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Sometimes when we our lives become full of activity, we stop having fun. We may become so busy that we really only have time to do the things we must do, without enough time to do what we'd like to do. We put off having fun until we have more 'spare time', but when time opens up, there is a long line of items waiting that must be done, and the fun things we'd like to do get put off even longer. (I know, I've been there, too.)

It's perfectly understandable that this may happen--the consequences for not getting the 'important' things done are generally heavier than the consequences of not having fun, at least on a case-by-case basis. But, as with a sleep deficit, a deficit of fun builds up over time, and can leave you battling burnout in multiple areas of your life. Plus, research shows that having fun--like the type of fun experienced on the weekend--contributes to physical and emotional wellbeing. This is reason enough to prioritize having a good time, and there's no better time for that than Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

Think you need to do something exciting, novel or expensive to get a real benefit out of fun time? Think again. This kind of fun can be great, but you can enjoy a free night of games with friends, take a bike ride, or even sit and meditate for a few minutes and get benefits. Don't let 'fun perfectionism' get in your way!

Below are some resources you can use today to enjoy your weekend. Share in the comments if you have your own ideas of a good time and haven't seen them mentioned here, and please use the 'share' button to pass this post on to others who need a little more fun in their lives. I hope you all live it up this weekend!

Resources for Fun:

• How To Have A Truly Relaxing Staycation
• Cheap Vacation In Your Home Town
• Take a Play-Cation!
• Fun and Games for Stress Relief
• Fun Stress Relievers To Try
• Laugh More and Have More Fun
• Hosting a Game Night

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Live It Up This Weekend! originally appeared on About.com Stress Management on Friday, August 13th, 2010 at 05:26:14.

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Meditation

Meditation encompasses an extremely broad array of practices connected to many of the world's religious and philosophical traditions.

Meditation generally includes avoiding (though not harshly) random thought processes and fantasies, and a calming and focusing of the mind. It is not effortful, and can be experienced as just happening. Different practices involve focusing one's attention differently, and a variety of positions and postures including sitting cross-legged, standing, laying down, and walking (sometimes along designated floor patterns).

The stated purpose of meditation varies almost as much as the practices. It has been seen as a means of gaining experiential insight into the nature of reality (religious/spiritual or not), or communing with the Deity/Ultimate Reality. Even without the spiritual aspects, many have gained concentration, awareness, self-discipline and equanimity.

In the samadhi or shamatha, or concentrative, techniques of meditation, the mind is kept closely focused on a particular word, image, sound, person, or idea. This form of meditation is found in Buddhist and Hindu traditions including Yoga, in Medieval Christianity, Jewish Kabbalah, and in some modern metaphysical schools. Related to this method is the method developed by Eknath Easwaran. He called it "passage meditation" -- silent repetition in the mind of memorized inspirational passages from the world's great religions. As Easwaran says, "The slow, sustained concentration on these passages drives them deep into our minds; and whatever we drive deep into consciousness, that we become."

In Vipassana (insight, or seeing things as they are) meditation the mind is trained to notice each perception or thought that passes, but without "stopping" on any one. This is a characteristic form of meditation in Buddhism, especially in some Theravada traditions, and is also a component of zazen, the term for meditation practice in Zen. In at least some forms of vipassana, you do not attend to whatever perceptions arise, but purposely move your attention over your body part by part, checking for perceptions, being aware and equanimous with them, and moving on. This form of meditation has some resemblance with "choiceless awareness" the kind of meditation that Jiddu Krishnamurti talked about.

In annapuna meditation attention is focused on the breath.

See also: Qi, Qigong, Transcendental Meditation, Zen Meditation

External links

• 40 meditation practices in 4 positions http://www.chriscorrigan.com/parkinglot/meditation.html
• http://www.dhamma.org/
• Blue Mountain Center of Meditation http://www.nilgiri.org/
• Jiddu Krishnamurti on meditation http://www.katinkahesselink.net/kr/meditate.htm
• Kanshoji Zen Tempel http://www.kanshoji.org/
• International Zen Association http://www.zen-azi.org/
• On the benefits of meditation in general and of Osho's dynamic meditations in particular

• Meditation The First And Last Freedom, by Osho
• The Book of the Secrets, commentaries on the 112 meditation techniques given by Shiva to his consort Devi, by Osho
  

   
  This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
   
  Meditation for Health
  Medical program based in Toronto, Canada teaching mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) to patients with chronic pain, anxiety, sleep disorders and stress-sensitive symptoms.
  
  Health and Yoga
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  Combines sound and color meditations into a software package which can be used for personal and global meditation therapy and healing, includes program features and expected benefits.
  
  The Total Human
  Experiential retreats designed to awaken the soul''s potential in the areas of health and wellness, creativity, women''s retreats, yoga and meditation, vision questing, as well as a free quarterly e-newsletter.