Tag Archive: meditation brussels

Meditation and Mindfulness Testimonial

82-year-old expert meditator shares her insights on the power of spirituality, the excitement of ageing and the paradoxes of today’s youth

Who best to ask for life advice but to someone who, faced with the question ‘what are your regrets?’ immediately answers ‘none’?

Françoise is a yoga and ex-French literature teacher, who has practiced meditation for over 40 years. I had the wonderful opportunity to ask her about how mindfulness transformed her life.

What amazed me the most about Françoise, is that despite her apparent wisdom and strong belief in her way of life, there was no wish to convince me of anything. She knows that her happiness speaks for itself. I hope that you will find this conversation as inspiring as I did.

A synonym for the word ‘meditation’?

Faced with this question, Françoise first brought up the word ‘tranquility’.

She then paused. “Actually, this is more of a state achieve through meditation.”

“The real synonym of meditation is ‘exercise’.”

“Engaging in meditation is about embarking on a process through which we build real happiness from within. It takes effort, and silence is absolutely necessary.”

Despite a difficult childhood and an unaffectionate mother which left her with anxiety as an adult, Françoise was able to find contentment that was less dependent upon external circumstances.

But meditation is not just about hard work. For Françoise, “Everything is easier now. I fight less with my husband. I take things as they come. And I am never waiting or wanting for things to happen.”

The biggest benefit of meditation?

“Thanks to meditation, there is no bad weather. Every day when I wake up, whether it is raining or I see the sun beaming, I am at peace.”

Whether Françoise means this literately, or as a metaphor for life, or both, I think this is a pretty appealing… Plus a particularly good investment for Belgium residents.

Your best argument for taking up a meditation / mindfulness practice?

“When you go buy a jacket, you know that spending 100€ as opposed to 15€ will usually get you a better quality one, right? Well, it’s the same with happiness. How can you expect to be more fulfilled, if you do not spend time on yourself?”

How can meditation transform life at work?

‘You know what a student of mine once said to me? With you Ma’am, it’s different, you are the same person inside as outside the school classroom.”

Françoise explains that meditation was critical for finding the confidence to be her authentic self, as a teacher. Equipped with less negative self-questioning, she was able to teach in a more instinctive way, making “every day different and full of new discoveries”.

How do you approach ageing?

“We tend to see ageing as a scary process, but for me, every day that passes, I feel better and better. So, ageing can only be seen as a gift”.

What are the main obstacles faced by today’s youth?

According to Françoise, today’s youth is plagued by a “bulimia of discovery”. “Young people are always on the move. They go to Bali expecting to discover themselves. You could have travelled the world, but as long as you have not done inner work, you will remain lost”.

Your take on religion?

Françoise is a practicing Catholic. In her view, “religion can be steppingstone to spirituality. But the latter remains the end goal. Many religious people are not spiritual. And religion is absolutely not a requirement for spiritual attainment.”

Any advice for meditation novices?

“It’s wonderful that you want to start. There will be ups and downs as part of the process. Do not give up! It can take a bit of time to start seeing results”

Any concluding words of wisdom?

“As a wise a person once said, human beings are meant to be happy. But it takes a lot of work!

And meditation practice is one of the best ways to undertake that much needed work.”

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Meditation and Mindfulness

Meditation and mindfulness abilities may predict cognition level and lower risk of dementia in later life

– A conversation with a ‘medit-ageing’ researcher

Crosswords, going for a run, eating blueberries… these are cited as protectors against Alzheimer’s, the most prevalent brain disease of the 21st century. Yet, an activity that is often overlooked, but powerful for shielding the ageing brain, is meditation.

This topic was the subject of Anna’s research project on meditation and cognition. I had the wonderful opportunity to ask her about some of her groundbreaking results.

“The research looked at a group of around 140 people aged 65 or over from across Europe. We measured their cognitive abilities as well as their capacity to be mindful. What we found was a strong positive link between mindfulness qualities and intelligence level in later life. And this is taking into account variables such as educational level or socio-economic status.”

“The cognitive abilities we measured included memory and global cognition which are strongly sensitive to dementia and Alzheimer’s. Basically, the study demonstrates a possible protective action of mindfulness against Alzheimer’s.”

“How do you define mindfulness? I ask, “a term that seems to encapsulate many different practices?”. I think back to images of yogis and Buddhist monks.  I also record times walking in nature and focusing on my surroundings…”Isn’t that also a form of mindfulness?’, I ask, optimistically.

