Seattle – Washington – USA (by Jeff Gunn) 

Seattle – Washington – USA (by Jeff Gunn

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Beautiful Europe

Lucerne, Switzerland (by Eduardo)

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3 Ways Meditation Changes the Brain and the Body

Meditation has been practiced by Eastern Cultures for thousands of years and is believed to offer many benefits including those which can help you become stronger and healthier.

The practice has been introduced to the Western Culture, and each day more and more people from western cultures are embracing the practices of meditation and are realizing the potentially large benefits that meditation offers in multiple areas of your life.

The benefits of meditation have been accepted by many medical experts as an important part of healing.

Matter of fact, the medical community has thoroughly studied the physiological benefits of meditation.

Furthermore, meditation has been accepted by mainstream health care providers as a method of stress and pain reduction.

The benefits of meditation are much farther reaching than that, but knowing that meditation is an accepted form of pain relief by many hospitals and doctors can give you the needed nudge to make meditation part of your healing process.

Medical experts agree that along with prescribed medical care, meditation can help control diabetes, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, cholesterol, and many other medical conditions.

This means that meditation can help reduce the amount of medicines that you take and the symptoms of these ailments. Being less dependent on doctors if you have a chronic condition is one of the great benefits of meditation.

Relaxation and meditation both have a very powerful effect on the body and the mind. They can help you cope with all kinds of medical conditions, let you find enlightenment, and generally help you deal with life in a much more effective way.

Simply put, everyone can benefit in some way by learning how to meditate and relax, especially if they are suffering from stress-related illnesses.

Just taking a few minutes a day to relax will help you start to enjoy the benefits of meditation.

In my opinion, It’s almost impossible to name all of the benefits of meditation, but I am ganna give it try 🙂

Let’s explore the major benefits that meditation offers.

Physiological benefits

Meditation has been distinguished as a process that relaxes the mind and body and is used as a mean to counteract with the related stress that the modern life offers.

Meditation helps one in relaxing to the utmost heights. This effect of Meditation benefits the high blood pressure patients.

It also improves the immune system which in turn helps the body to fight off diseases and drastically lowers emotional distress and activity of viruses.

Moreover, the risk of cardiovascular disease and cholesterol levels get lowered through meditation.

Migraines and headaches are also dealt with by practicing meditation. It also improves the breathing capability in asthma patients.

It aids in relaxing the nervous system and regularizing the hormonal production and the endocrine system of our body.

Meditation even reduces the pressure on the heart and thus this lowers the likelihood of different kinds of heart diseases, eventually diminishing the levels of unease and stress.

Also, by balancing the mind and body through meditation, a person can promote positive physical and mental changes in themselves. During meditation, the body has time to recharge and regenerate any lost cells and repair the damages done by illness and stress.

Psychological benefits

The psychological benefits of meditation are vast and thus focusing the mind and turning inside helps a great deal.

Meditation helps in decreasing anxiety, irritability, and despair. It also aids in developing determination, willpower, and emotional stability.

One can also overcome their fears and phobias by using meditation.

Also, It helps in building the self-confidence of the practitioner and boost the feeling of creativity and vitality.

The deep breathing and focus used during meditations can enhance our memory and thereby increases our learning ability.

Meditation can bring about the feeling of self-belief, self-control, and better relationships.

With the help of meditation, we can control our mind and thus can make it go where we want instead of freely wondering with it.

Negative thoughts are gradually replaced by positive attitudes with daily practice of meditation.

Self-satisfaction is improved with a regular meditation practice; this is resulting in feeling happier, healthier and more at ease as we go through our days.

Spiritual benefits

It has been documented that meditation develops the quality of thinking process of individuals as they continue the regular practice of meditation.

Meditation can help us gain a new perspective on life and gain a greater understanding of life, our purpose, and our existence.

Meditation induces a greater level of spiritual repose and brings in harmony between the body, spirit and mind.

Meditation also widens and deepens the capacity of love and thereby changes our overall attitude towards life.

In the studies on cancer and AIDS patients, it is observed that many are most interested in meditation as a way of getting in touch with the divine and becoming more familiar with the other dimensions of life.

Self-realization and divine awakening can also be realized through meditation, and many have told stories about their awakening; just google it and you’ll be able to find tons of stories from people from around the globe about how meditation helped them become awake and enlightened.

So, above I highlighted three major areas where meditation can help you get the most out of your meditations.

So, are you ready to try meditation?

