Meditation is beautiful and here is why...
Meditation has transformed my life. It has given me an incredible insight in to my mind and empowered me to live my most authentic, fulfilled existence. It has deepened my connection to the world around me and provided me with the capacity to see joy and meaning in the simplest of moments each and every day. I wish that everyone could realise our innate joyful potential because I would love for us all to be living a life that is true to our fundamental nature.
But meditation is hard, I really, really understand that. When there is so much we could be doing, sitting down with our thoughts doesn’t always seem like the most productive use of our time. Particularly at the start of my meditation journey, there were times where my motivation to practice would lessen and I would be tempted to skip a practice or even stop all together. In these times I would remind myself of the why… Why was I practicing? What was the point in it all?
Here are some of the benefits of a meditation practice and what I try to remember when the thought of practicing meditation seems like the last thing I want to do.
- Meditation enables us to think, act and therefore live with purpose. Meditation gives us a deeper understanding of our self and this continual getting to know of your Self means that rather than react on emotions, we are able to act from a place of awareness. It provides us with a true grasp of what is happening as it causes us to process sensory input from a place of intelligence. This intelligence enables us to think and then act with clarity, and in a way that is in line with our soul, rather than influenced by societal expectations, our conditioning or traumas. This wisdom gives us the courage to live life how we truly would like to, from a place of complete joy and with zero regrets.
- Meditation causes us to feel less stressed and enhances our ability to cope well under pressure. Over time, by sitting with your thoughts past impressions start to come up. Things that we didn’t realise were bothering us, start to bubble up from our unconscious and in to our consciousness. As they come up and we see the root of our emotional struggles, we can process them and therefore be free of them. With continual practice, more and more blockages come up and your pile of ‘stuff’, that you have previously repressed, becomes smaller. As you are no longer carrying with you the weight of your past, you feel lighter and so every day stresses become easier to manage.
- Meditation allows you to feel joyful… for absolutely no reason at all! Through meditation you access your true Self, the essential part of you that is always there, your true nature. And what is your true nature? Absolute joy! By tapping in to your unlimited joyful potential during meditation, you can then bring this with you to the rest of your day. Regardless of what is happening around you, you can stay connected to your true essence and are able to stay peaceful and joyful without involving yourself emotionally in the drama that is unfolding around you.
- You cultivate a deep sense of gratitude. You see the joy in the everyday and everything that you do has more depth and meaning to it. The simplest moments have a sacred quality to them and you begin to truly value all of the things/people/moments that are important to you.
- Your ability to focus dramatically increases, you are able to concentrate for long periods of time whilst performing optimally. A pre-requisite of being able to meditate is being able to concentrate for sustained periods of time. By simply watching the breath going in and out of your nose is a great practice to improve your concentration and as you become more and more absorbed in the subtleties of the breath you may move towards meditation. This increase in the capacity to be able to concentrate seeps in to the rest of your life too and you will find yourself being able to give your full attention to someone or something. You are ability to complete tasks more efficiently, perform optimally and (my favourite) be able to give your full attention to the ones you love.
- I’ve left what I think is the most important point until last. A meditation practice allows you to be the best parent/partner/friend/colleague/sister/brother… you can possible be. If you accumulate all of my previous points you can see why. You begin to appreciate the simple, everyday moments with the people you love, you truly value the times that you share together and you are able to give your full attention to them. As a result of this you show up for the people in your life with more joy and authenticity which cultivates a deeper, richer and more fulfilling relationship with them. And isn’t that what life is all about? Meaningful connection with your family and community? So if you don’t meditate for yourself, then do it for the people that you love!
Meditation is truly beautiful and practicing can only contribute positively to your life! Once you start to see these benefits for yourself, you won’t ever want to miss a chance to practice. And what’s great is that once the momentum builds, the joy you access continues to evolve… it is limitless. Next time you try to talk yourself out of practicing meditation, try to remember (and feel) your ‘why?’. And as always, please get in touch if you’d like more guidance :)