Inner Stillness - stone path of a labyrinth

The Philokalia (“love of the beautiful”) is a collection of texts written between the fourth and fifteenth centuries by spiritual masters of the Christian contemplative, ascetic and hesychast tradition.

Prayer as a form of meditation of the heart is described in the Philokalia—a practice that leads towards Theosis which ignores the senses and results in inner stillness.

Inner Stillness, a Mindfulness Practice adapted from wikipedia.org

Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga Timer.  It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal. Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.

Singing Bowl Meditation Timer and Clock

Meditation clock timer- Digital Zen Alarm Clocks and Timers

Now & Zen’s Singing Bowl Meditation Timer & Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Sleep deprivation takes a heavier toll on the performance and alertness of people who are extroverts than it does on their introverted counterparts, according to results of a randomized clinical study.

Extroverts had lower scores on tests of alertness and wakefulness during 36 consecutive hours awake, including a 12-hour period of social interaction, researcher Tracy L. Rupp of Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Silver Spring, Md., and co-authors reported in the November issue of Sleep.

In contrast, 36 hours of sleep deprivation that included no social interaction had minimal effect on performance or alertness of extroverts or introverts.

The findings provide insights into interindividual differences in vulnerability to sleep deprivation, particularly interaction between personality traits and social conditions. However, the effect of the interaction was the opposite of what the investigators had hypothesized.

According to the theory, social gregariousness and sensation-seeking behaviors arise, at least in part, from lower levels of tonic arousal. Because of their presumed lower level of cortical arousal, extroverts seek out social contact and stimulation to increase brain arousal to optimum levels, the authors noted.

In contrast, introverts are thought to have relatively higher levels of cortical arousal and avoid socially active environments that would lead to more cortical arousal. Consistent with the theory, Rupp and colleagues previously reported that higher scores on a test of introversion were associated with greater resistance to sleep deprivation.

To continue their investigation of the theory, the authors recruited 48 volunteers for a study of the interaction among personality traits, social exposures, and vulnerability to sleep deprivation. All participants completed a personality inventory assessment that led to categorization of 23 participants as extroverts and 25 as introverts.

The participants were randomly assigned to one of two social experiences, which followed eight hours in bed and two hours to eat breakfast and get ready for the evaluation.

Participants assigned to the socially enriched condition could watch television, play games, read, or eat, and remained with laboratory technicians, who were instructed to keep the participants engaged socially throughout the exposure.

Participants assigned to the socially impoverished condition had access to the same activities as in the socially enriched condition, but had no interaction with each other or with technicians.

Both social conditions lasted 12 hours (10 a.m. to 10 p.m.), and was followed by 22 hours of sleep deprivation, during which time participants were tested hourly for alertness and performance. Technicians monitored participants continuously to ensure that participants did not fall asleep. All told, participants remained awake for 36 consecutive hours.

During sleep deprivation, scores for speed on the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) deteriorated in all groups but was more pronounced in extroverts assigned to the socially enriched exposure compared with extroverts assigned to the socially impoverished condition at 4 a.m., 6 a.m., and noon.

The socially impoverished condition had minimal impact on test performance or subjective sleepiness in any of the groups.

“The ability of introverts to resist sleep loss, on the other hand, was relatively unaffected by the social environment,” the authors noted.

adapted from abcnews.com

chime alarm clocks with real acoustic sounds

The company’s premier product, the Zen Alarm Clock, was originally launched in 1996 and has continued to sell well all over the world since then.  The Zen Alarm Clock wakes users with a series of acoustic chimes providing what the company describes as a “progressive awakening.” The Zen Clock’s natural hardwood materials and natural acoustic sounds (as opposed to artificial speaker-driven sounds) satisfy the growing demand for things “natural”.  According to company founder McIntosh, “as a result of cultural evolution, people are becoming more discerning about the real nature of quality, and this has resulted in a growing preference for natural foods and natural fibers. Our business strategy has been to create ‘natural’ versions of electronic consumer products that feature acoustic sounds and hardwood materials. We also reflect the sensibilities of progressive culture in the aesthetic designs and unique functions of our products.” The company’s philosophy is expressed by its tag line: ‘quality of thought, stillness of being.’

Bamboo Clock Dial Face

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl St.

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Mediative Snorkeling

I am, for lack of a better term, a meditation dropout. Oh, I’ve tried it all: the standard legs-crossed, deep-breathing variety (which made me stir-crazy after a few endless minutes); Pilates classes (where I managed to pull a muscle just learning to breathe properly); and t’ai chi instruction (which ended with gentle reprimands by my instructor that walking meditation was not a form of aerobic exercise). They all left me anxious and restless. I couldn’t let go and simply be present in the moment—a hallmark of my type-A personality. That all changed on a Caribbean vacation. There, I inadvertently learned even action-obsessed people like me can achieve satori.

Now, you may think that just being on a serene beach relaxing should help instill a meditative state. Not so for someone who every day had proudly recited the mantra “Go, go, go, faster, faster, faster.” But the morning I donned a snorkeling mask and submerged into the quiet, mystical world beneath the sea, my life began to change. I can still feel the magic of that first glimpse: a bright red starfish, a giant spotted ray gliding by like a bird in flight, and hundreds of silversides swimming in synchronized motion. It transported me to another realm.

Immersed in beauty, color, and silence, I was forced not to move too much or too suddenly, or the creatures around me would scatter. For the first time ever, I could be still. Minutes slipped away unnoticed, as the simple cadence of breathing in and breathing out became stronger and stronger. Lost in a dreamy world where parrot fish, barracuda, and even sea turtles swam by me as if I were invisible, I learned that submitting completely to silence brings an exhilarating, nerve-tingling rush.

Now, back in Pennsylvania, whenever I feel stressed, I lie down, set my Meditative Chime Timer by Now & Zen,  and visualize that moment when I place my face in the water and hear only the gentle waves breaking on the shore as I breathe deeply and glide ever so smoothly through warm, clear water filled with beauty. Breathing in and breathing out, I float and meditate while angelfish lead the way.

adapted from Natural Solutions, March 2007 by Vickit McIntyre

Meditation timers with chimes for a natural sounding end to your meditation

Now & Zen’s Chime Timer Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383