Beginning to meditate can feel stressful; you may not know every term or struggle to visualize, but the real point of meditation is to reduce stress and connect with your inner self. It’s best not to worry about being “good” at meditation when you first start; merely try to connect with your inner stillness and breath. Meditation was developed through the Eastern philosophy in ancient times of a much calmer and peaceful world. Westerners often struggle to find this stillness because of our fast-paced lives in America. Some people may find meditation tedious, unrewarding, and even painful. Still, today, people continue to use the practice more and more, reaping the benefits of the beautiful method.

A meditative state of consciousness is recorded in various cultures,
which may not be called meditation but uses similar techniques. Martial
arts practices such as Tai chi and chi gong and other such practices are
meditations in movement, where a state of meditation and relaxation is
reached while simultaneously moving the body and allowing energy to flow
into and through the body to achieve a meditative state. The spread and
popularity of Meditation has brought it to the forefront as a singular
exercise that is not connected to any religion or religious beliefs but a
widespread universal practice free from association with specific
cultures, religions, or even spirituality.

WHAT IS MEDITATION?

In meditation, one practices techniques that bring your consciousness to focus its attention and connect your inner and outer worlds. It changes your thought process at the moment to become more focused on the meditative experience, and it brings you to higher consciousness. When you begin to feel the flow of higher consciousness, peace, and calm become your normal state, connecting you with your intuition and inner knowing.

While this practice has been around for thousands of years, the first recorded meditation practice comes from the eastern religious practice of Buddhist meditation. According to the Buddha, meditation is one of three techniques that, when practiced in synergy, provide a spiritual awakening or an experience of enlightenment. Over time many people have benefitted from these teachings, practicing meditation regularly, and it has made its way around the world. But, even though Buddhist tradition may have started the practice of meditation, almost all world religions have a form of deepening their connection to the inner realms and quietening the mind. 

WHY SHOULD YOU MEDITATE?

Meditation can be the beautiful bridge that connects you to a oneness that exists within and through all things in creation.  We have often fallen out of alignment from that sense of unity. As a result, we feel alone, isolated, unheard, and unseen. There is a flow in nature and all organic matter surrounding us. A natural rhythm or beat to this flow resonates through the entire macrocosm in a similar way that a heartbeat pulses through our individual bodies. Meditation can connect these two flows and unite us as unique microcosms within the cosmos that span our world and beyond. Living in complete awareness that the whole world around us supports us is an immense blessing, and meditation can bring that experience to the forefront. It brings great peace and serenity to our bodies, minds, and spirit. It washes away stress and anxiety, two issues becoming more and more prevalent in our world today.

Furthermore, there is a higher power or universal consciousness at macrocosmic levels, which contains the natural flow of every organism in our world and beyond. When we can connect to that higher power or higher consciousness, we can experience the presence of our soul and the true higher state of consciousness that transcends our earthly actions and reactions. It goes beyond our earthly instincts.

Meditation can even happen in ways we wouldn’t expect. There is a story told of Maria Calas, the famous Greek opera singer of the 20th Century. She was asked what made her sing the way she did, and she responded, “When I sing, I see, and I feel the Oneness which exists between all souls. I sing in the hope that I can bring that sense of Oneness to all.” You may say that singing opera isn’t a form of meditation, but our answer would be, “Oh–but it is!” Every action can be a meditation if it is executed in such a way that it delivers the right results. This is where walking meditation and breathing meditation come from. Each person’s take on meditation can be unique.

BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

Regular meditation practice can bring many benefits to you on a Holistic level, meaning physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. When you make meditation a standard practice, it shifts how you feel in the moment, but it also shifts how you continue to feel throughout your day, and in time, it enhances your entire life. The peace and calmness that you begin to feel through meditation can shift your personal health and wellness and provide a whole new connection to the world outside of yourself in ways you may not have expected.

PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

Meditation provides relaxation to the body, and it relieves stress and anxiety. Meditation can bring peace of mind and heal emotional wounds improving our mental and emotional health and wellbeing. It can also lift mood and help with self-confidence, trust, surrender, love, and acceptance of oneself and others. A healthy body responds with a more significant impact to the benefits of meditation, so practicing healthy habits can only enhance the benefits! Improvements in the body’s physical, mental, and emotional state are incentive enough to practice meditation, even if the spiritual benefits are not taken into consideration.

Here are just some of the many benefits of meditation, according to the Mayo Clinic:

·       Helps manage symptoms of anxiety

·       Assists in bringing awareness to inner self and emotions

·       Helps manage symptoms of cancer

·       Patience and tolerance become more doable.

·       Helps manage symptoms of asthma

·       Reduces Stress and negative emotions

·       Helps manage symptoms of insomnia

·       Brings new perspective to life situations

·       Helps manage symptoms of depression

·       Helps manage symptoms of heart disease

·       Lowers blood pressure

·       Helps manage symptoms of IBS

·       Provides new coping mechanisms to manage stress

·       Helps manage symptoms of chronic pain

·       Helps manage symptoms of tension headaches

SPIRITUAL BENEFITS OF MEDITATION

Initially, you may not be interested in the spiritual aspects of meditation. Even if you are solely interested in the physical and tangible benefits such as stress release or lowering your blood pressure, once you feel, sense, see, and experience a higher power permeating around you and experience the love, you become a convert!

Some people experience sudden experiences of seeing, feeling, hearing, and sensing Angels, Guides, Masters, Goddesses, lights, words, sounds, peace, bliss, and overall experiences of unworldly nature. These experiences are not easily explainable and are considered extraordinary and paranormal.

On many occasions, I hear someone tell me that a few seconds before I explained a scene in a guided meditation, the person saw that scene and heard words through their inner hearing. They felt the light, received a gift, and got an answer.

It is a fantastic phenomenon when we all zoom into the same reality and experience the same visions, words, lights, sensations, etc. Even though there is no tangible proof, it would be hard to deny that when a few hundred people gather to attend a group channeling event, their meditational experiences and responses are the same or similar to the one I mentioned. These experiences, of course, happen to the already converted souls, who meditate regularly and practice meditational exercises.

 As with all things in life in our reality, it takes willpower and intention to get anything done. To reach the state where you are capable of profound and sublime meditational experiences that last long and have long term, even permanent, beneficial impacts, you would do well to start meditation. Embarking upon any activity, say cooking, swimming, or riding a bike, you can’t get the hang of it unless you do it. Whether you start by joining a group of advanced meditators in a live or recorded guided meditation setting, where the energy of the group enhances and uplifts your own experience, which I highly recommend, or you begin with a free trial membership on a meditation app, the journey of discovery awaits and welcomes you to its embrace.

 Happy travels!

Please comment below about your own experience with meditation and/or your favorite way to meditate!

 Love & Light,

Nasrin