As the events of the past few weeks have unfolded, have you noticed yourself feeling sad, mad, or fearful? Perhaps you’re like me and have experienced all of those emotions. It’s been tough to have any peace of mind.
Mediation has proven to be extraordinarily effective at soothing a distressed mind. You’ve heard about meditation but may have some misconceptions about it. Before addressing the top ten reasons why learning to meditate is worthwhile, let’s explore a few myths that may be preventing you from even considering it.
The first myth about meditation involves not having enough time. Mahatma Gandhi once remarked, “I have so much to accomplish today that I must meditate for two hours instead of one.”
Now I’ve never meditated for even one hour, but I find that 15-20 minutes spent meditating in the morning produces an amazing mindset for the rest of the day. I’m able to stay much more focused during the day.
I spend much of my day talking to people struggling with unhappy feelings. With everything going on in the news, that’s been the easy part of the day. Taking 10-12 minutes to meditate later in the day helps me to calm any troubling thoughts and enables me to find ways to enjoy the evening.
The second most common complaint people express is that they tried meditating once and hated it because they felt anxious and couldn’t stop fidgeting. That’s actually how most people function in life anyhow – feeling pressed for time because they have too much to do. Trying to meditate just made them aware of what’s become their normal way of being. Like learning any other new behavior, it will take about 3 weeks of doing it before it becomes easy and natural.
The basic skills that must be mastered in meditation are breathing deeply, helping your body relax, and focusing your mind on being at peace. Meditations can be done in any number of settings. Many people like to meditate while sitting comfortably in a peaceful place. I like to meditate on my morning or evening walks. Being in nature helps me soothe my struggling mind by transforming my thoughts into images of being happy, healthy, satisfied, and at peace
Benefits of meditation
You’ll be happier. Meditation can rewire your brain so that you’re able to release your anxious and unhappy thoughts. You’ll be able to replace them with loving and kind images.
You’ll have better relationships. Because many meditations encourage creating images of positive connections, you’ll program your mind to see what it will look like to become even happier relating to the important people in your world.
You’ll have more love. Creating images of being deeply connected generates passion for engaging in loving moments. You’re more likely to propel yourself into romantic interactions, further fueling feelings of love.
You’ll become more optimistic. Through the miracle of neuroplasticity, you’ll build a pathway to the part of your brain that enables you to picture positive outcomes. This is the first step required to develop sufficient motivation to make something good happen.
You’ll be healthier. When your mind can see that a satisfying life is possible, your body produces more antibodies to boost your immune system’s ability to fight off diseases. Also, your brain fires off chemicals that help your body decrease pain and inflammation (a primary cause of heart disease).
Your brain will work better. Your ability to pay attention and retrieve memories improves. Your brain actually increases in size, especially in regions associated with executive functioning, critical thinking, emotional self-regulation, and introspection.
You’ll control your negative emotions. Your improved mental capacity can help you to manage your negative reactions, allowing you to make more thoughtful responses in stressful situations.
You’ll become a better person. Meditation has been shown to help people have more compassion for others, increasing their willingness to be helpful, kind, and resilient in tough times.
You’ll be more productive. The most successful people in the world start their day by calmly focusing on how they want to feel at the end of their day. Meditation can enable you to stop dwelling on all of the problems you face and activate resilience, enabling you to find solutions.
You’ll become wiser. By routinely slowing down to give yourself a moment to gain a better perspective, you’ll get in touch with your core values, which are your guideposts for making wise decisions.