‘The impressive takeaway from this study is that the findings were based on a group of people that we call non-expert meditators, meaning that they only have very little life-long meditative practice.’ So, no need to be Eckart Tolle to experience mindfulness qualities’ beneficial effects on cognition.

According to Anna, there are many ways of defining mindfulness capacity. In her study, she broke it down into different categories.

“For example, we looked at attentional mindfulness, or the capacity to place your focus on different tasks. We also had demonstrative mindfulness – that’s the ability to distance yourself from a thought. So, if you have a thought like ‘oh I’m stupid’, it’s about seeing things as ‘well, maybe that’s just not me, and maybe I can just decide to see it as a passing thought.’”.

Speaking of thoughts, I have a nagging one. Having often jokingly described myself as being ADHD because of my difficulty focusing, my mind turns to all those children with a clinical diagnosis of the disorder, “are these people doomed to be less protected against Alzheimer’s because of less attentional capacity?”.

Anna explains that attentional mindfulness is not about the ability to get engrossed in a particular task for a long period of time. Rather, it’s about having the freedom to place your attention on the tasks you want to be doing.

She also insists that the beauty of these findings lies in the fact that everyone can learn to be more mindful, even those with concentration difficulties. Studies increasingly show that mindfulness qualities can be acquired very rapidly, starting with only a couple of minutes or hours of practice a week.

I ask if the study implies that expert meditators, of the ‘spend-5-hours-a-day-on-the-cushion’ sort, have a bullet-proof vest against dementia.

Anna says that some evidence may show that the more we meditate, the higher the protective effects on cognition. But other environmental and genetic factors are of course at play in the development of dementia.

She also says that no causal link can be established for now. “The study is only strongly indicative a possible effect, but this needs to be substantiated by further studies of different types. But this all very exciting and promising. Especially given all of the other positive effects of mindfulness on mental and physical health along the life-course”.

What is inspiring about Anna’s work is that meditation’s positive effects on cognition seem to stem from our general ability to apply mindfulness to our day-to-day life. So, the idea is not necessarily to spend X hours meditating on Headspace or watching daily ‘yoga with Adrienne’ videos. It’s about understanding and applying the principles of mindfulness to your day-to-day life. And this is where teachers or meditation mentors come in handy. They can be very helpful for truly inhabiting the spiritual lifestyle. More info to book a one-to-one free session in Brussels or online at Bruxelles Méditation can be found here.

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Your New Meditation Center in Brussels

Meditation Center Brussels
Meditation Center in Brussels

A Meditation Center, what for?

In the last few years, millions of people around the world began to recognize the importance of meditating in their life. There are different reasons for people to start meditating. Some want to improve their concentration to get better results in their studies, at work or in their daily life. Others meditate to reduce stress, anxiety, loneliness. Whatever the case, meditation helps millions of people build a strong mental health, find self-confidence and become the best version of themselves.

Those achievements are life-changing. It is key therefore to make sure we will get there. This is where reality hits you. It is possible in theory to meditate at home alone or with youtube. But daily life is slightly different. When we get back home from school or work what are the first thoughts that come up? ‘I want to lay down on my bed’, ‘What should I cook for dinner or lunch?’ or “all this happened today, I deserve to watch tv or netflix and chill now”. If you have a family, it’s even more challenging to get the space and much needed focus to meditate. Lets’ face it, it’s not easy to get the conditions to meditate well once, let alone doing it regularly to get long lasting results. The meditation center becomes your safe heaven and dramatically improves your chances of getting the results you deserve.

On top of the time and space to practice meditation without distractions it is also important to realize that meditation is a path and is not static. This means there will be ups and downs and that we need to use effective techniques adapted to our level and condition. This is where professional meditation teachers can help you keep moving forward and not give up as soon as things are not going as expected.

Meditation Center Brussels
Meditation Room

Why our Meditation Center in Brussels

There is a list of benefits and advantages from practicing meditation in our meditation center in Brussels. Here are the most relevant ones.

Professional Meditation Teachers

Meditation Center Brussels
Meditation Teacher

We have several professional teachers that have been meditating for more than a decade and have been teaching for several years. As we all know meditation is not about learning things but a helping hand from someone that has been going through the path before is precious. When you will be letting go of your attachments and blocages, the meditation teachers can guide you in the right direction and help you to get the results you are looking for. The meditation teachers will not only guide your meditation but also provide constant support. You can get as many consultations with them to discuss your situation and get tips on how to meditate properly.

