How To Increase Focus: A Powerful Meditation Technique For Focus And Concentration

Well here we are at the final article in this series on how to increase focus by using meditation. We learned about the physiological effects of meditation. We learned a simple mediation technique developed by Harvard Medical School. We learned a simple breathing technique for creating a deeper meditation state, and now we are ready to learn the most powerful meditation technique of all.

Meditation is simple a form of concentrated thought. There are many ways for achieving your focus. Some people focus on an object like a candle. They gaze at the flickering candle while blocking out all distractions. Others meditate on a picture of diagram. Visual meditations like this use what is called a Yantra or visual focus. However, most people are used to meditation based on a mantra. Let me explain how this type of meditation works.

A mantra is a sound, word, phrase, or statement that is repeated. For example, many people are familiar with the Eastern meditation upon the sound OM. It is supposed to be the sound that the universe makes. We already investigated using a single word as a focal point for meditation when we learned about the techniques taught at Harvard. We learned to meditate focusing upon a single number. Today, I want to teach you a meditation based upon the repetition of a phrase.

You can choose anything phrase you want. It can be an affirmation like, "I am strong in the Lord, and the power of his might. My yoke is simple, my burden is light. I am strong, free, and unafraid. Using a phrase for meditation works better for many western minds. They get bored repeating a single sound or word repeated. A longer phrase get's their minds more attentive. However, I believe that a religious phrase you are comfortable using works best. Let's look at a perfect example.

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done

On Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive they that have

trespassed against us.

Our Lord lead us not unto temptation,

but deliver us from evil,

and the kingdom and the power will be yours.

What is nice about using the Lord's prayer is its familiarity for many people. You can easily use a different prayer, but because many people already know this, and are comfortable using it, it works well.

You sit in a chair. Feet on the floor. Get comfortable. Close your eyes, and repeat this prayer for 20 minutes. When you find your mind drifting away then gently nudge it back. You will find this form of mediation very relaxing and it will give you the ability to focus and concentrate your mind.

While working or performing an activity that requires focus. Simply gently move your thoughts back to your goal if you become distracted.

Increase Your Self Esteem by Playing Scientific Brain Games

Have you been forgetting names recently? Do you look at a person and think "Yes, I have seen him/her somewhere"? Do you forget important dates and appointments? If you do not pay attention to working on the current situation you would soon be worse off. This can be a really embarrassing situation. Forgetting meetings, appointments, the name of your clients or friends can spell disaster. You would soon end up with people giving you no importance and in turn a self esteem problem.

Now what can you do to solve the problem and make things better? Enrolling for a course that would help you improve your memory is a good idea. However, there are chances that you may soon loose interest in the course. You definitely need something that can keep you interested and what you love doing. The scientific brain games offer the perfect solution to a memory problem or a low self esteem.

The scientific brain games are designed taking into consideration various aspects. Your brain like any other part of the body needs to be put into action on a regular basis to be alert and active. Thus, it is important that you pose new challenges and present situations that your brain has to use the different faculties to provide a solution. The scientific brain games have so many twists and turns that the brain would be provided enough exercise and this in turn would help sharpen your memory, concentration, alertness and help you overall. There are different questions that you come across for which you need to find answers. This makes it active and with thinking and alertness required you can be sure that all parts of your brain would be well-oiled and spring into action.

The scientific brain games are real fun and so you would not get bored. For the brain to be happy it is important that you put it into action and also that you are interested in what you do. With the scientific brain games you can be sure that you would be thinking. When winning in the game and moving ahead faster becomes important you would concentrate more and using the different parts of your brain. Gaming is also a very pleasant experience that gets your adrenaline rushing and makes you alerts. With all this you can be sure that the results would also get better making you feel on top of the world. Not only will the scientific brain games provide you happiness and entertainment but also sharpen memory and increase your self esteem. With the new games you can be sure that there will soon emerge a confident NEW you. If you thought gaming had only ill effects, then it is time to think again.

