Sri Amit Ray tells us the importance of Nimitta in Meditation for Spiritual Awakening.
Nimittas are the fundamentals for deep meditation. Many of my students, researchers and spiritual seekers requested me to explain nimittas in a very simplistic term. The purpose of this article is to explain nimittas in a meaningful way so that anyone can understand and practice it for their deep meditation.
What is Nimitta?
The word “nimitta” means “sign”, “direction” or “signal.” Nimitta refers to the mental images, feelings, fragrances, sounds or tests that spontaneously appear when mind is sufficiently relaxed and focused. Nimitta arises from soul as ego vanishes. It cannot be created or captured by conscious effort or ego. In meditation nimitta gives you the direction in which to move. Nimitta vary from person to person. Some people perceive it as images and lights. Some people notice it through sensations and feelings. In Deep Om meditation nimitta may arises like a blissful and sweet anahata sound. In Vipassana meditation it may arises peace like a blissful oneness with the cosmos. Read More »Power of Nimitta for Deep Meditation
Vipassana meditation techniques and its relation with emotional intelligence are discussed. Self-awareness, Self-regulation and Self-confidence are the key components of emotional intelligence and your ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively and harmoniously with them are the essence of emotional intelligence. Vipassana meditation is the time-tested and the most ancient way for developing Self-awareness, Self-regulation, Adaptability, Empathy, Witnessing and Social Skills. You will also learn Neuroscience of Vipassana Meditation and Emotional Intelligence. This workshop teaches integrated meditation techniques that combines time-tested ancient Vipassana meditation techniques along with modern science-backed practices that are proven for leadership, creativity, emotion control, developing grey matter in the brain, improving focus, concentration and memory, and resist the shortening of telomeres in your gene which enhances health and longevity.
Self-discovery and empowerment are two powerful components of mindful leadership. Through empowerment you can achieve your greatest potential. Through self-discovery you become aware of your true potential, values, character, and motives. Mindfulness strengthens these two powerful tools of leadership and management.
The sacred spirit or life force energy is within us and around us. You can tap into the power of the universe, draw it in and use it to awaken our inner capacity for value based mindful leadership. We are not separated isolated beings, we are part of One Energy, connected to the vast universe. Mindfulness is our capacity to be touched by nature and beauty of the moment. Through mindfulness, we learn to see the wonder in small things—from a new leaf to a child’s smile.
Mindful Leadership and Self-Discovery
Self has many layers. Knowing the self is the beginning of mindfulness. What are my thoughts now? What are my feelings now? What is my experience now? Who am I? What are my dreams, and strengths? Experiencing these powers of the truth with minute to minute honesty with self is the core practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness creates a positive mood, integrity, inner peace, inner strength, determination, and a warm heart. Researchers have identified that mindfulness enhances strengths, such as self-compassion, emotional intelligence, learned optimism, the relaxation response, self-esteem, distress tolerance, self-regulation, resilience, and executive functions.
Self-discovery is trying to discover who you are, your true potential, your purpose in life, and your core principles of life. It gives you the deeper sense of yourself and your unique role in the world. Self-discovery is a journey form unconsciousness to consciousness. As you are mindful about your true values and potentials, you will build up a great confidence and inner strength.
“Self has many layers. Knowing the self is the beginning of mindfulness.” – Amit Ray
Mindful Leadership and Empowerment
Mindfulness based empowerment is the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one’s life and claiming one’s rights. Good leaders are characterized by their ability to empower themselves and their team members to achieve maximum success. Empowerment is gaining control over your own life. It is a process that fosters power in people for use in their own lives, their communities, and their society.
Mindful leaders have a more optimistic view of the ability to get good work from the team members. This belief makes them more likely to implement empowerment. Based on the recent studies of neuroscience, we can say that the brain takes its shape from what the mind rests upon. If you keep resting your mind on less-empowerment like self-criticism, worries, grumbling about others, hurts, and stress, then your brain will be shaped into greater reactivity, vulnerability to anxiety and depressed mood, a narrow focus on threats and losses, and inclinations toward anger, sadness, and guilt.
Scientific meditations are the meditation techniques that are based on evidence, research data, observations, measurements, inferences and statistics. Scientific meditations are the meditation techniques that are not based on theories and opinions, but with well-proven principles and facts. The time has come when meditation has reached the status of a science. Scientific meditations emphasizes rationalization and standardization of meditation procedures and techniques.
Scientific Meditation Subject areas:
Scientific meditation is a multidisciplinary subject deeply linked to neurobiology, physiology, genetics and anatomy. Primarily, scientific meditation techniques are focused on compassion, kindness, peace, awareness, harmony, oneness, brain power, stress relief, concentration, creativity, efficiency and leadership.
The key component of scientific meditation is expansion of consciousness. Meditation is not just speculation, guess or opinions of others. It is a self-search-journey. It is a result of deep compassion and caring for the self and others.
Qualities of a Scientific Meditator
Despite having different approaches to meditation, all good meditators have develop some similar attributes and qualities, such as compassion, equanimity, confidence, integrity, intuition, visionary, humility, and ability to take fast and best decisions in critical moments. However, not all these qualities can be expected from an individual to become successful in meditation.… Read more..
