Copyright © Isabel Barrera. All rights reserved.

Harvard University Study on Reiki

A study from Harvard University reported that a single session of Reiki significantly improved pain, anxiety, depression, nausea, and fatigue.

It's been a long time coming, but the Reiki study conducted at Harvard by members of the Center for Reiki Research (Dr. Natalie Trent, Dr. Ann Baldwin, and William Rand) in 2015 and 2016 has now been accepted for publication in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine! This is the largest prospective Reiki study to date and hopefully will lead to more research.  

This article is from the Spiritual Dynamics Newsletter and it explains very well the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical benefits of meditation.  I hope you enjoy it.

The Many Benefits of Meditation

by Owen K Waters

The hustle and bustle of today's fast-paced world almost makes you want to cry out, "Where can I find some peace and quiet?"

Meditation has become a very popular answer to the need for balance in today's fast-moving society. Meditation was designed primarily for spiritual development, rather than mental or physical benefits. However, by nourishing the spiritual self, its benefits are then reflected throughout the human mind and body.

Spiritual benefits:

Human beings function on spiritual, mental, emotional and physical levels, with each level impressing the next. Your soul impresses your mind and helps you to choose your beliefs about reality. These beliefs then channel your thoughts into patterns which fit into that view of reality. Your thoughts feed into your emotions, and your emotions affect the well-being of your physical form.

It makes sense, therefore, to see that the root of the human tree, your spiritual self, is given the best possible nourishment.

Through meditation you contact the most real part of you. This part is the spiritual source which existed before your physical body was formed. Through contact with that reality, the essence of your soul, you become more identified with that inner you. Your inner self is who you really are. Then, you begin to realize more of your potential because you are able to identify what that potential is.

Your soul is the fountain of wisdom within you. It has access to all information in the universe because it is consciously connected to the entire universe. Your soul is your personal connection to Infinite Being.

Through contacting your inner self, you become more aware of your greatest inner joy. When you follow that innermost joy, you consciously resonate with your soul and manifest your true potential in life. This inner resonance enhances your intuition, making you more capable of choosing the best options in life. This increases the synchronicity in your life as you have then achieved a natural flow which is more in harmony with the universe around you.

Mental benefits:

Living in the now is a spiritual practice and a habit which requires mental attention. By focusing on the now, you bring inner issues under control. Your belief system says that you cannot change the past, and that you can only change the future by acting in the present. It is therefore the "now" which holds the key to effective action. When past-related regrets or future-related worries are brought into the now, they can be experienced, examined for what they are, and then acted upon.

Meditation is well-known for producing increased mental clarity. Greater concentration and creativity are produced, as well as greater memory. The expression of creativity is one of the great natural joys in life, one which appears more and more as you follow your true path through life.

Emotional benefits:

The more you contact your inner self, the more you understand who you really are. This brings forth a balanced sense of self-esteem, one which relies upon your true self rather than the judgments of others.

Inner strength is awakened. This is a calm and self-assured strength, one which helps you face stress and anxiety with renewed energy and poise.

With stress under control, your capacity for happiness is naturally expanded.

Physical benefits:

Meditation provides a deep form of rest that works wonders for the human nervous system. This increases the human capacity for managing stressful situations and provides a sense of increased energy for handling all aspects of daily living.

Meditation brings the body, mind, emotions and spirit into harmony. Disease is a word meaning "dis-ease," literally a form of discord which reflects from the emotions onto the physical body. Extensive research projects have produced valid claims for meditation helping control many ailments, including hypertension, anxiety and panic attacks.

With as many benefits as these, it is little wonder that meditation has become such a popular tool in helping people cope with today's fast-paced world.

Make meditation your daily haven of spirituality in today's noisy world. In no time at all, your morning meditation session will become the highlight of your day.