REASONS TO MEDITATE. Part 4 of 4.
To reap the advantages of meditation, you do not need to join a cult or be baptised,. And you don't have to abandon your regular life to go to a Himalayan monastery. You only need to practice meditation regularly without attempting to achieve anything. The advantages accumulate on their own, much like interest in a reliable investment account.
When you rush from one moment to the next, expecting another crisis or craving, another pleasure, you miss the beauty and immediacy of the present, which is continually unfolding in front of your eyes. Meditation encourages you to slow down and enjoy each moment as it comes — the sounds of traffic, the scent of new clothing, children's laughing, a person’s expression, and the coming and going of your breath. In reality, as meditation traditions tell us, only the present instant exists – the past is only a memory, and the future is a fiction that is currently being projected on the movie screen of the mind.
When you're always fighting to live up to images and expectations or rushing to reinvent yourself to thrive in a competitive atmosphere, you seldom have the chance or desire to get to know yourself exactly as you are. Self-doubt and self-hatred may appear to fuel the flames of self-improvement. Still, they're unpleasant — and, on top of that, they lead to other negative mind-states, such as fear, rage, sadness, and alienation, and keep you from reaching your full potential. Meditation teaches you to receive every feeling and aspect of your being without judgement or denial. You learn to treat yourself like you would a close friend, embracing and even enjoying the full package, the obvious flaws and deficiencies, the positive features and talents.
You naturally extend this characteristic of awareness and presence to your relationships with family and friends as you awaken to the present moment and open your heart and mind to your own experience. Suppose you're like the rest of us. In that case, you project your own desires and expectations onto others around you, which creates a barrier to genuine connection. But when you begin to accept others as they are — a talent you may build via meditation practice — you open the possibility for deeper love and closeness to flow between you.
As the mind calms, relaxes, and opens during meditation, so does the body — and the longer you meditate (minutes per day and also days, weeks, months and years of practice), the more this peace and relaxation spread to every aspect of your life, including your health.
Perhaps you've observed that constant thinking and worrying create inner claustrophobia - anxieties feed on one another, issues multiply rapidly, and you're suddenly overwhelmed and scared. Meditation fosters an inner mental space in which issues and anxieties become less scary and constructive solutions can naturally emerge — as well as a detachment that allows for better objectivity, perspective, and, yes, comedy. That enigmatic term "enlightenment" really refers to the ultimate "lightening up"!
According to research, just a few months of regular meditation practice makes people happier, as evaluated not just by their subjective reports, but also by brain-mapping technology. In fact, meditation appears to be one of the only activities that may permanently shift your emotional set point — your baseline level of relative pleasure that, according to experts, remains constant throughout your life, regardless of what you experience. If you want to be happy for the rest of your life, cutting-edge science and spiritual knowledge have the same advice: Instead of winning the lotto or obtaining the perfect job, start meditating!
When you're completely immersed in an activity that you lose all feelings of self-consciousness, detachment, and distraction, you've reached what psychologists refer to as a state of flow. For humans, absolute absorption is the greatest enjoyment — and the ultimate cure to the fragmentation and alienation of contemporary existence. You've probably had moments like this when doing art, playing a sport, working in the garden, or making love. Athletes refer to it as "the zone." Meditation teaches you how to devote the same concentrated attention to — and appreciate — any activity
To counteract the increasing instability of modern life, meditation provides an inner groundedness and equilibrium that external events cannot undermine. When you practise returning home over and over — to your body, breath, sensations, and sentiments — you finally discover that you're always home, no matter where you travel. And as you become friends with yourself, accepting the dark and the light, the weak and the strong, the "slings and arrows" of life become less common.
Basic performance meditation alone has been demonstrated in studies to improve perceptual clarity, creativity, self-actualisation, and many other aspects that lead to better performance. Furthermore, particular meditations have been developed to improve performance in various activities, from athletics to business to academics (Audio and video guides available upon request).
Your heart progressively expands to yourself and others as you learn to open up to your experience without judgement or aversion. You may cultivate appreciation, gratitude, and love through certain meditations. Or, as many meditators before you have discovered, these traits may emerge organically when you can look at the world with fresh eyes, devoid of the normal assumptions and expectations. Aligning with a more profound sense of purpose, you learn how to link yourself with a deeper current of purpose and to belong when you practise shifting from doing and thinking to being. You may be able to connect with inner sentiments and desires that have long been buried in your conscious consciousness. You might also connect with a more universal source of purpose and guidance, which some refer to as the higher self or inner guidance.
As your meditation gradually opens you to the subtlety and richness of each fleeting but irreplaceable moment, you may naturally begin to see through the veil of appearances to the sacred reality at the heart of things — and you may eventually come to realise that the very same sacred reality is who you are in your own heart of hearts. This profound understanding, referred to by sages and masters as "rising up from the illusion of separation," cuts through and eventually removes loneliness and alienation, allowing you to appreciate the beauty of the human situation.
Consider a habit you wish you could break but can't. It could be smoking, drinking coffee, or eating fast food. Instead of zoning out or daydreaming, turn it into meditation the next time you do it. Pay close attention while you inhale the smoke or eat the pizza. Take note of how your body feels. When your mind wanders, pay attention to where it travels — you may have favourite fancies that accompany this habit — and then gently bring it back to your experience. Don't try to stop or modify the habit; simply carry on, as usual, this time with complete awareness. Take note of how you feel the next time you engage in the habit. Has your perspective shifted in any way? What are you noticing this time that you weren't before?
Be well.
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