Your safe haven in Brussels

Meditation Center Brussels
Meditation Seat in Meditation Room

Having your own meditation center in Brussels means you will have a quiet and distraction free place to meditate from 9 am to 9 pm from Monday to Saturday and on Sunday from 9 am to 2 pm. Your meditation room and meditation seat are like a safe haven for you to find inner peace and let go of all the accumulated thoughts. You will have the luxury of having only one task: focus on your meditation. In the short term this means you will get to a state of relaxation but in the mid term it goes much deeper: you will be able to let go of all the distracting thoughts, negative minds, blocages and you will become the best version of yourself.

Tailor Made Meditation Classes

Being able to get guided meditation classes is obviously one of the key reasons why having your own meditation center is such a good idea. We wrote a whole article about all the meditation sessions you can get at Bruxelles Méditation.

From Meditation To Relaxation

Meditation Center Brussels
Coffee, Fruits, Tea, Snacks in your Meditation Center in Brussels

During break time, you can enjoy different kinds of teas, coffee, fruits and snacks. Everything is there for you to have a relaxing time on top of practicing meditation and improving your life. Not a bad deal is it?

Meditation is very Social!

The meditation center is not only a place to find yourself but it also allows you to meet conscious and like minded people. It is a very refreshing new social experience. At Bruxelles Méditation (our meditation center in Brussels) you will meet people with different backgrounds and careers that all have in common the desire to become a better person through meditation. Our meditators have often pointed out how helpful it has been for them to meditate with other people and share their experiences. This is why we run group meditation sessions and have a small party every month!

Body Meditation Exercises

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

“a healthy mind in a healthy body”

Our meditation center also offersbody meditation exercise sessions. Our “releasing exercise” is a dynamic stretching routine that releases energy blockages in the entire body from head to toe, making the body healthier. The body meditation exercises help us not only to keep our body healthy but also to focus more deeply on meditation.

meditation center in brussels

Bruxelles Méditation is your answer to Modern Life

In modern life, a strong mental health and high conscious level are being recognized as the keys for well-being. Many people have realized that having more does not necessarily mean to become happier. The era of materialism is coming to an end as people do not want to be slaves and live exclusively to get more useless things. We want to be free and find clarity to simply make the right decisions according to the conditions. High consciousness is the secret for true happiness and completion.

Meditation can get us there through letting go of harmful attachments and will lead us to a complete and happy life because meditation is the way to high consciousness. When we let go of all the stress, negative minds and thoughts we will have no worries, anxiety or hatred. Getting rid of all the noise which sickens our mind and body and scatters our concentration will help us see what has true value in life.

Meditation is popular and trendy

Meditation is more and more popular and trendy. Countless famous people like Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Lynch, Steve Jobs have been talking about the key role of meditation in their successful careers. Many companies like Google, Nike, Apple, Samsung, LG offer meditation classes to their employees. This is just the cherry on the cake: you already have proof that meditation works and is a key asset. Now it is up to you to integrate it in your daily life.

meditation center in brussels

Get a Free Meditation Introduction

Bruxelles Meditation with its perfect environment, professional support, an effective meditation methods, rest area with coffee and snacks and social component will be a perfect place for you to become happy and complete.

Meditation Brussels Introduction

How to Get to Bruxelles Méditation

Address : Avenue de la Renaissance 1, 1000 Bruxelles

Our Meditation center is located in Brussels European district in front of the Parc du Cinquantenaire.

  • By Public Transport
  1. When you use the Metro to get to the meditation center, get off at Station Schuman. It is 5 minutes walking distance from Bruxelles Méditation.
  2. When you use the Bus to get to the meditation center, get off at Station Schuman or Station Michel-Ange or Station Breydel.
  • By Car
  1. There are free parking places in front of the meditation center.
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Meditation Quotes : Abandon

Meditation Quotes

Today, I want to introduce the poem ‘Abandon’. As you can see it suggest to give up your attachment, discernment, knowledge, pride etc. At first glance, it may does not make sense, because these things define who we are. But, If we look deeply inside of us, we find that these ideas and constructs makes one suffer the most. As an example, it is not about giving up wealth and prosperty, it is about letting go of the attachement towards it. Especially, when things do not turn out the way we want them to. This is painful. But, if we don’t attach to it and just do, we will see positivity in every Situation. We can learn from it and be thankful for it. Thus, we can stay happy.

Moreover, if have a lot of pride and always think we are right, we create conflicts with other people easily and are unhappy. In worst case, we end up as a selfish person, who is not loved from anyone. But, If we have none of these elements within us, we can talk to everybody with respect and we learn from eachother. To let go of everything we do not feel comfortable with, we have a Free Introduction Seminar.

We hope you are gonna join us.

Meditation Brussels

Thank you

Bruxelles Meditation

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