"Happy Birthday: Celebrating Your Life" by Jeanie Marshall: Review of Meditation CD

Happy Birthday: Celebrating Your Life
(Guided Meditation)
By Jeanie Marshall
Marshall House (2005)
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (1/06)

A celebration of ones life can happen at any time with this guided meditation. Jeanie Marshall, in her soft and caring voice, leads the participant to a place of accepting the gifts presented. Happy Birthday: Celebrating your Life is a wonderful way to spring back into life if feeling down or lacking self-esteem.

The gifts received during the meditation from friends and spirits are what you need them to be at that moment. Each time you listen to the meditation, different gifts by different beings are presented, because of course, you are in a different place each time.

Of all the guided meditations that Marshall has in her repertoire this is my favorite. When I use the meditation in the morning it sets my day as being calm and collected, full of gratitude for the gifts that life gives me.

Jeanie Marshall, Empowerment Consultant, directs all activities of Marshall House, drawing on the services of other professionals as needed. Her consulting practice has evolved over the years, transforming to respond to the needs of her clients of today. Jeanie says "the most joyous part of my professional life is working one-on-one with clients, which is a partnership of co-creative, empowering ideas." With a focus on energy, Jeanie supports each person in being empowered and authentic. Her sessions typically begin or end with a guided meditation process.

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What is meditation?

Meditation usually refers to a state in which the body is consciously relaxed and the mind is allowed to become calm and focused. Several major religions include ritual meditation; however, meditation itself need not be a religious or spiritual activity. Most of the more popular systems of meditation are of Eastern origin, though there exists also various forms of Christian, Jewish and Muslim meditation.
Meditation as a form of alternative medicine brings about mental calmness and physical relaxation by suspending the stream of thoughts that normally occupy the mind. Generally performed once or twice a day for approximately 20 minutes at a time, meditation is used to reduce stress, alter hormone levels, and elevate one's mood.
A discipline in which the mind is focused on a single point of reference. Employed since ancient times in various forms by all religions, the practice gained greater notice in the post war US as interest in Zen Buddhism rose. Meditation is now used by many nonreligious adherents as a method of stress reduction; known to lower levels of cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress. Enhances recuperation and improves the body’s resistance to disease.
Meditation is an easy and simple way to balance a person's physical, emotional, and mental states. It is easily learned and has been used as an aid in treating stress, anxiety, pain management, and as part of an overall treatment for other conditions including hypertension and heart disease. Research shows that meditation decreases the heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen consumption, and even decreases blood pressure.