and it focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, experienced directly through disciplined attention to physical sensations. Testing Physical and Mental Determination The retreat is a true test of physical and mental determination. The structured practice requires adhering to a rigorous schedule, including prolonged periods of silent meditation which is essential for fostering deep introspection and self-awareness. Gaining Insights and Awareness Throughout the course, I found that many questions about my mind and experiences arose. Slowly and steadily, the practice helped me gain awareness of these aspects. The mind has a unique way of providing answers by showcasing patterns and drawing parallels between different thoughts and emotions. Mind has a way of providing direction and showing the path in the most unimagined ways ! Achieving Clarity and Focus Through this inward exploration, I attained remarkable clarity on various aspects of my life. The practice revealed directions on how and what to work upon, highlighting areas that required attention and investment. The process of observing and understanding my thoughts and sensations helped in removing mental clutter, leading to a heightened ability to focus with singular attention. Mastering Mind Over Body One of the most significant achievements of the Vipassana course was gaining control of my mind over my body. The disciplined practice of observing bodily sensations without reacting to them strengthens mental resilience. Personal Benefits 1. Enhanced Self-Awareness: I gained a deeper understanding of my thought patterns and emotional responses. 2. Improved Concentration: My ability to focus and maintain attention on tasks improved significantly. 3. Inner Peace: I experienced a profound sense of stillness and tranquility, which permeated my daily life. Conclusion In summary, the Vipassana meditation course provided a structured path to self-awareness and mental clarity. By embracing the intense silence and disciplined practice, I emerged with a renewed sense of focus and direction. This experience has been invaluable in fostering personal growth and equanimity in my daily life. I have tried to summarize the experience in words though in my view, one has to experience and cannot intellectualize the experience. I would recommend this course to one & all…give it a chance and go with an open & flexible mind. & with this, back in action until my next calling :)

Don’t Meditate Just Because You Think You “Should” When we approach meditation with a “should”, it often creates resistance. Although developing a regular meditation practice has real benefits, the intention behind it can be even more important. Many people come to meditation with a problem-solving mindset, looking for relief from stress, wanting to improve focus, boosting self-awareness, or managing emotional challenges like anxiety. Some know there is unresolved “stuff” that surfaces in their daily experience, which they’d like to address. These goals are meaningful, and meditation can support them, but we’ve found that the most impactful meditation starts not with fixing but with listening. Rather than starting with trying to make stress or discomfort disappear, this approach invites a different question: “What’s really going on here?” This perspective—being present with whatever arises, without immediately needing to change it—is where meditation reveals its deeper benefits. In fact, recent research shows that meditation can be more transformative when the intent is self-acceptance rather than problem-solving. Studies have found that benefits like reduced stress and anxiety, improved focus, and greater resilience are more likely when meditation is practiced to cultivate awareness rather than to control outcomes. In an article from Psychology Today, clinical psychologist Steven C. Hayes, Ph.D., explores how the intention behind meditation impacts its effectiveness. * He explains that focusing on self-understanding and acceptance often leads to more lasting change than simply aiming to “fix” our challenges. So, next time you’re thinking about meditating, consider setting aside the “I should meditate to solve this problem” mindset. Instead, try: “I could meditate to help me better understand the deeper meaning behind what I’m feeling.” Ironically, this approach might just bring about the benefits you were hoping for all along. If that is not possible then perhaps it is better to heed the wisdom of one of the significant contemporary spiritual teachers, Ram Dass, “Wait until you really want it, because when you start with ‘I should,’ you end up hating the practice, hating everybody, and hating yourself. Then you cheat and then you get guilty. Bette to forget it.” #meditation, #potential, #goalmidset, #innerclarity, #resilience *

🧘♂️ The Ten Biggest Cock-Ups in Meditation 🧘♀️ Struggling with meditation? Here are the ten biggest mistakes that hold most people back: 1. Drop the “Perfect Posture” Myth Forget contorting yourself into odd shapes. Get comfy—meditation’s about stilling the mind, not fighting your body. 2. Don’t Expect Nirvana Right Away Meditation takes time. Expecting instant peace? Let go of that pressure. 3. More Isn’t Better Five consistent minutes a day beats one big, dreaded session any day. 4. You Can’t Force a Blank Mind Thoughts? Let them flow by like clouds—no need to force silence. 5. Distractions Will Happen Embrace them, acknowledge, and refocus. It’s part of the process. 6. It’s Not a Quick Fix for Stress Meditation helps over time. Show up consistently, and resilience will build. 7. Don’t Skip Breathwork Your breath is your anchor. It’s simple, but it grounds your mind every time. 8. Stop Chasing Enlightenment Meditation’s about the journey, not a finish line. Focus on being here, now. 9. Don’t Be So Hard on Yourself Missed a session? Mind wandering? Show yourself some compassion. 10. Meditation Isn’t a Performance There’s no “right way.” Just breathe, be present, and let go of expectations. Read more at https://lnkd.in/eCQzChkQ

