Anyone want to read an essay?

I had to write a cause and effect essay for my english class, I'm turning it in tuesday before the final.
The teacher cares more about the format than the content, so if there are any MLA format experts out there could you check the format?

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The Causes and Effect of Buddhist Meditation

95 taco

English 110
Dr. Olga Vienna
21 May 2014


Abstract

Meditation is a way of life for many people it can help relieve stress, a life with minimized stress is a lot better than a life with more stress. Stress is a big issue currently and meditation can help relieve some of the stress. Meditation also can help with physical conditions, and emotional issues. Meditating can also increase your creativity, build character, and help put things in perspective.

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Introduction

When people think of the word meditation, most picture someone sitting cross- legged on the floor with their hands out in front of them To many, meditation is just a particular sitting position, while to others it is a way of life. There are people who use meditation daily as a way to relieve stress, while to others it is a major part of their religion. There are many reasons people meditate, some meditate to escape from the world around them and find a peaceful place, while some meditate to help their health. Many studies show that meditation can lower blood pressure, decrease the chance of a heart attack or stroke, decrease the aging process, prevent, slow or control pain of chronic diseases, reduce sweatiness, and can lower oxygen consumption. Psychological benefits are; builds self confidence, resolves phobias and fears, helps with focus and concentration, increased creativity, increased emotional stability, help ignore petty issues, develops your character, less aggressiveness, greater communication between the two brain hemispheres, react more quickly and more effectively to a stressful event, and decreased tendency to worry.

Organization

The abstract is on page one, the introduction is on page two, it describes what meditation is and a few of its benefits, the historical background is on page three, it describes the most common type of meditation and it’s goals, the main body is on pages four, five, and six, it list the causes of meditation, and the multiple effects of meditation, the conclusion is on page six, and the source list is on page seven.

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Historical Background

The most common type of meditation is vipassana. Vipassana meditation helps one realize the important truths of impermanence, suffering, and no self. Because vipassana meditation alone creates the knowledge through which liberation takes place, it is considered superior to samatha meditation. Vipassana meditation is also the primary from of meditation practiced in Theravada Buddhism. The practice of insight meditation centers around the notion of mindfulness. Mindfulness is related to, but different than, concentration. When one is concentrating, one’s entire focus is on the object of concentration in an almost trancelike manner - whether the object is a flower, one’s own breathing, or a television set. But to be mindful of something is to think about it and observe it carefully. It is not only to focus on a television set, but to comprehend its content. It is not only to block out everything but breathing; it is to observe what the breathing is like and attempt to learn something about it. Gaining the skill of mindfulness is the first step in of vipassana meditation. The most common methods prescribed to develop mindfulness are walking mindfulness, sitting mindfulness, and mindfulness of daily activities. Walking mindfulness is often practiced in in monasteries and retreats. But one may practice walking mindfulness anywhere, one finds a quiet place to walk, takes a moment to relax, then attempts to focus on the myriad movements and sensations associated with walking. According to Buddhists who practice this technique, as one progresses in skill it becomes easy to "lose oneself" in the activity and walk for a long time without it feeling like more than a few minutes have passed. This can be very blissful in itself, but it also brings the practitioner closer to insight into the fundamental truths of "no-self" and impermanence.

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Paragraph one (Cause of meditation)

Most people meditate for inner piece or to relieve stress, when you have a boss that yells at you all day you get stressed. When you have a job that you have to work long hours at without having a lot of breaks or if you do not enjoy the job you get stressed. Personal issues in your life such as a divorce, death of a loved one, loss of a job, a marriage, traumatic event, or moving to a new house can all cause stress. Buddhist meditate to cultivate a calm and focused mind. Fo Guang Buddhists follow what is called mindfulness and insight meditation. Central to this practice is first observing the mind – how it works, what it thinks – and then learning to let go of its thoughts without being hindered by emotional baggage. This does not mean repressing thoughts and emotions, but rather observing, accepting, and moving on. It may be done sitting, standing, walking, or while doing chores. In Buddhism the person meditating is not trying to get into a hypnotic state or contact angels or any other supernatural entity. Meditation involves the body and the mind. For Buddhists this is particularly important as they want to avoid what they call 'duality' and so their way of meditating must involve the body and the mind as a single entity. In the most general definition, meditation is a way of taking control of the mind so that it becomes peaceful and focused, and the meditator becomes more aware. The purpose of meditation is to stop the mind rushing about in an aimless (or even a purposeful) stream of thoughts. People often say that the aim of meditation is to still the mind.


