Why Meditate? A Look At Meditation

Basically meditation is a great way to release stress and tension, to give you peace of mind and clarity, and for some to transcend them to higher levels of consciousness. But that last part is only for a few who are mostly interested in the spiritual aspects of meditation and are serious practitioners for long time.

A look at meditation reveals that when you meditate, and you've been at it for any given time, your mind automatically calms down. Your thoughts slow down and the chit-chatter that is usually an ongoing part of you, remains behind.

And this is what we really want. Did you know that many people manage to actually relieve their tension headaches simply through meditation?

While not scientifically proven, there is enough anecdotal evidence to show that tension headaches are from too much stress, too much 'stuff' to deal with, too many thoughts that are fighting for attention in your mind. And that is not a good thing.

Meditation can easily remove all that stress and tension, and just by clearing your mind for the next 15 minutes, you've gained so much, it's incredible. The new ideas that come right after are usually pure and in many cases they present the solution to burning questions and problems.

It is just like when you are in deep sleep in the middle of the night, when conscious thoughts are not present, and you suddenly wake up with the solution to something that was burning you inside out for weeks at no end.

Personally I found that when starting out, you should meditate for just a couple of minutes every time. Initially for only once a day.

So you could start with a light 5-10 minutes session either first thing in the morning or late in the afternoon or evening, before going to bed.

Early on you will be happy if you can clear your mind for 1-2 minutes at a time, and that's ok. It's normal.

Only with practice you will get to a level where you can keep your intruding thoughts at bay for longer periods of time, so don't worry if you can't do it early on.

I think it took me a good couple of weeks when I started my meditation practice until I could really focus on nothing (or in my case on my breathing, as this was my first meditation technique that I started out with, the buddhist breath meditation).

Eventually you will gradually increase your meditation sessions, for one, because as you see the many benefits of meditation coming your way, you will want more.

Also the more often you do it, the easier it will become, and eventually it might even become a regular part of your life.

It has for me.

Once you're convinced that meditation is something you want to try, the next question is how to start meditating. A look at meditation gives us various ways you can start, and while there are some easier methods than others, you can start with pretty much any meditation technique that you want.

There are some great easy meditation techniques that you can try out and then stay with the one you are mostly comfortable with.

One mistake I find that people make is that they start with one technique and even though they are not comfortable with it, they stay with it, struggle with it and then give up.

This is because meditation should not be a chore. It should be something fun and enjoyable to do. This is why there are several easy techniques of meditation that you can try out and then stay with the one that speaks to you the most.

Once you've gotten the hang of it, you'll find it's easier to go up on the ladder of the more advanced techniques that you might not have found so fun and easy earlier on.

Another form of meditation is called mindfulness meditation. This is a process of meditation that is used more commonly in Buddhist traditions of meditation and spirituality. It is hoped that during the process of meditation the practitioner will adjust their way of thinking.

Through this practice modes of being that no longer serve will be left behind and a higher level of awareness will be carried into all levels of consciousness. During a mindfulness meditation the practitioner connects to something bigger than themselves, this might be God, the Universe, or Buddha; the name doesn’t matter.

What does matter is the realization that we are all connected and can tap into that connection at any time.

There are many benefits of meditation to having a regular meditation practice. Science has proven that using meditation can help to change brain waves. What this really means is that you have control over your own body. What excellent news!

Here are just a few examples of what meditation can do to help improve your life.

• Stress Reduction – In a meditative state you let distracting thoughts float past without paying any attention to them. By doing this you learn how to let go of thing that might otherwise stress you out. Learning to do this in a meditative state makes it easier to do it in regular life.
   
• Better Health – Yes, it’s true. A regular meditative practice can lower your blood pressure, help you recover from surgeries, and learn to handle anxiety. Most often illness is a greater symptom of an internal unrest. This could be connected to a physical, emotional, or spiritual disconnect. With meditation you learn to come back to all of these pieces of yourself and work as a whole.
   
• Positive Thinking – A meditation practice can help you control your thoughts. If you are negative or constantly beat up on yourself, meditation can help to change those internal patterns. It can help you to let go of anxieties that might lead to negative or dangerous behaviors.
   
• Concentration – Yes, a regular meditation practice can help your powers of concentration develop much stronger than they are currently. Meditation is a form of forced single point concentration; this helps your brain to stay strong while still having a way to relax.

By incorporating meditation in your daily life you will become not only much healthier overall but also much calmer, stress free and a happier person overall. Ask me how I know :)