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There are two major techniques for meditation. The first method is called concentration meditation, and the other, mindfulness meditation.

Concentration meditation is defined by focusing on an object (an image, a sound or a word). It also employs breathing techniques, and minimizing distractions by always focusing on that chosen object. There are so many forms of this concentration meditation, including chakra, yantra, and mantra.

A chakra is a believed energy center in the body. There are seven of the chakras along the spinal column and three of them (the third, fourth, and sixth) are used for the chakra technique. The third chakra is the center for strength, the fourth for happiness, and the sixth for wisdom. By focusing on these chakras during meditation, strength, happiness, and wisdom will be gained. A yantra is an ancient geometrical design, which represents happiness and clarity. During yantra, the focus is on the center of the design and once the mind is quiet enough, the focus is extended outward until the entire design is being concentrated on. A mantra is a sacred word or phrase, meaning “speech” or “prayer”. During Mantra, this word or phrase is repeated, focusing on breathing technique, as well as the sound and energy that the mantra brings.

The second meditation technique is mindfulness meditation, also known as “vipassana” by Buddhists. This is quite different from the concentration method. Instead of pushing out thoughts and focusing on one particular object or phrase, with the mindfulness method the person is attentive to all of the passing emotions, sensations, images and sounds. This form imposes the same health benefits as concentration meditation, but it is simply done in a different way.

Meditation can be practiced in many ways and there are several meditation exercises available for people with different objectives. For people who are body-oriented, there various physical forms of exercise can be used to get in touch with the inner self. For the heart-oriented, prayer is considered the best form of attunement; for the intellect-oriented, meditation is their path to enlightenment. All types of meditations follow the same pattern where they begin with transforming the body, then move through the heart, next they arrive at the mind and then they go beyond. Meditation exercises are designed for reducing stress, building self-confidence and self-esteem, and maintaining good health.

One of the most popular meditation exercises is the breathing exercise where the meditators have to focus on inhalation and exhalation. The idea here is to become aware of the gap between inhalation and exhalation that is present for a fraction of second. Breathing meditation is popular as it is easy to understand and practice. The benefits of this exercise are also visible after a relatively shorter span of time when compared with other meditation exercises. This type of meditation can be done either by quietly sitting in a posture or by coupling it with other actions such as walking and eating.

Another type of meditation is the objective kind of meditation where the meditators choose any object to look at and then meditate on its origin. Meditators can allow their thoughts to wander to the origin of the object, the process of its making and then various stages involved in bringing the object to its present situation. This type of meditation is ideal for beginners as they may find it easier to relate to things that they can see than to something abstract.

Meditators who may be unsure about the benefits or the way of performing meditation exercises can consult qualified health professionals, specialists, or reputed teachers for advice.

Meditation gardens are really a new concept. These gardens are built with the aim of providing relaxation. Meditating in meditation gardens has proven to foster stress recovery by inculcating positive feelings and reducing negative emotions and stressful thoughts. These special kinds of gardens have an invigorating ambiance to revitalize your body, mind and soul.

Meditation gardens are ideal places for those who prefer outdoor meditation. They are conducive to peace and tranquility. Meditation gardens bond human beings with nature. They are ideal for relaxation, reflection and cogitation.

Most meditation gardens have simple and uncluttered design. Meditation gardens designed in circular shape represent the cycle of life. Square shaped gardens represent universal order, and shapes such as a Celtic knot symbolize the journey of life.

Most meditation gardens have green plants, water and rocks in them. Many of these gardens provide several extra amenities. These include meandering pathways, large gazebo, tranquil lily or lotus pond and many park benches suitable for sitting for long periods of time. Plants blooming cool-colored flowers are ideal for meditation gardens. Flowers of cool colors are a welcome relief to the eyes of the visitors. It is advisable that you grow plants that flower at different times to ensure a full season of color. It is also important to plant medicinal plants for refreshing the air. Ponds and fountains provide a calming atmosphere to visitors.