Mindful leadership needs skills like focus, vision, clear thinking, creativity, inner strength and adaptability. In modern world, leaders must be able to stretch far beyond the transactional, analytical and knowledge-based approach.
There are many mindfulness based leadership and management skills which you can use to help you get better results. This article is a guide to make mindful leadership skills easy to implement. It is for those seeking to make their life happy and meaningful and to make communities and organizations meaningful, valuable and happier places to be.
Mindfulness is the act of being fully present in each moment with kindness and without judgment. Today, most challenges that leaders face are complex, not routine and not repetitive and constantly changing. Mindful leadership is a wonderful skill to navigate today’s complex, rapidly changing, and uncertain world. Mindfulness is a way of living, leading, and serving that can create a better world.Read More »The 7 Powerful Lessons to Master Mindful Leadership
The fields of neuroscience, growth mindset, and mindfulness are all intimately connected to one another.
This article explored the neuroscience of growth mindset, and mindfulness. It also teaches you how to come out of your mental limitations and cultivate mindfulness and growth mindset.
Many people believe that cultivating a development mindset and practicing mindfulness are the two most important factors in achieving contentment and pleasure in one’s life.
Even though life will try to knock you down, if you stick with your passions and create perseverance, grit, tenacity, and endurance, success will come to you eventually. The practice of mindfulness is shown to promote resiliency, grit, personal strength, and the ability to organize and structure one’s life. This article provides a summary of mindfulness, growth mindset, and the role that neuroscience plays in successful achievement.
Resilience is your ability to deal with the ups and downs in life and bounce back from them. Grit is your motivational drive that keeps you on a difficult task over a sustained period of time. Growth mindset is a mindset that perceives challenges as an opportunity to learn and evolve rather than an obstacle to overcome. We are constantly evolving as we are interacting with the world. Mindfulness and growth mindset drives our evolution faster and on right tracks [1].
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is noticing what’s happening right now with your thoughts, in your body, and in the environment without judgement. You can practice mindfulness anytime – when you’re in the shower, planning your day, or washing the dishes. And every time you practice, you make a small shift toward more courage, calm, clarity, and perseverance. To be an mindful person you need to exhibit witnessing and non-judging qualities on a consistent basis.
Witnessing:
Witnessing and self-distancing are the best tools for effective mindfulness. By practicing witnessing, you can distance yourself from your mental tendencies. Your thoughts, emotions, and mental problems are transformed, by their merging in the silence and peace of the witness. You can sit for 10 to 15 minutes of mindfulness meditation. Turn your attention to the contents of your mind; the internal chatter and the images arising and dissolving in your mind. You can label your thoughts and images. Always maintain an attitude of a detached and kind observer.Read More »Mindfulness Growth Mindset and Neuroscience for Success
Surrendering doership is an important yoga practice. You have the right to do your duty, but the results are not dependent on your efforts. There are numerous factors that come into play in determining the results. The witnessing power within you is your true self and your doership feeling is the ego. Mindfulness is the art of non-doership and self-distancing from the ego. Ego has two components attachment and aversion. Self-distancing is creating distance from the ego and it is becoming a distant observer of what’s happening.
Harmony is the smooth flow of life. Harmonious living means, establishing balance with the internal world and external world. Our internal world is full with thoughts, emotions, memories and beliefs.
To establish the connection with the higher fields of consciousness, we need to make peace with our-self. To make peace with our-self, we need to thoroughly know the consciousness that is housed in our limited physical body, within the five senses and the three dimensions of reality. We need to drop the imaginary mental formations – our habit patterns.
To establish the connection, we need to open the higher channels of our consciousness. Different experiences gradually develop various reactions in the body-mind complex, which creates unconscious habit patterns. These habit patterns are the true bondage in the journey towards enlightenment. The habit patterns keep the channels of our consciousness closed – especially higher channels. Closed channels create fragmented consciousness.
Mindful living is a conscious way of living – noticing the beauty of life in every moment. Mindfulness is the doorway to live in harmony with the Universe. Mindfulness creates harmonious consciousness. Mindfulness helps us to live in harmony with our thoughts, words and actions.
Mindfulness is the doorway to live in harmony with the Universe.
Everyone has the fire, but the champions know when and how to ignite the spark. – Amit Ray
In this competitive world gaining the winning edge is important. Gaining the winning edge is a habit and it can be cultivated gradually. Meditation brings out the best of you. Specially mindfulness meditation. It brings the concentration, confidence, control and commitment in life. Proper meditation removes the common distractions of anxiety, mistakes, fatigue, and negative thoughts. It gives the mental quality to focus on the task in hand. It gives the tough attitude to win – the ability to except situations and make them work in your favor. It does not allow people to get frustrated when pressure and mistakes happen. Meditation brings enthusiasm and persistencey.… Read more..
Self-discovery and empowerment are two powerful components of mindful leadership. Through 
Mindfulness creates a positive mood, integrity, 
