Meditation Charts New Pathways In The Brain

Looking for more proof that meditation is good for you? Mindful Magazine ran a very interesting article in September explaining the ways that meditation creates measurable changes in the neural circuitry of our brains for the better.

The article is titled, "How the Brain Changes When You Meditate"(1) and is written by by Jennifer Wolkin. Very interesting! We would love your thoughts on this interesting study. Thanks!


(1)  "How the Brain Changes When You Meditate," Jennifer Wolkin, Mindful Magazine, Sept. 20, 2015.

Meditation - Where Do I Begin?

If you are asking this question, you're already on your way to building a personal meditation practice, so congratulations! For the beginner, the many resources available can be overwhelming, leading one to ask the question "which is the best one?"

From my own personal experience, I found that there is no "best one" that works for everyone. Ever since I began my meditation practice five years ago, I have comfortably moved from one spiritual teacher to another, and then sometimes back. Each day I express the desire to be an channel for peace in the world, and I make the intention to be open to everything that will support my personal growth. This has worked well for me; I have learned to pay attention to the messages from within myself and from others around me, even if they seem irrelevant at the time. When I follow this, the information I need to make the right choices usually  falls into place, like rose petals lining a path.

If you already practice yoga, you might consider asking your teacher if they meditate and can make a recommendation. If this is all new to you, I have provided a list of Mindfulness Resources in the sidebar that I have found helpful along my path. Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay and Tara Brach have great collections of resources for people new to meditation. The UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center also has many free meditation resources for everyone. That said, I would still first take a few minutes to explore your own desires, make an intention and write them down; if you are like me, you will probably be doing a lot more of that as your practice matures.

I welcome comments and recommendations from any experienced with meditation to help the new folks as well. Thanks!

There Are No Coincidences

A few days ago, I was checking in with my friend Cindi. We are both in classes to become ministers in our church, and we occasionally share our challenges and successes along our spiritual journeys. At the end of this particular note, I ended by telling her to have a wonderful day, except that I wrote wonderful spelled, "onederful." That was a blunder that even the dreaded auto correct left alone. As I was deleting it, the thought entered my mind that maybe this wasn't a blunder. I wrote it down again: Onederful. The longer I stared at it, the more ideas began to flash before me. I knew then that I needed to do something with this.

So what is Onederful? It's a way to describe feelings, experiences and events that make us aware of a connection to each other and every living thing. When we experience love, beauty, truth or things we simply cannot explain - like miracles - we experience an awe that makes us aware of forces greater than ourselves at work. That's Onederful.

If any of this interests you, there's lots to be shared on this blog and I welcome you. In contrast to the many challenges and difficulties mankind faces in our world today, there is an "awakening" happening. Many people are beginning to see themselves as more than their thoughts and feelings. Quantum physics has revealed that light is energy, and everything in the universe is fundamentally made of energy; further it states that there is an intelligence associated with this energy and the creation of the universe, not randomness. Is it just me, or is quantum physics sounding a bit like religion? Metaphysics (the study of the nature of existence, being and the world) combined with mindfulness (focusing one's awareness on the present moment) are giving us tools to see ourselves as connected beings far beyond our perceived individuality and separateness; definitely Onederful!

I'll be sharing thoughts and insights from many of today's spiritual teachers in the hopes of sparking questions and conversations that will help all of us along our spiritual journeys. Deepak Chopra said that everyone's spiritual path is perfect. This means that we are not here to judge, criticize or save each other; rather we are here to support and learn from each other along our paths. Our guiding principle in supporting each other here at Onderful is to build, to share and to support one another in a spirit of loving kindness. I look forward to hearing from all of you. If you have questions or stories to share, send them to me by email (click the link on the sidebar) and I will post them here to share with everyone. Thanks!