To get started, try this simple meditation exercise. It is very easy and only takes a few moments.

First, make sure that you find a quiet spot where you can sit comfortably and won’t be disturbed.

Close your eyes and use your nose to take a deep breath that fills your lungs all the way down to your abdomen, and then slowly release it using your mouth.

Try this again and make sure that when you inhale you think of the phrase, ‘Cool, and clear mind.’ As you release your breath think ‘Calm and relaxed body.’

Keep your mind relaxed and focused on these two phrases. It is important to stay in the current moment and not think about anything else.

Keep doing this exercise for four to five minutes and when you are finished, you should feel relaxed and refreshed. That’s all there is to it!

If this is your first go at meditating, the relaxed feeling may not last for a long time, but as you continue meditating you will notice that your calm feeling will stay with you longer.

You may also notice that you will have a better handle on any situation that is bothering you if you meditate on it. This is only a sample of the benefits of meditation that you can enjoy if you learn to meditate on a daily basis.

So what are you waiting for, get your meditation on today!

The post 3 Ways Meditation Changes the Brain and the Body appeared first on Change your thoughts.

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LIAG Architects Design Energy Saving Art Storage Facility


Courtesy of LIAG architects

Courtesy of LIAG architects

LIAG Architects has unveiled their design for a new art storage building. Commissioned by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the aim of the project was to create a large open space, while simultaneously meeting other needs such as protecting art that can’t be exposed to daylight, controlling the temperature in certain zones, and using minimum amounts of energy to operate the building.


Courtesy of LIAG architects

Courtesy of LIAG architects

The 29,000 square-meter storage building is a simple volume designed not to reveal the organization of the interior. The entrance is a gold cladded arch shape, which opens the building towards an adjacent train station. The compact volume allows for the form to be expanded upon to create a larger facility if needed in the future.


Courtesy of LIAG architects

Courtesy of LIAG architects

The layout of the facility allows for art to be transported through the shortest routes possible. Each of the three floors contains one main corridor from which all spaces are accessible.


Facade Treatment Diagram. Image Courtesy of LIAG architects

Facade Treatment Diagram. Image Courtesy of LIAG architects

The design addresses the need to protect the artwork through both passive and active systems. The façade system utilizes a material that reflects daylight, but avoids glare. This material not only changes the building’s appearance throughout the seasons, but also allows controlled amounts of light to enter into the storage spaces.

The temperature of the facility is moderated by an insulated skin and energy stored in the ground. Different programs within the building are situated in ways that meet their specific needs. Studios and offices, which can tolerate warmer temperatures, are located at the top of the building, while cooler storage spaces are located on the lower levels. 

DESIGN TEAM: Thomas Bögl, Maja Frackowiak, Jordy Aarts, Erik Schotte, Arie Aalbers, Jeroen Moerman, Anna Gunnink, Clemens Rothleitner, and Jose Reviriego Machío.

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room with a view by dustinthewind31 by dustinthewind31

view from my holiday home in Costermano – Gardasee

composing with ipiccy 🙂

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Ahu Nau Nau by mainz by mainz

Ahu Nau Nau is symbolically one of the most important ahus on Easter Island as it is located on the beautiful beach of Anakena, the place where, as the story goes, King Hotu Matu’a first landed with his entourage to populate the island.

The ahu was restored in 1978 by a team led by Sergio Rapu, the island’s first professional archaeologist. It was also here that the white coral and red scoria eye was found, which is currently exhibited in the museum and has served in the recreation of the true image of the upright moai statues on their altars.

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Sky Road by gnbphotos by gnbphotos

I took this photo during my last road trip last friday in the north of Taiwan. We came here as the weather predictions were optimistic, but as it is up in the mountain, weather changes dramatically in a very short period of time. We had fog for almost one hour, but we were optimistic, we stood there and waited for the right moment, the right light. The sunset was approaching and the fog was getting less dense. For 5 minutes, we could have this view of the road with a bit of fog at the end of it, which in my opinion, it gives the photo a much more mysterious look, and together with the sunset, I ended up with this nice photo! Hope you enjoy it!

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The World is yours to Explore! by Erdenebulgan by Erdenebulgan

The World is yours to Explore!
Taken from 4200m of mount Elbrus.

Join my photography workshops in Mongolia at: PristineMongolia.com

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Today’s Best Deals: Tech Gear, Logitech Harmony, Self-Inflating Air Mattress, and More

Selected: In the hole. by WyanEle