3 Things about Meditation That Will Enhance Your Life

When I mention the word “meditation,” what comes to mind for you?  For some, the idea of meditating is uncomfortable, because to be honest, it’s not a familiar concept.  Some may conjure up images of a buddhist monk with a shaved head in deep meditation, and think that they are not able to do what they do, so they don’t even try.

For some, meditation is not well described, so they don’t know how to do it.  Some wonder if they are just sitting there, letting whatever comes to mind come to mind, while others wonder if it’s about thinking about nothing, and if something comes to mind,  pushing it out of the mind and going back to that blank slate.  Some people just “don’t get it,” so therefore they don’t even try it, or if they do try it, they don’t “feel” any differently, so they stop.

Still, for others, while they hear that meditation is beneficial, they really don’t understand what the real benefits are to meditation, or if they’ve tried it, they haven’t experienced any real benefits from their attempts.

The truth is that meditation is beneficial to you, but it takes some time for the benefits to appear.  Think of it this way — if you were to fill a bathtub with water, and then place a drop of red food coloring into that tub of water, would the water in the tub turn red (or even pink)?  The answer is no, of course not.

However, if you continue to add those drops, drop after drop, of red food coloring, eventually the color of the water will change.  This is akin to meditation, where day after day, time after time, eventually the benefits begin to arise and come into realization.  Meditation is a practice, and when you begin, some days are better than others, but as you persist in your practice, you become more focused and consistent, and the benefits become more numerous.  Meditation is also very personal and experiential, so it is difficult to predict or describe what meditation does from one person to another.

But, in case you are looking for more immediate benefits of meditation, I can share with you three things that you can expect to have happen rather quickly when you adopt the practice of meditation:

You benefit from silence

Silence is a gift of which we often deprive ourselves.  Silence is not something to be uncomfortable with or fear.  Rather, silence provides us with a break from the onslaught of the environment on our senses.  If you feel uncomfortable with silence, that may be an indication that you are using sound or other stimuli as a distraction and occupation of the mind.  The unfortunate side effect is that you become more reliant on your emotional state to be influenced by external sense pleasures, rather than having the opportunity to go within and discover what is affecting your emotional state from an internal perspective.

You become connected

When you meditate, it is not a passive process.  What I mean by that is that you aren’t to be just sitting there, letting whatever comes to mind come to mind.  Meditation is a very active and focused activity.  When you sit comfortably, you close your eyes and focus on the area between your two eyebrows.  In this state, your attention becomes focused on how you are connected with all of creation.  Some people call it the universe; some people call it God.  Whatever you call it, meditation is your opportunity to focus on how you are one with creation, and creation is one with you.  You are a wave on the ocean, and the ocean is one with you.  When you can focus on this perspective — that in which you demonstrate and affirm your connection with all of creation, your egoic perspective begins to erode, and you benefit from a sense of interconnectedness and love for all things.

You realize how insignificant, yet important you are

When you meditate, you realize that in your connection with all things in the universe that you are merely a speck amongst the universe.  You are a flash; a flicker; a small happening within all that has happened and will happen in the life of the universe.  You realize your insignificance.  You come to understand that what is important to you may not be all that important to the trees or the grass or the sky or planets.  Yet, at the same time, you feel that interconnection with the universe.  You realize how unique and special you are, and you realize the true power and potential you have as a product of the universe.  You possess all creational power within you, so in essence, your potential and resources are unlimited.  While you feel so insignificant in some ways, you realize how significant and powerful you really are in other ways.

Whether it’s five minutes or 2 hours, any sort of meditative practice you can integrate into your life will greatly enhance it in time.  Remember that meditation is not a quick fix or the source of instant gratification.  Just like when you adopt a new way of eating, the changes do not happen in one day.  However, day after day, with consistent application and practice, eventually the results will become noticeable not only to you, but to those around you, and those results will be very positive for you and those around you as well.

Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aigle_dore/6225530793