Meditation Monday... "On being positive Sit or lie in meditation, Picture your path laid out in front of you, There is no detail or surroundings, just the path. Desing the path so it looks inviting, This should feel positive, a path you want to walk down, Picture devine light arriving to you, As it enters your head, feel the temperature of the energy, Then, allow the energy to flow outwards onto your path, from your heart Keep walking, Never stop walking" (channelled information) Being positive is a design. It's something you move into. It takes practice. The more you practice being positive the easier it becomes. Eventually you become positive, even in challenging situations. Emanating positivity happens when you embody this state. You might not outwardly notice but people arond you will notice this from you. I became aware of this when it happened to me. People would ask how I could remain so positive in such a negative situation. I would simply replay by sayin, "It could always be worse!" Eventualy, after many such comments, I became fully aware of this state of mind. I had never consciously realised I was living in this manner. As I examined my life, I started to see this pattern. I noticed that I had several "sayings" like this. All designed about giving myself a clear message. Remain positive!!! It was only much later that I realised I had been divinely guided for a long time. "Words of Power" as I like to call them, also known as Mantras, were dotted around my life. Things like, the only way is UP! It can only get better! It could be worse! Never stop walking! Keep moving! ...and many more, were part of my rhetoric. Later, I was able to see this in action. I saw life expereinces as simply that, experiences! No negative, just experiences that taught me something. A situation that got my attention! But what was the message? This became a game for me. What was the lesson here? What kept me positive? Knowing that it was transient. It could and would get better. Just sit tight and observe! Don't do anything crazy or drastic. Just observe! The path will clear and vision will return. So you see, you become this "thing" that lives that mindset! Observation becomes the name of the game. Which is exactly what Surrender is! Spiritual development or evolution, is not limited to a few niche aspects. It is many things! You can sit in meditation all your life, but if you don't integrate experiences, you don't grow. Running from fear, is running from life! At Universal Truths we teach you all these things! Plus... How to recognise the signs! How to face them head on! How to identify with them! How to work with them! How to recognise frequencies and access them! Turn the Negatives into positives with us!!!

This one habit will set you up for a successful day. (Only if you want to) You know it already but won't do it because you don't see immediate effect. That is, meditating first thing in the morning. (Maybe not one habit) I know, I know. Before you YELL at me, "Tell me something I don't already know." Hear me out. I'm actually about to say something you might not know about Meditation. When you hear the word meditation, you probably associate it with sitting idly and not thinking about anything. am I right? You are right. This is the popularly known approach to meditation. Meditation is commonly used for relaxation and mindfulness. But what if I say, there is a specific approach to meditation that will enable you to be your best self for a period of time or permanently? (In my opinion, if practiced for a longer period, you might actually become a new person. I mean, literally) Here's the approach: This approach requires a little bit of preparation work. The preparation: The first thing you need to do before you start practicing this approach is to figure out your ideal day or ideal self. What I mean by ideal day or ideal self is, how you would wanna spend your day ideally or what kind of person you wish to be on an ideal day. Once you figure out your ideal day or ideal self. You move on to the meditation process. The process: This is the easiest. Now you just have to find a quiet place and start thinking about your ideal day or about how your ideal self would spend the day. (I know, It is easier said than done.) Let's say you have a presentation at work on a given day. You just take 10 minutes either before the presentation or immediately after you wake up, sit on a quiet place and just think about how your ideal self is presenting it to the stakeholders. You just don't think about presenting. You go deeper. You answer tricky questions that might come at you during the presentation. You persuade with your charismatic presentation. Basically, you just go through the process of whole presentation in you mind's eye. In case, you don't have any presentation, but you wish to be your best self. You again take 10 minutes out of your day, meditate on your ideal self, How does he/she talk to their colleagues? What does he/she listen to on the radio during commute to work? etc. This approach has helped me in various ways. Few being: 1. I always start the day with the mindset of success which has a ripple effect of creating more successes in a given day. 2. I also get a chance to live through the day in my head so that I am ready for any challenge that might come my way. 3. The more you meditate on your ideal self, the more you can see yourself becoming your ideal self. (In Freudian psychology, this is called identification. Do check it out.) P.S: If this sounds interesting, let me know in the comments, and I will provide a step-by-step guide on how to practice this meditation in my future posts.