Meditation gardens are visited not only by meditating people, but also travelers who want to enjoy a serene atmosphere with family and friends. Famous examples of meditation gardens include the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Myth and History of Garden Labyrinths and Zen and the Art of the Ancient Tea Garden at the Cleveland Botanical Garden.

Healing meditation is a special meditation technique to cultivate peace and calm in your body, mind and soul. Practicing healing meditation helps everyone to overcome various stresses in their daily lives. Based on the ancient techniques of Buddhist meditation practices, it fosters peace of mind, concentration, increased self awareness, higher consciousness, enhanced creativity and spiritual development. This kind of meditation is highly useful for those suffering from some sort of emotional or physical pain.

Healing meditation is easy to practice and it can be done simply by oneself without instructions. Everyone can derive good health and well-being through proper healing meditation. You can practice it by simply lying down on a carpeted surface or sitting comfortably in a back supported chair. You should begin by relaxing your body by taking several conscious, deep breaths. Focus your attention on your breath going into and out of your body. Stretch the muscles on your face and then relax them. Visualize all of the lines and tight areas of your face. Keep visualizing that tension is lifting from your face. Continue and apply this exercise through your whole body, from tip to toe. It is should be reminded that you should concentrate on one area at a time.

Healing meditation counteracts toxins and negative energy in your cells. It generates a positive stance by bringing the body, mind and spirit into peaceful harmony. It also reduces negative thinking which harms the person.

A conscious, regular, deep healing meditation heals your body and mind and transforms your life into a state of balance and harmony. If you practice this meditation throughout your life, you will find that you possess the solutions to all your problems.

Guided meditation is a form of stress relief that is conducive to relaxing the whole body, in part by finding a way of peaceful and calming relaxation from within the body. Guided meditation may utilize soothing photographs or scenarios to enhance the ability of the mind to relax and guide the body to a point of relaxation so that the person in meditation can find a true sense of inner peace. Quite often, guided meditation will be accompanied by soft music or sounds of nature.

One of the keys to successfully having a session of Guided meditation is finding an area where the one meditating will be free of distractions. Any outside interference will prevent proper concentration and make the attempts at guided meditation futile and perhaps even frustrating, further aggravating the problem seeking to be solved by the very use of guided meditation.

After finding a suitable location for guided meditation, other factors need to be taken into consideration. Some practitioners of guided meditation feel that visual stimuli can be used to help achieve a sense of inner peace and help to achieve true relaxation. Still other practitioners of guided meditation feel that any outside visual simulation will detract from the mind’s ability to properly focus on the body and the results of the guided meditation will be hindered or even reversed.

The same can be said for audio stimulation during sessions of guided meditation. While some individuals believe that soothing sound effects or even quiet music is conducive to the guided meditation, still others believe that it is only a hindrance and will do nothing more than create a harmful atmosphere for the practitioner of such guided meditation.

The basic concept of guided meditation is to relax. This is done by taking oneself on a guided tour of sorts through their own body. In the practice of guided meditation, it is normal to find a focus point in the body and begin there, someplace that is easy to relax. While staying focused on the body and in particular the muscles, the practitioner of guided meditation attempts to relax the muscles of the body. Allowing the body to completely relax allows the practitioner of guided meditation to next completely relax the mind.

When the mind and body are completely relaxed, the person can begin to concentrate on focusing his thoughts and ideas during the guided meditation. When using guided meditation, thoughts are usually thought to be transcendent and more in focus allowing the practitioner to perform better in all aspects of life. Whether or not guided meditation is right for a person is not only dependent on spiritual beliefs. Anyone contemplating the benefits of guided meditation must be seeking to improve themselves as a whole as well.

Meditation is a practice that involves focusing on an object, a sound or your breath. The idea behind meditation is to focus or concentrate your thoughts on one relaxing thing for a sustained period of time. Usually 15 - 30 minutes will do.

It is important to know that there is no experience that should be desired during meditation.

