Meditation is an effortless process which will enrich all aspects of your life. Anyone who can think a thought can meditate and everyone will benefit from it. If you or someone dear to you is still holding out, hopefully at least one of the following “reasons” will strike the necessary chord to get you started. Once the gifts start flowing, the only question will be, “Why did I wait so long to begin?”.
Reduction of Stress, Fatigue and Toxins
When people in the West think of meditation, they usually associate it with stress management. Our bodies are a network of subtle channels through which our cells communicate with each other, monitoring what’s going on and asking for whatever is needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
When we accumulate stress, fatigue and toxins, they act to block these channels and the communication breaks down, leading to health challenges. It’s estimated that today, over 80% of illness is caused or compounded by the amount of stress we have in our lives.
Meditation is a journey from external activity to inner silence. In the process of turning the awareness inward, the mind and body experience a deep level of rest. Rest is how our bodies naturally heal themselves, and they do this by throwing off what’s not supposed to be there, stress, fatigue and toxins.
Improved Quality of Sleep
There’s a lot of research these days on the health advantages of good quality sleep. Natural sleep allows our minds and bodies to rejuvenate themselves. The recommendation for everyone is 7-8 hours every night. If our lives are chaotic, confused and anxious, this carries over into our sleep time. We end up with insomnia or at best, restless, disturbed sleep. Meditation isn’t a substitute for sleep, both are necessary, but it brings greater harmony to our lives so our sleep becomes balanced and restful.
Better Overall Health
When we are less stressed and enjoying good quality sleep, our body is naturally better able to deal with the health challenges that may come our way. The channels of communication, mentioned above, are opened so energy and information flows freely throughout our bodies.
Through regular practice of meditation, the memory of wholeness and happiness is restored in all areas of our health.
Meaningful Relationships
When we are feeling more relaxed, healthy and happy, it stands to reason that our relationships with those around us begin to improve. Like physical stress, emotional stress also decreases with meditation. As we step off our emotional rollercoaster, it becomes easier to enter fully into relationships which serve our goals in life. Emotionally, like attracts like, so, with meditation, we automatically begin to find ourselves surrounded by happy, harmonious, peace loving people.
World Peace
The world is a reflection of the collective consciousness of the people who live in it. Angry people create an angry world, peaceful people create peace for everyone. Meditation takes us to that place deep within where we re-discover our connection with everyone else. Quantum physics calls this the Unified Field. We still have our individuality but begin to appreciate the Oneness underlying all the diversity. We may look different and speak many languages but ultimately, we are all One family. As more and more people meditate, we can project that the sense of separation, which leads to so many of the world’s conflicts. will gradually decrease, offering the opportunity of a lasting peace for all humanity.
Living Full Potential of Life
Deep within each of us, covered over by the layers of stress, fatigue and toxins of everyday life is a person who is perfectly happy, healthy and fulfilled. Meditation allows us to peel off these layers and reintroduces us to this perfect person, who is none other than our own true self. Meditation opens the door for us to bring the perfection back into our life, to make our lives meaningful and re-awaken our full potential.
A Joy-filled Life
Though most people may have forgotten, we live in a recreational universe. When we take the time to look beyond the superficial turmoils, to see the beauty of nature, children laughing, flowers blooming, birds singing, we realize what a joyful creation we live in. Meditation takes us beyond the external chaos to an inner place of peace and contentment. Meditation allows us to unfold our inner joy, returning the magic, innocence and playfulness into our lives.
Improved Clarity of Thinking and Creativity
For many people, their minds are on constant overdrive. All our creativity comes from a source deep within but, if our minds are chaotic and confused, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, the meaningful from the nonsense. With regular meditation, our thoughts become more organized, allowing us to remain focused on the important things in our lives. As our thinking becomes more settled and clear, we open the door for an effortless flow of creativity, insight and inspiration.
Greater Acceptance, Understanding and Forgiveness
Meditation brings a greater sense of stability and security to our lives. When we recognize our own inner strength, we cease to feel threatened by the world around us. As we grow in love and compassion, we find it easier to accept the faults of others, understanding that everyone is doing the best they can in any moment. Greater acceptance and understanding opens the way for forgiveness and the freedom it brings to our lives.
Abundance
The Divine withholds nothing from us, everything we can possibly imagine is here right now, we just need to be open to receive. Stress, doubts, feelings of unworthiness block the flow of abundance. When, through meditation our lives become effortless and expansive, when we live from the level of infinite possibilities, all good things begin to spontaneously flow to us.
Inner Peace
Underneath all the noise and superficial activity there’s a field of silence. A place of eternal, unbounded peace. Every time we meditate, we go to this place, we dip into the stillness. By regularly alternating between meditation and our normal daily activities, we begin to establish this state of inner peace as the foundation of our life. Even in the midst of dynamic activity, we still remain clam, centered and purposeful.
Enlightenment
For those on a spiritual path, the ultimate goal of life is enlightenment. Meditation rekindles the memory of who we are at the deepest level of our Being. The memory that we are already and always have been enlightened. Meditation re-aligns us with our true purpose in life, our Dharma. Meditation re-awakens the memory that we are Divine Spiritual Beings and that we are the Universe.
If you’re still not convinced that meditation is right for you, here’s one final “reason” – it’s never been easier to learn.
If you’d wanted to learn meditation 100 years ago, you’d have had to travel to India, find an ashram with a qualified teacher and probably spend months proving that you were worthy to receive instruction. Well now you don’t have to travel to India or far at all.
The Chopra Center has qualified teachers in many local areas but, if even driving across town is too much, Deepak Chopra and I will bring meditation right to your computer, tablet or smart phone.
Together with the Chopra Center Team, we have created a powerful online course that teaches you everything you need to know about meditation. This powerful meditation is personalized specifically for you. Now you can learn the art of Primordial Sound Meditation, right from the comfort and convenience of your own home so you can start experiencing its benefits right away.