Comments on: Meditate to Live Longer

By: lifebalance

lifebalance — Mon, 09 May 2005 04:57:12 +0000

Steve’s argument for the need to live longer may not be convincing. However, Kathy Sierra elaborates on how mindful meditation can help add more hours to every single day. Now, who wouldn’t want that? Especially for those of us who cannot avoid a multi-tasking style of working…

“Practicing mindfulness is like adding more hours to your day. If you’re mindful, time slows down. You get more done, enjoy things more, and feel less stress. These are big claims, but anyone who’s practiced mindful meditation or, like me, mindfulness-hold-the-meditation-thanks, will swear it’s true.”

http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2005/03/your_brain_on_m.html

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 07 May 2005 16:18:34 +0000

I think the mind has a lot more power over the body than we think. I think its no surprise meditation can have great health benefits, because when you relieve the mind of stress and fatigue it can better care for the body.

By: lifebalance

lifebalance — Sat, 07 May 2005 02:11:40 +0000

When I meditate regularly for approx 40 minutes in a day, I am able to listen to my inner voice better during the rest of wakeful hours in the day. If you are a person who believes it is more important to be effective than efficient, I can’t think of anything else more productive than meditation.

Meditate regularly for 6 months and you will see the mind-blogging magical effect it will have in your life. Believe!

By: Bert

Bert — Fri, 06 May 2005 12:35:25 +0000

Related to my last comment…

It also has been shown that laughing regularly also adds years!

By: Bert

Bert — Fri, 06 May 2005 12:33:38 +0000

On a light-hearted note, losing years by not meditating removes those years near the end of your life. Those are the crappy ones anyway!!

C’mon, folks…just joking!

By: mcogilvie

mcogilvie — Fri, 06 May 2005 01:40:37 +0000

I would not necessarily compare this study to an infomercial; that’s pretty low. I am not familiar with the journal it was published in. I assume the article was peer-reviewed, but journal standards do vary, and quality does vary even with peer review. As I recall, there were several authors, only one of whom was at Maharishi U. I happen to know John Hagelin, a physicist who is on the faculty there (when he is not running for President ). While I am not familiar with his abilities as a politician or as a meditator, he is a competent scientist. The research reported should not be dismissed out of hand.

By: Insomniac

Insomniac — Fri, 06 May 2005 01:06:11 +0000

I meditate every week. This helps me clear my mind of problems and helps me think more clearly.

However, I don’t trust any of the statistics you quotes. Why? Because, in my experience, the groups that practice meditation or yoga are so eager about pushing their practice to the rest of the world that they exagerate or even lie.

So yes, in my opinion, for me, meditation has benefits. However, I doubt that it increases my lifespan.

By: Harvey

Harvey — Thu, 05 May 2005 19:22:28 +0000

I would take with a large pinch of salt any positive conclusion about the benefits of TM when it comes from the people who sell it – the author of the study was from Maharishi University. It is only one small step better than an infomertial.

By: Bugiman

Bugiman — Thu, 05 May 2005 17:54:02 +0000

You never cease to amaze me, Steve

Quote:

“A 23% reduction in the rate of death from all causes.”

So a quarter of them are immortal, he-he Not bad.

By: gochess

gochess — Thu, 05 May 2005 16:47:38 +0000

Steve, I have been enjoying your blog. Here’s something I can offer regarding meditation. The practice is called ZAZEN, and the origin is from Zen Buddhism. One can practice this without any personal subscription to the Buddhist doctrine, but the insights gained goes beyond mere health issues…

http://www.43things.com/people/progress/gochess/99802

Best regards,
gochess