This is a post and a picture that I copied from my teacher, davidji's Facebook page this morning. It inspired me to comment and share here on my blog. I would love to hear from you in the comment section below my blog.
“When we meditate, our body's chemistry changes. In fact, we experience the opposite of the physiological effects produced by the fight-or-flight and ego responses. We are less inclined to perspire, our breathing and heart rate slow, our body's production of stress hormones decreases, our sex hormone production increases, our growth hormone levels are elevated, our immune system strengthens, and our platelets become less sticky as blood flows more easily throughout our entire body....some might even go as far to say that meditation saves lives!!! – www.davidji.com
My comment:
Last week while I was out at a restaurant a woman suddenly fell to the ground. I ran to her instinctively. As I knelt down I assessed that we needed to call 911 and so I asked a gentlemen standing next to me – “what is your name?” – he responded – “Paul” – great! “Paul, I need you to call 911 – he was eager to help. I remember feeling grateful that I recalled that step from my CPR training. I then realized that the crowd standing around us was in fight or flight and it was becoming infectious. And that included me!
Immediately I took a long and slow deep breath in with her - the pattern interrupt breath and I gently let that breath go. This enabled me to connect myself fully to this present moment as it was unfolding. I knew that I had about five (5) seconds to immediately shut fight or flight down - to stop the surge of hormones and lower my own heart rate (learned this from davidji). It worked! In the next few minutes all I did for this young lovely woman was breathe with her. In and out. Gently in and gently out while applying cold compresses on her neck, her arms, and her beautiful face. She was so scared so I kept bringing her back to her breath. Through this short time together - with us just breathing - just "meditating" with her we all calmed down - it was having a community effect.
Finally the paramedics arrived and confirmed what I knew. Her "O2" was normal. So were the rest of her vitals and an IV line was opened. I noticed her two small children watching and went to them. I reassured them that their mommy was going to get even more help soon. They surrendered their little bodies into mine and allowed me to hug them. These were some pretty heavy and surreal moments! As I walked next to her gurney and said goodbye to her in the ambulance I reminded her to keep up the gentle breathing. To keep meditating! Naturally she was very grateful and actually laughed when I thanked her for meditating with me! She didn't know that she was a meditator! Afterwards people asked me "are you a doctor, a nurse" to which I replied "no - I Am a meditation teacher! " - thank you davidji!
I personally would say meditation saves lives – definitely mine!
As a student of meditation since 2013, I have experienced many opportunities where I have been “called” to become the calm in the midst of the storms of my life. I would not have been as prepared to respond in that way that day if I didn’t meditate every single day. My meditation practice has helped me become more fully present throughout my day and has created an awareness of these opportunities. Each morning as part of my ritual I ask the Divine a heart question, “how may I serve – how may I serve?” And lo and behold – it is beyond true that God, the Divine – The One – uses ordinary people to complete the extraordinary plan.
God doesn't call the Qualified - he Qualifies the Called - 1 Corinthians 1:27-29
We never truly know the power of our ripple ~ so please keep meditating! We need you!!