The scientific brain games can have a very positive effect on your personality increasing your self-esteem and memory and thus, it is time to give it a shot. Discover the new you with the gaming experience that promises to get you going on the right path. Take a step towards happiness and confidence and see the difference!!

Free Online Brain Games to Increase Your Brain Power

To improve your mental health and to prevent brain aging all you need to do is spend sometime on a daily basis playing brain games; rather make it a regular habit and then start a game you are familiar with and later opt for a new game, eventually increasing the level of difficulty.

Free online games offer a variety of puzzles, brainteasers, riddles or mind puzzles that will help your brain exercise with absolutely no cost at all! So, you have got no excuses to make. Simple day-to-day activities can indeed naturally train your brain. For instance, make associations with the things around you, this sharpens your creative skills and also helps in recalling past memories.

Singing while driving helps you exercise the right side of the brain that features better pattern recognition (are you reading this?). To improve concentration try and clear minor irritations in your brain, find out the reason behind the irritation that will make you less stressful or simply memorize your grocery list to improve your memory. These simple methods exercise your brain free of cost!

A simple and a free brain exercise known as the Cross Crawls will improve your writing, reading, listening and coordinating skills. Place your right elbow on to the left knee as you raise it and repeat the process by placing your left elbow on to the right knee, right to left and left to right, you can do this free exercise while your sit or stand for up to 2-3 minutes. There are other free exercises that are as simple as walking or jogging but they benefit your brain-health to a great extent. Drinking large amounts of water also helps the brain, as 90% of our brain is just plain water.

Your daily newspaper can be a great friend; it provides you free crossword puzzles, sudoku, riddles, word search, picture puzzles and brainteasers. These games are a total free brain games that help you acquire resources for your brain. And, they help it to have a free workout or exercise. Online free brain games such as Brainwaves, Sharp Brains, Brain Arena and Borrow a Nintendo DS offer a wide range of free brain games that will provide a good exercise regime for your brain.

A study reveals that drinking caffeine during middle age will reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Simple practices such as focusing on a given activity in spite of distractions concentrating on work will automatically boost your memory. Try to associate or connect things from the storehouse of your information data and it enables to you to remember for a longer time and sharpen your memory too. All these are easy and free exercises that help your brain to remain fresh and active throughout. And, stop worrying or wasting your money on the so-called expensive brain games, because now you know the free solution for a healthy brain.

Five Suggestions on How to Increase Memory Power

We need our memory to function in our daily lives. Without it we cannot remember facts, what we are doing next, or important events that happened in our lives. Since memory is so important for daily life, what can one do if they are having trouble with it? The five ideas below can help show how to increase memory power.

1. Avoid Certain Foods

There are some foods that are great for improving memory. Fish is one of these foods. Others include fruit, high-cocoa content chocolate, vegetables, dairy, and oatmeal. This is because they are low on the glycemic index (GI). Foods low on the GI take longer for your body to break down so they help keep your memory constantly active.

Some types of foods and drinks do the opposite for memory. These foods are on the other end of the GI. While okay in moderation, alcohol, soda, white bread, and sugars can decrease memory. So reducing the amount of these foods in one diet can increase memory.

2. Stay Physically Active

Because you increase your body's blood flow when you exercise, you also increase blood flow in your brain. This can help memory. If you continually stay active, your brain will too.

3. Exercise your Mind

Puzzles, like crosswords and video game teasers, can improve memory. By "exercising the mind" you can improve its performance for other tasks. Improving skills with puzzles suggests improvement in memory and brain function.

4. Use Supplements

Omega 3-fatty acids can help memory. They specifically improve brain function, focus, and communication between brain cells. Fish contains these acids, as do fish oil and flax seed oil supplements. Other supplements for memory are ginko biloba, folic acid, and sage oil.

5. Get Rest

If you get sleep your memory will work better. Sleep and relaxation help your brain function properly. Resting, meditation, and breathing exercises also improve memory.