sainttheresecenter

Meditation Space

Why Meditation
In health care settings, relaxation and meditation exercises often are employed for the relief of
stress and anxiety and for the management of chronic pain, all of which are bound together in
an inextricable knot. Some clinical psychologists use meditation to help clients cleanse their
minds of tensions and everyday worries before individual or group psychotherapy sessions.

Relaxation has also been shown to improve immune function, probably because it prevents the
release of immune-reducing fight-or-flight stress chemicals. For this reason, the technique has
been used to treat everything from colds to HIV/AIDS. Some people who have achieved
spontaneous remissions of cancer claim to have done so in part through intensive meditation.
Just as important, the ability to achieve a relaxed mental state is a skill for life!

At a community in rural northern California, a religious brother states that "God is central to
his personal concept of healing. The sacred dimension is like an offering of grace. It says to
us,stop, take a breath, rest a little, consider what is really important. I think resting in the hands
of God is the most fundamental kind of healing there is. That does not mean that I have a cold
and I think right, I'm going to get rid of the cold. That's not God's way. It means that I can be a
whole person while I am living with HIV/AIDS. I can be a whole person no matter what kind
of sickness I have. Our hope is to harmonize with a sort of fundamental sense of life. In that
Harmonization we are healed.

Approaching the Meditation Room at Saint Therese
Center:
The room at the Saint Therese Center that has been set up for meditation purposes may be
used as it is available and may also be signed out for specific times by clients who wish to use
the room as a safe place to be quiet, rest and meditate. Several clients who come with a care
giver may use both the Massage room and the Meditation room - that is one client uses the
Massage room for a massage and the other client, care-giver, partner uses the meditation room
for quiet time and meditation. At the end of the session both may switch rooms and take
advantage of complimentary therapies. Please be advised that the meditation room and
massage room must be scheduled in advance for this purpose. For all clients if the room is
avai8lable it may be used.

In the meditation room there is a large La-Z-Boy chair that is both a comfortable rocking chair
(rocking helps boost the immune system) or a recliner (settle back and raise the feet) It can not
be both at the same time. Clients may take advantage of the guided meditation tapes that are
available, from various categories including Deepak Chopra, Guided meditations with Regina
Murphy and specific meditation conferences using the writings of Saint Therese of Lisieux.

Through the experience of meditation, we can lift our awareness from the internally and
chaotic state - the world of physical objects and everyday thoughts - to the silent, profoundly
tranquil condition of consciousness that defines soul and spirit. With practice and commitment,
we can gain entrance to immense knowledge and understanding - indeed, we can penetrate to
the ultimate truths of nature. You have within your grasp a capability for infinite unbounded
consciousness, which is, after all, nothing more than who you really are. Actualizing this
capability is really a process of restoring the memory of wholeness and of bringing healing to
every aspect of your life.

Emphasizing wellness, Saint Therese Center reaches out to those touched by HIV/AIDS to
provide spiritual, physical and emotional support, educational and social services in the spirit
of love and compassion.