Making Meditation work for You

     Everyone has ever tried or wondered what this meditation is all about. Why do so many people talk about it but yet it is difficult to find someone who has had a successful stint with it.

    We all know about the positive benefits which meditation provides. All that extra peace, concentration, focus and enhanced performance of ourselves; but we still struggle to tap into that seemingly beneficial entity. Or we might have tried several times and unsuccessful though.

       Then let’s get a little deep to understand meditation and make it work for us.

What is meditation all about?

     Meditation in its simplest explanation unites our conscious and subconscious mind. It stills the restless, chattering conscious mind so that we can hear our inner voice and realize our True selves.

   It induces deeper relaxation and helps to achieve peace of mind.

     Several scientific studies have proved that meditation has a profound effect on our mental, emotional and physical health.

     Regular practice of mediation for as little as 10 mins everyday has potential to reduce signs of stress and help us have a sustained relaxed state of mind.

     Few other benefits include increased concentration & Focus, clarity of thought, greater self awareness, a clearer sense of purpose and a sustained sense of well being.

      Mediation is less of a religious tradition or practice and more of a “State of Mind”.

How does Meditation Work?

    We are surrounded by stressors all the time and what stress does is turn on our body’s “fight or flight” response system. This can be perceived as an excited state of mind. It is harmful to our health to be in this state for longer. 

     What meditation does is bring down this state of mind, reduce the brain activity, and slow down the brain waves so that we achieve a deeper relaxed state of mind. It reduces the restless mental chatter of our mind.

     Every time we go through a stressful situation, there is a corresponding variation in the hormones and chemicals in the body. Meditation reestablishes this natural balance of chemicals in the body.

    In a more simple way, let us compare our mind with a huge metal sheet. Everyday stress and stressful situations continuously make small microscopic dents on its surface. While we tend to ignore this, these dents continue to grow in number & size and have a profound debilitating effect on us. What meditation does is even out these dents slowly bit by bit, eventually returning the natural form and shape of the metal sheet, free of dents.

    This is what the mystics and spiritualists mean when they say uniting the conscious & the subconscious mind. Only when this happens we can realize our truer selves, tapping its unlimited potential.

Why do we often fail to see the desired results?

    When we consult a doctor for some illness, the doctor learns our symptoms and accordingly prescribes medicines to suppress the symptoms. A conventional medicine acts relatively faster, suppressing the symptoms almost immediately.

     We tend to compare this swiftness of conventional medicine with the effects of meditation. While considering this we should not forget that what medicine does is “only suppress” symptoms. In case of illnesses which have a psychosomatic origin (caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress), just suppressing the symptoms won’t help.

     Meditation goes way longer and deeper, it establishes the natural balance of the chemicals in the body, revitalizes our vital organs, strengthens our immunity and addresses to the source of the illness, not just fighting the physical symptoms.

     This deeper correction taking place at the deepest levels takes considerable time to show its effect.

    Reconsider the metal sheet and dent example spoken earlier; meditation is a natural process of removing those dents. It happens bit by bit slowly. It has to be done regularly so that dents disappear gradually and we retain the natural shape and form.

     One more reason we fail to see its benefits is that somewhere in our subconscious we see it as an exclusive preserve of religious ascetics or those who are ‘Spiritually advanced’.

     We have to re emphasize to ourselves that it is a natural process and it represents a “State of Mind” which can be achieved by everyone irrespective of their religious or spiritual inclination.

       It so happens that we are so focused on the end result that we fail to notice minute changes & improvements throughout the path.