Most people who meditate never go beyond the “Headspace stage”: They believe meditation is a 10-minute date with your phone. This is unfortunate because it is in the deepening of your practice that you • learn to self-regulate yourself more effectively • take control over your mental fitness • get a deeper understanding of yourself.   Understanding meditation can help you deepen your practice. Next to the training itself, understanding the why and the what behind mental training helps you inject wisdom. Here are the books I recommend for executives (and normal human beings ;) ) who want to deepen their meditation practice: 1. Altered States - Altered Traits by Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson Lessons: • We can change our minds to a degree never thought possible. • Meditation will change how you perceive the world and how you act in it. • Long-term retreats improve our minds more than daily practice. 2. Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell Lessons: • This poetic translation of ancient wisdom opens the mind like nothing else. • Accept how things are to change. • Flow is a choice. • Wisdom is counterfactual. 3. Aware by Daniel J. Siegel Lessons: • Meditation begins with training awareness, and Siegel explains this like no other. • Our mind is embodied; it is more than our thoughts. • We can train our minds by noticing what we can be aware of. • Meditation traditions and cutting-edge science increasingly come to similar conclusions. 4. Seeing That Frees by Rob Burbea Lessons: • This book is the most profound companion for experienced meditators. • Insight is becoming aware of how we fabricate our reality. • A deeper understanding of our reality leads to freedom and insights that lead to kindness. 5. The Mind Illuminated by John Yates Lessons: • This book explains the stages of progress in meditation in a modern take on old wisdom. • All meditators go through different stages of progress. • With an understanding of the difficulties we will face, we can meet them with ease. • Each milestone in our progress will change how we act in life. Let's recap. These are the books I would recommend if you want to grow in your meditation practice: • Altered States - Altered Traits by Daniel Goleman and Richard Davidson • Tao Te Ching by Stephen Mitchell • Aware by Daniel J. Siegel • Seeing That Frees by Rob Burbea • The Mind Illuminated by John Yates Which book do you recommend? ----- PS: The biggest lessons from these books are: • a yearly intense retreat beats short-term practice • understanding how to train your mind helps you own your mental fitness • you can change your mind    I host a retreat each year where we apply those learnings in a retreat for executives to • deepen your meditation training and knowledge    • reflect on your impact    • calm the mind to connect to yourself    If that sounds like a fit for you, just write calm below or my DM, and I will send you more information.

▶︎ Ever been told how good meditation is? How many people have actually given you sound research to back their claims? In this post, I demonstrate how the subtle act of meditating can help you unlock greater performance in whatever you do. Let’s dive deep…⁣ ⁣ 📚ENHANCES BRAIN FUNCTION:⁣ Brief, daily meditation enhances attention, memory, mood, and emotional regulation in non-experienced meditators. Meditation enhanced various types of attention, working memory, and recognition memory. Meditation also reduced the behavioral anxiety response to an acute psychosocial stress. 8 but not 4 weeks of brief, daily meditation was needed to demonstrate these effects (Basso et al., 2019).⁣ ⁣ 📗REDUCES STRESS:⁣ Focused meditation sessions reduce Cortisol and guided monitoring meditations also reduced heart rate. When all meditation forms were analysed together, meditation reduced cortisol, C - reactive protein (Inflammatory marker), blood pressure, heart rate, triglycerides and tumour necrosis factor-alpha. Overall, meditation leads to decreased physiological markers of stress in a range of populations (Pascoe et al., 2017).⁣ ⁣ 🔅INCREASES BRAIN GRAY MATTER:⁣ Gray matter is increased after 8 weeks of short meditation. These regions appear to include the area of the locus coeruleus, nucleus raphe pontis, pontine tegmentum, and the sensory trigeminal nucleus (Naidlich et al., 2009). ⁣ The locus coeruleus is the site of synthesis and release of the neurotransmitter norephinephrine, while the raphe nuclei release serotonin (Hölzel et al., 2012). These play vital roles in regulating arousal, mood and wellbeing.⁣ ⁣ 💥TAKEAWAY:⁣ Decent return on investment (10-15 minutes per day). It appears meditation does indeed possess some rather impressive health benefits. It is quite easy to find the time to commit to this practice.. Do you meditate? What have you noticed? Drop a comment below!⁣