You should begin your meditation by sitting comfortably in a cross legged position, when possible. This method is best known in the West as zasen, or sitting meditation, of Zen. Sitting in meditation helps quiet your mind and leaves you feeling clear, peaceful and relaxed.

Benefits of:

Although Benefits are not sought, many benefits are achieved from daily meditation practice.

By practicing daily meditation you will experience, relaxation, increased awareness, mental focus, clarity and a sense of peace.

In some people meditation can help relieve stress or anxiety related disorders such as depression, insomnia, headaches, poor concentration and hypertension (high blood pressure.)

Those who practice meditation regularly claim it can free you from all affliction. If meditation is practiced on a regular basis, these beneficial changes become relatively permanent.

The Practice of:

Like most skills, meditation requires you to practice in order to achieve positive and satisfying results. Of course longer meditation periods create better results and this will be realized when you build up some experience.

Some people use this time as a form of worship but the great thing about meditation is that you can practice it without any religious overtones whatsoever.

As you begin to practice meditation more frequently, it will become easier. Even though, meditation can be performed anywhere, it is always best to practice the ritual in the same space for comfort and sense of security.

After you have mastered meditation, the mind is unchanging like the stillness of water in a windless place. In the still mind, and in the depths of meditation, your eternal Self reveals itself. The ultimate goal is for meditation to become a continuous state of mind. If you get distracted, do some breathing meditation to calm your mind. Unfortunately, once the mind thinks of some other factors like mental commentary, analysis, or internal gossip, your meditation will come to an end.

One of the easiest ways of starting to meditate is to buy a pre-recorded meditation tape. Normally, these will have a couple of meditation tracks that are either designed to help you to meditate in general or, maybe, to provide a guided meditation for a specific purpose.

The specific guided meditation topic could be almost anything. Often it is to do with healing your body. The relaxed state that you will achieve when you meditate will help your body to heal itself. Add in the various directions within the guided meditation tape and you’ll be well on your way to helping your body to heal itself.

There are many places online where you can buy a meditation tape. These range from general web sites like Amazon, which provides an excellent range to help you start, through to specialist websites that only deal in meditation tapes and downloads.

Which you choose is up to you and will depend to a large extent on whether you prefer to have a physical tape or CD that you can handle or if you prefer the immediate satisfaction of downloading a track that you can instantly transfer to your iPod and start to use, rather than waiting for the postal system to deliver your eagerly awaited meditation session.

Another advantage of using a specialist website for your meditation tracks is that quite a few of them will offer bonuses if you buy more than one session at once.

This, coupled with the laser precision of buying exactly the track you want, is leading more and more people to do away with meditation tapes and purchase their guided meditations online instead.

The Little Book of Wholeness and Prayer: An Eight-Week Meditation Guide. By Kimberly Beyer-Nelson. Skinner House, 2002; $14. Introducing three kinds of prayer-active contemplation, verbal prayer, and centering prayer-this book of daily spiritual exercises invites the reader into a holistic, body-affirming relationship with God.

The author, a hatha yoga and meditation teacher, is director of religious growth and learning at the Unitarian Church of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Not so long ago, the art world was enthralled by identity. Influential shows like the 1990 “Decade” show at the New Museum and the 1993 Whitney Biennial foregrounded artists’ gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and race, setting off a scramble by artists to embrace some exotic ancestry or group identity in the service of artistic relevance. The cachet of Otherness persisted for several seasons before the art world moved on, glad to be rid of the dictates of “victim art,” political correctness and essentialism.

But if identity as an art style is passe, it remains a potent force in human behavior. As the day’s top news stories suggest, nationality, ethnicity, race and, increasingly, religion continue to serve as pretexts for political and social strife. In a world where riots break out over religious symbols and nations are torn apart over ethnic differences, fixed definitions of identity emerge as an obstacle, rather than a solution, to meeting the needs of marginalized groups striving for representation, power and influence. As a result, art that reinforces rigid categories is less helpful than art that presents a more fluid and hybrid model of identity.

