In our ongoing effort to get you as relaxed as possible, we would like to devote this post to a very powerful, very simple and often misunderstood aspect of health – meditation.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is simply the natural process of withdrawing attention from outside forces, including any physical or mental processes (i.e., day’s events, thoughts, physical activities, etc.) and consciously directing it inward to a chosen focus of concentration.
It is spending time in silence with yourself with no purpose other than to be with yourself. No motives, no expected outcomes, no outside influences. Just time to be with yourself and do nothing. Kind of a freaky concept – doing nothing. We are always on the go-go-go; we must produce, do something constructive, do something. It is because we don’t allow ourselves daily ‘down-time’ that we suffer from so many disorders and diseases due to stress. Meditation will elicit clear states of consciousness and facilitate progressive, authentic spiritual growth with continued practice as well as improve your overall health.
Benefits of Meditation
The benefits of a regular meditation practice are many and have been studied extensively around the world. Here are a few of the many benefits:
- Strengthens the body’s immune system
- Physiological functions (i.e., body’s organs, glands, systems, etc.) are encouraged to be more balanced and efficient
- Reduces stress and improves your reaction to stressors in your life
- Improved concentration
- Enhanced powers of memory
- Refinement and enlivening of the nervous system
- Awakening of regenerative energies
- Slowing of the biologic aging processes
- Awareness of intuitive energies are heightened
- Thinking processes become more organized
- Appreciation for living is enhanced
- Creativity is stimulated
- Innate spiritual qualities are awakened, enabling us to be more insightful, and functionally skillful.
There are many types of meditation practiced around the world; all of them have as the goal to come to a clearer state of consciousness. We will be using some simple techniques which you can do everyday that will help you balance your life and aid your awakening to your inner self and guidance.
Use these techniques, or find others that are more appealing to you and get in the routine of daily practice. It has been shown that as little as 20 minutes daily in deep meditation can provide substantial long-term health benefits.
The Bottom Line:
You can live a longer, happier and more fulfilling life if you take some time each day to be with yourself, be quiet, and relax!