Trump’s Shadow Returns – How Meditation Prepares Us to Act Decisively Currently, I’m leading a seminar on the tranquil island of Sylt with top executives from a global luxury brand, guiding them through meditation to deepen their self-awareness and leadership. But today, the weight of events unfolding in the U.S. casts a heavy shadow. It's actually happening: Donald Trump is back and will be president of the USA for a second time. Eight years ago, I felt a similar shock on the day of Donald Trump’s first election victory. I was on a meditation retreat with my venerable teacher, Dan - a monolith in the world of meditation who could effortlessly impart the most advanced Tibetan teachings. Yet that day, Dan faltered, tripping over one meditation instruction after another, visibly shaken to his core. He passed away two years ago, spared from witnessing today’s unfolding turmoil. The consequences are hard to predict - not only for the U.S. but for Europe, Ukraine, and the world at large. 🌱 Beyond Calm: The Power of Deep Presence So, what can we do in a moment like this? What can meditation offer us beyond the basics of focus mind, the internal observer, space between stimulus and response, equanimity, or resilience? At the highest levels, meditation offers something essential: the ability to root ourselves in an unshakable ground of awareness that holds steady, even amid chaos. This is not just about “staying calm.” This is about learning to operate from a place of profound clarity and unbreakable strength, where our awareness becomes resilient and our resolve, unwavering. Advanced meditation invites us to touch into a deep, luminous presence that empowers us to hold the course – not just for ourselves, but for what we stand for, even when the world wavers. 💪 Meditation as a Radical Act of Courage In moments like these, meditation becomes an act of courage. It teaches us not only how to find resilience in our own minds but also how to tap into a force of clarity that guides us to see, in each moment, the right next move – even when the future is uncertain. This isn’t about escapism or pacifying ourselves with “mindfulness for the sake of calm.” This is the work of building a mind and heart capable of bearing the burden of these times, of choosing to stand for the good, and of acting from a place of deep conviction. ✨ Rising Beyond Duality: The Path to Purposeful Action For those willing to venture into this level of practice, meditation ceases to be a personal wellness tool and instead becomes a source of profound purpose, a way to hold the line and move forward with wisdom. Out of the depths beyond duality, from the profound insight into the true nature of being, we draw the strength to act decisively – even in the face of catastrophe. This is where our power lies, enabling us to respond with integrity and courage when it matters most. Because if we don’t show up fully awake and ready to take action, who will?

Are you not sure what to get your friends or teens for Christmas who are neurodivergent and would like to learn to #meditate? Don't want to get suited and booted to brave the shops? Look no further.  In "Meditation and #Neurodivergence: A meditation notebook supporting neurodivergence " Ange Anderson guides readers through the unique challenges and blessings of being neurodivergent while utilising meditation techniques to enhance their lives. From understanding one's energy and abilities to coping with hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity, whilst meditating, this book provides practical strategies. Discover how to effectively meditate through this comprehensive guide. And don't forget to grab a pen and start writing down your thoughts, insights, and reflections in this beautifully designed notebook. Order your copy today easily from home at Amazon. https://a.co/d/5uw06ds Here are some reviews from the United States Atlas 5.0 out of 5 stars  A Transformative Guide for Neurodivergent Individuals As someone who has always struggled with anxiety, overwhelm, and feeling out of control, Meditation and Neurodivergence by Ange Anderson was exactly what I needed. The book offers a practical, approachable guide to meditation tailored to the unique challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals. With clear, simple breathing exercises and techniques designed to help ground yourself in the present moment, I quickly noticed a shift in my ability to manage stress and anxiety. What makes this book stand out is how it acknowledges and addresses neurodivergent experiences—whether you’re hypersensitive or struggle with focus, the strategies offered are truly customized. The notebook aspect is a nice bonus, allowing for reflection and progress tracking. Highly recommend this to anyone looking for a mindful, calming practice tailored to their needs. Jennifer Stockreef 5.0 out of 5 stars  A Must-Read for Neurodivergent Individuals Seeking Calm and Control This book is a game-changer for anyone who feels overwhelmed by anxiety or sensory challenges. The meditation techniques are simple, effective, and tailored to neurodivergent needs, helping you regain calm and control. The included notebook makes it easy to reflect and track your progress. This book feels like a supportive companion on your journey to mindfulness — highly recommended! BookLoverJoe 4.0 out of 5 stars  Good introduction This book balances a simple introduction to meditation with a range of visual and experiential elements to help make it more engaging for a neurodivergent specialty arena. This offers an accessible approach to make meditation easier to begin. D.B. 5.0 out of 5 stars  Great guide. The 3-3-3 advice on meditation for neurodivergent people is spot on. The journaling sections and activities are very practical and helpful.