Paragraph two (effect of meditation)

There are many effects of meditation here are some physiological effects. Meditation can; lower oxygen consumption, decrease your respiratory rate, increase blood flow and slow

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your heart, increase your tolerance to exercise, lead to a deeper level of physical relaxation, and reduces high blood pressure. Meditation also; reduces the likelihood of anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate, decreases muscle tension, helps manage chronic diseases such as allergies, helps in post operative healing, enhances the immune system, reduces the activity of emotional distress and viruses, enhances strength, drive, and strength, helps with weight loss, reduction of free radicals, less tissue damage, higher skin resistance, drop in cholesterol levels, lowers risk of cardiovascular disease, Improved flow of air to the lungs resulting in easier breathing, decreases the aging process, higher levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (A steroid hormone), prevented, slowed or controlled pain of chronic diseases
, makes you sweat less, cures headaches and migraines, greater orderliness of brain functioning, reduced need for medical care, more energy stored instead of used, increases the likelihood of participating in sports and activities, normalizes your ideal weight, balances out endocrine system, relaxes our nervous system, produces lasting beneficial changes in brain electrical activity, and can Cure infertility (the stresses of infertility can interfere with the release of hormones that regulate ovulation).


Paragraph three (effect of meditation, psychological and spiritual)

There are also psychological and spiritual effects of meditation. Some psychological effects may included; more self-confidence, an increased serotonin level, which effects mood and behavior, resolution of phobias and fears, better ability to control ones thoughts, better concentration and focus, increased creativity, Increased brain wave coherence, Improved learning ability and memory, Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation, Increased emotional stability, improved relationships with friends, family,

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co-workers, and other important people in your life, Mind ages at slower rate, Easier to destroy bad habits, Increased Productivity, ability to see the larger picture in a given situation, a better capacity to ignore petty issues in life, increased ability to solve complex problems, purer character, stronger will power, higher intelligence growth rate, increased job satisfaction, increased capacity for intimate contact with loved ones, decrease in potential mental illness, helps in quitting smoking, alcohol addiction, reduces need and dependency on drugs, pills and pharmaceuticals, decreases restless thinking, decreased tendency to worry, increased listening skills and empathy, and grows a stable, more balanced personality. There are also spiritual benefits such as; meditation helps keep things in perspective, provides peace of mind, happiness, helps you discover your purpose, increases self-actualization, increases compassion, helps wisdom grow, provides a deeper understanding of man and life itself, Brings body, mind, spirit in harmony, deeper Level of spiritual relaxation, helps learn forgiveness, changes attitude toward life, creates a deeper relationship with your God, helps attain enlightenment, helps living in the present moment, creates a widening, deepening capacity for love and increases the synchronicity in your life.


Conclusion

Meditating regularly can help improve your health and quality of life, if you are not stressed you will be more likely to be nice to others, and if you are nice to others they will be more likely to be nice to you. Meditation can help anyone find their peaceful place to just forget about everything bad around them. Meditating regularly can also help your confidence level increase greatly, and your attitude vastly improve. Meditating only takes a few minutes of your time when you want it to, so I don’t see why so few meditate.

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Source list

 

You need to check your spelling, grammer, and form. I didn't read it word for word. Just noticed a few spelling mistakes. Your sentences are long and not correctly punctuated. No paragraphs?

 

pages five and six needs to be broken up into more sentences. you've got a few run on sentences in there. A general rule is to use only one comma per sentence

 

Break this up a lot more

 

Ok, I'll read through it and get it corrected.
The only paragraphs the teacher wants are the; Abstract, Introduction, Organization, Historical background, Main part, Opposing view (not in this paper) and the Conclusion.

Ok, thanks guys, I'll try to figure that out.

 

Yeah, this teacher has a interesting way of teaching, and can be very confusing.

Thanks, do you have a link?