The Importance of Meditation
Meditation is both simple and complex. It is easy to start, costs little to no money, and is highly customizable. It is also life-changing and illuminating. A regular meditation practice will open your mind, body and spirit to a whole new level of understanding, healing and experience. Often, this involves some growing pains, but the final result is worth it.
Many starting out with meditation come into the practice with little understanding of exactly what it is and how it works. There are many styles of meditation, something for everyone. The key is practice and patience. Start small and increase the duration in steps.
A first timer will quickly grow frustrated trying to sit as still as a stone for 20 minutes at a time. Quieting a racing mind for that long is also difficult without practice. Instead, start with a minute or two at a time, and gradually increase.
Many beginners also find they enjoy using guided meditations or hypnosis to help ease into the receptive alpha state. After some practice, you will be able to enter a meditative state at will, almost instantly. That is the ultimate goal, because it is in this state that all the life-enhancing benefits occur. When you reach the stage you can enter alpha at will, your life will change dramatically.
Meditation Reduces Stress
Instant stress relief is yours when you learn to enter meditative states at will. Mindfulness and full and present awareness take you out of the past and future, where fear and anxiety reside. When you are fully present, you are in your silent center. This place of objectivity relieves stress and opens your mind in other ways.
Meditation Enhances Thought and Creativity
Your silent center allows you to be free from racing thoughts that can stem the flow of creativity and well-rounded thought. When you enter the “eye of the storm”, the stuff circling around you in the outer world falls away into silence, allowing clarity of thought and crystal clear vision, where life-changing ideas are often born.
Have you ever heard of someone talking about how they had a sudden, brilliant inspiration while in the shower? That’s because they were in a meditative state of sorts, where they stepped outside of the outside world and as their worries went down the drain, their mind quieted, the stress in their body released and in that process, the inspirations had room to make it through. In this scenario, it was quite by accident. Imagine having the power to do this anytime you want!
Meditation Connects You Spiritually
Meditation connects us to our higher wisdom and intuition. In this place of peace, we begin to see the larger purpose behind our experiences. Many people use meditation to connect with their source, the “universal mind” or holy spirit – however you choose to word it, the premise is the same. In the stillness we connect with our higher power. This often brings feelings of higher wisdom and understanding, inner bliss and a stronger sense of connection with our brothers and sisters on this planet. Those who practice regularly tend to be more peaceful, loving and forgiving of self and others.
Meditation Makes You Honest
Meditation is not to be taken lightly. It is often in times of meditation, when we are seeking reason and purpose, that all is revealed. This can mean having to face some things with honesty, embracing our challenges, so that we might learn to work through them instead of allowing them to sabotage us. It is this honesty and acceptance that ultimately leads to the exponential personal growth that is possible through ritual meditative practices.
If you are ready to feel better physically, reduce stress and anxiety in your life and reach your fullest potential in life, meditation is the simplest means you can use to change your life on all fronts simultaneously. It isn’t an easy path, but it is a simple practice to start you on your journey. I encourage anyone who is looking to grow to at least give meditation a fair chance. It can truly be a catalyst for growth in so many areas.
