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Meditating for stress relief at the Bartlett Library

On Thursday, June 14, presenter Renate Lanotte provided Bartlett Library patrons information on the benefits of meditation, and at the end of the program, she led them through a ten-minute Jyoti meditation session.

Lanotte asked the audience what they found to be stressful, to which they replied with answers like dealing with money, driving, worrying and more.

When stressful situation occur, Lanotte explained "Our blood pressure rises, adrenaline flows and glucose increases in our blood. We become distracted, we lost our cool, and we lose sight of our true purpose."

When people are exposed to constant stress, they have lower energy levels, more muscle tension and headaches, feel like they have less control over their lives and more. Then at the spiritual level, Lanotte pointed out that people become less peaceful and loving, lost sight of their true purpose in being and more.

However, there are ways to reduce stress and one of those ways could be meditation.

"Meditation can reduce and also prevent stress getting to us," Lanotte said. "Meditation is like wearing boots when walking the thorny road of life."

Lanotte asked for all the lights to be turned off in the room, so that people could sit peacefully with no distractions of bright lights or sounds. For ten minutes, she told the audience to close their eyes and concentrate on one word of their choosing like "peace," "happiness," etc.

After time was up, some of the audience shared their experience. Some said their minds brought them to places where they felt peace, and others said their mind wanted to wander on to what they needed to do next.

Meditation takes practice, so Lanotte gave everyone homework. She suggested everyone practice for at least 30 minutes a day, which can be broken up in shorter time slots. Find a good spot to meditate and use that same spot every day to create a habit of it.

"All the best to each of you," Lanotte said. "Go jolly!"

If you couldn't attend this program, an upcoming Adult program is "Before You Call the Handyman: Common Home Repair Fixes" and takes place on Tuesday, June 19 from 7-8:30 p.m. Wondering what tools you need in your toolbox? Join us as we learn basic home repair (electrical, plumbing and structural) from handyman Daniel Findley and discover what we can do before we call the experts.

For more information and a complete listing of scheduled programs, call (630) 837-2855 or visit www.bartlettlibrary.org.

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