“Family Legacies: The Art of Betye, Lezley, and Alison Saar,” an exhibition curated by Jessica Dallow and Barbara Matilsky for the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, provides a remarkably layered meditation on the complexities of identity. It presents the work of three prominent African-American women artists who are also members of the same immediate family. While kinship shows always offer interesting insights into the mysteries of familial influence and competition, this one is remarkably cohesive, revealing how an interweaving of personal and ancestral history, family inheritance and shared traditions has yielded three complementary but distinctive bodies of work. In the process, it demonstrates how rich a subject identity can be when it is approached as a tool for inquiry rather than an end in itself.

The story begins with Betye Saar, the family matriarch, whose ancestry is a mixture of African-American, Irish and Native American. Born Betye Irene Brown in 1926, she married Richard Saar, a white ceramist and conservator, in 1952, and the two lived together in Los Angeles until their divorce in 1968. Saar was part of the black arts movement of the early 1970s, applying the assemblage approach also being practiced by artists like Ed Kienholz and Bruce Conner to her own experiences as an African-American woman. In a process that would have a significant impact on her daughters’ work, she combined personal mementos, icons of American popular culture and references to African and other non-Western mythological systems.

Betye and Richard had three daughters: Lezley (born 1953) and Alison (born 1956), who became artists and share the limelight in this exhibition with their mother, and Tracey (the youngest), who became a writer and has contributed an essay to the show’s catalogue. Tracey notes the atmosphere of artistic creativity that pervaded the household. After the divorce, the girls lived with their mother but remained close to their father, and they attribute some of their sensitivity to materials to working with him in his conservation studio.

Despite differences in format and theme–Betye remains engaged with assemblage, while Lezley tends to work more two dimensionally and Alison is primarily a sculptor–there are strong threads that tie their work together. The curators have chosen to emphasize this continuity by arranging the show thematically rather than by individual artist. This partially blurs their individual artistic personalities, but also makes it possible to see the exhibition as an interconnected whole.

Not surprisingly, one of the most powerful themes here is family history. The exhibition opens with a selection of works that underscore continuities between generations. A 1964 etching by Betye depicts her and her two oldest daughters, and a set of collages presents photographic images of the clan’s female ancestors lightly silkscreened on embroidered handkerchiefs. These include Betye’s great-grandmother, Frances Parson White, a determined looking dark-skinned woman; Frances’s daughter Aunt Hattie, a very light-skinned woman in a fashionable flapper dress, who smiles coquettishly; and a faded photograph of three-year-old Betye posed as a flower girl. Another work, Wings of Morning (1987-92), is a memorial to Betye’s mother. It consists of a tombstone-shaped slab surrounded by twigs and embedded with objects relating to the mix of spiritual traditions–Christian/European and African Vodun–that signify her mixed heritage.

Alison comments more metaphorically on the weight of family history in Inheritance (2003), a sculpture of an adolescent African-American girl carrying a huge wrapped bundle of white sheets on her head. Reminiscent of African sculptures of women with elaborate headdresses or parcels on their heads, it also touches on the psychological burdens of sorting out an individual identity in such a close-knit family.

Lizards & Snakes: Alive! Through January 7, 2007 Live lizards and snakes are the center of attention in this engaging exhibition that explores these creatures’ remarkable adaptations. Fossil specimens, life-size models, and interactive stations complement the more than 60 live animals representing 26 species.

Lizards & Snakes: Alive! is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York (www.amnh.org), in collaboration with Fembank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta, and the San Diego Natural History Museum, with appreciation to Clyde Peeling’s Reptiland. Lizards & Snakes: Alive! is made possible, in part, by grants from The Dyson Foundation and the Amy and Larry Robbins Foundation.

Through January 2, 2006 China’s Yunnan Province is revealed through the eyes of the indigenous people, who use photography to chronicle their culture, environment, and daily life.

The exhibition is made possible by a generous grant from Eastman Kodak Company. The presentation of this exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History is made possible by the generosity of the Arthur Ross Foundation.

