Image Credit: Lululemon Athletica
In the world we live in we value goals and getting the best results. It therefore might look like a paradox that people turn to meditation. Sitting in silence is not very productive one might think. But is this true? Do benefits of meditation compensate the value of time you lost sitting? Absolutely! Your mental health and well-being are priceless. We live to be happy and meditation is the path to happiness. Let’s have a look at some known meditation benefits.
Better control and concentration
Concentration is important to make the most out of your day at work. It allows you to do more in less time and use your time more efficiently. The Power of focus increases when you meditate regularly. The new found focus can be used for meditation but also for all other activities that ask for concentration like sports, making music or a day at work. When you have negative thoughts often or think you cannot control your own thoughts, meditation can very well be beneficial to you. It teaches you to control negative thoughts that arise and even stop them entirely. An unruly mind can come under control through meditation, which will create more peace of mind and enable you to achieve your goals. When you get irritated easily by situations you cannot control the solution is not to avoid these situations but to take distance from it. Everybody needs to wait in line sometimes, nobody likes a train delay but you cannot help it that these occasions occur. The solution to these problems is to detach yourself from these situations in your mind. You need to try to see things in the right perspective. A great benefit of meditation is that you’ll be better able to detach from unfortunate circumstances and the negative thoughts they cause.
Improve your health
Many studies have proven that meditation has health benefits. For example, when you feel less stressed you are a lot less likely to develop heart disease. Meditation teaches you to switch off from negative thought patterns and worries. By spending 15 minutes a day you will calm your mind and feel more relaxed overall. Our society is getting more and more aware of the link between physical health and our state of mind. Inner turmoil is often the reason for physical ailments. Because meditation stills the mind it can be a great step to avoid stress related ailments.
Happiness and creativity
It is fair to say that everybody seeks happiness. Happiness can be found in your own mind but if there is no peace of mind you will constantly be under attack from negative thoughts, no matter how successful you are. The act of stillness and simply being will create a happier self. An unexpected source of happiness arises when you meditate. In other words, happiness does not only depend on outer circumstances but your inner attitude is much more important. Your thinking mind often worries about the future or the past and sometimes even both. This takes out a lot of energy that covers up your creativity and spontaneity. Maybe you think you have no spontaneity or creativity but you have more potential than you think. We need a quiet mind to access these sources of inspiration. Your creative potential can be unlocked by living in the present moment.
Find your purpose in life
If you want to know more about the point of your existence in life, meditation can help greatly. Most of us look for external events and people to learn about themselves. When you really want to know more about yourself however, a journey inwards is also needed. Meditation provides us with a better understanding of ourselves and thus a greater understanding of life itself. New and neutral perspectives on life will be unleashed without our egoistic perspective. The answer ‘who am I’ can be answered by doing meditation.
The first few attempts of meditation will not get you there. Meditation takes consistency and perseverance as it takes time to tame the mind. Reading about meditation alone is not enough. You really need to experience it to get a deeper feel for it. Therefore: give meditation a try because the benefits are plenty!
