By Daniel J. Benor, MD, ABHM

Meditation is widely acknowledged as one of the best ways to improve your health. Research shows that meditation can bring you benefits in dealing with stress, hypertension, pains of all sorts, eating disorders, pre-menstrual tensions, and can enhance concentration and performance. It is also acknowledged as an aid in developing and deepening spiritual awareness.

I have meditated regularly for over 25 years. My intent to sit in silence daily at least once, and if possible twice, has been honored more often than not. Busy periods of work or family visits and travels are the main distractions that have made it difficult or impossible to keep this promise I've made to myself. 

Over the years, I have explored varieties of meditation approaches, including counting my breaths (very helpful in learning to keep my focus); observing my breathing; mindfulness; visualizations; contemplation; and other variations of mental focus. Knowing a variety of approaches has been extremely helpful, as I found that methods that worked for a while might wane in their potency or efficacy in my practice after several months or years. In teaching meditation as a part of wholistic self-healing or for relaxation, it is similarly helpful for introducing audiences to varieties of approaches because no single method works well for everyone who is just starting on this path of mental and spiritual discipline.

I teach WHEE, a potent form of wholistic self-healing for pain, stress and distress. WHEE involves the alternating stimulation of the left and right sides of the body, while you recite personalized affirmations that focus your mind on the issues you want to change. Within minutes, WHEE can reduce stress, distress and pains – even when these have been present for years. WHEE also enables you to install positive thoughts and feelings to replace the negative ones you have released.

WHEE can be a blessing to you if you are meditating. WHEE can remove distractions that block your concentration. Meditators know that it is most difficult to NOT think about whatever is distracting us. See for yourself, for instance, how your mind works if I tell you, "Don't think of a purple camel." Even though you've probably never thought of a purple camel before, as soon as you tell yourself "I'm not going to think about this!" your mind does just the opposite.

When you have stress, anxieties and fears, it is ever so much harder to put these out of your mind. WHEE enables you to do this, converting overwhelming worries into manageable concerns. This makes it possible to let go of your purple camels so that you will find it easier to meditate

WHEE and meditation are powerful methods for enhancing wholistic self-healing, bringing wholeness to body, emotions, mind, relationships and spirit.

Daniel J. Benor, MD is a wholistic psychotherapist, teaching wholistic self-healing for body, emotions, mind, relationships and spirit; developer of the WHEE method of wholistic self-healing; Editor of the International Journal of Healing & Caring http://ijhc.org; author of 'Seven Minutes to Natural Pain Release,' 'Healing Research, Volumes 1-3,' and many wholistic healing articles.

Resources

More on WHEE and Vipassana meditation

More on Wholistic Healing: Click on the round icons at the top of this page for an overview of Wholistic Healing

You may reproduce all or parts of this article in your journal, magazine, ezine, blog or other web or paper publication on condition that you credit the source as follows: Copyright © 2008 Daniel J. Benor, MD, ABHM   All rights reserved. Original publication at WholisticHealingResearch.com where you will find many more related articles on this and similar subjects of wholistic healing.

Further information about WHEE

Basics of the WHEE process

WHEE Videos

Appreciations for benefits of WHEE

Problems helped by WHEE

Book on WHEE for Pain 

WHEE workbook

WHEE workshops

Articles:
   Introductory WHEE article
 
   WHEE for trauma and re-entry problems 
 
   WHEE for children

   WHEE-kly brief articles

WHEE research