Yellowstone to Yukon

Through January 15, 2007 Spectacular photographs emphasize the diverse flora, fauna, and geology of the Yellowstone to Yukon corridor–an area connecting habitats so that wide-ranging animals can travel unimpeded by human structures and developments.

This exhibition was developed by the American Museum of Natural History’s Center for Biodiversity and Conservation in concert with the Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative and the Wilburforce Foundation and is made possible by their support. Additional generous support provided by the Woodcock Foundation.

Vital Variety

Ongoing Beautiful close-up photographs highlight the diversity of invertebrates.

LECTURES

The Queen of Fats Tuesday, 10/3, 7:00 p.m. Susan Allport discusses the discovery, science, and politics of omega-3s.

Making of the Fittest Thursday, 10/5, 7:00 p.m. Geneticist Sean Carroll leads a riveting tour of his search for a record of evolution in DNA.

Snake Venoms Thursday, 10/12, 7:00 p.m. Snake venoms can be deadly but they also have promising medical applications. (Note: this program includes live snakes.)

Rivers of America Tuesday, 10/17, 7:00 p.m. Conservationist Tim Palmer presents his stunning photographs that showcase the place of rivers in the web of life.

Creatures of Accident Monday, 10/23, 7:00 p.m. Wallace Arthur, National University of Ireland, Galway, builds a persuasive picture of how evolution proceeds by an essentially accidental process.

Protecting Iguanas Thursday, 10/26, 7:00 p.m. Meet a live iguana and learn about the International Iguana Foundation’s conservation programs.

WORKSHOP

Moonlight Meditation Sunday, 10/22, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Enjoy this unique opportunity for a guided meditation in the Museum’s Cullman Hall of the Universe.

GLOBAL WEEKENDS

The Legend of the White Snake Sunday, 10/22, 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. The Qi Shu Fang Chinese Opera Company combines traditional music with colorful Chinese costumes and acrobatics.

Snake and Lizard Tales of India Saturday, 10/28, 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Swati Bhise and the Sanskriti Ensemble present two legendary Indian short stories through dance.

Global Weekends are made possible, in part, by The Coca-Cola Company, the City of New York, the New York City Council, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional support has been provided by the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., the Tolan Family, and the family of Frederick H. Leonhardt.

FAMILY AND CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

Dr. Nebula’s Laboratory Voyage through the Stars Saturday, 10/28, 9:00-10:00 a.m. Learn how ancient people navigated by the stars.

Wild, Wild World: Bats Saturday, 10/28 12:00 noon-1:00 p.m. or 2:00-3:00 p.m. Just in time for Halloween, kids can meet a few live bat ambassadors.

Wild, Wild World is made possible, in part, by Mortimer B. Zuckerman.

LIZARD SUNDAYS

Lizard Locomotion Sunday, 10/15, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Ages 4-6, each child with one adult) or 1:30-3:00 p.m. (Ages 7-9) Fascinating facts about the ways lizards and snakes get around.

Lizards Who Lunch Sunday, 10/22, 11:00 a.m.12:30 p.m. (Ages 4-6, each child with one adult) or 1:30-3:00 p.m. (Ages 7-9) How and what do lizards and snakes eat? Find out in this workshop.

Lizard Lore Sunday, 10/29, 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. (Ages 4-6, each child with one adult) or 1:30-3:00 p.m. (Ages 7-9) Snakes and lizards have long held important places in religious lore, cultural myths, and storytelling.

HAYDEN PLANETARIUM PROGRAMS

TUESDAYS IN THE DOME

Virtual Universe Ages of Exploration Tuesday, 10/3, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

This Just In … October’s Hot Topics Tuesday, 10/17, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Celestial Highlights Spooky Skies Tuesday, 10/31, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

HAYDEN PLANETARIUM SHOWS

Cosmic Collisions Journey into deep space–well beyond the calm face of the night sky–to explore cosmic collisions, hypersonic impacts that drive the dynamic formation of our universe. Narrated by Robert Redford.