Firstly, when you think of the word meditation, what comes to mind? Take 5 minutes or so to decide what it means to meditate, write a summary of what you think it means, what the purpose of it is, then come back and finish reading this. At the end of this blog, go back to what you wrote down and see if your thoughts aligned with what’s written in this blog.
With a deep and long history that dates back thousands of years, since ancient times in India and other Eastern traditions, meditation consists of a plethora of practices with a goal of focusing the mind. In Eastern cultures, meditation was used along with breathing techniques, sounds (some that may send healing vibrations through the body), visual images, or mantras (a repeated word, phrase, or prayer). Meditation cultivates harmony within mind with body, and for some – spirit, soul, or consciousness, leading to holistic well-being and inner calmness. The practice of meditation itself is usually safe according to experts, but there can be exceptions (NIH, 2023). The amount of people practicing meditation in the last decade have at least tripled by up 15% by 2017. I suspect this is due to the ever-increasing fast-paced modern life we live today, with short video clips online such as Tik Toks, Snapchat, Instagram, short YouTube clips, quick Twitter feeds, thousands of comments posted daily, busy work life, family life, friends, etc. It’s a lot to deal with every day, so more people are trying to find a way to escape the chaos to find calm. Therefore, people who live in the Western cultures such as in America, often change the way ancient Eastern practices are done, and what they’re used to accomplish. For example, yoga is used as a form of exercise for many people in America, but it’s mostly used along with meditation and a way to attain enlightenment in the East. So, now you may be wondering what is the purpose of meditation as it was meant to be since ancient times?
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Some common root purposes of meditation has always been for the benefit of: spiritual awakening (enlightenment, finding the path to true self realization, remembering your original self, awakening true consciousness, finding union with a divine entity like god(s) or goddess(es), or ultimate reality), or to purify the mind, overcome or transform negative emotions, conquer attachments (which is said to be the root cause of suffering in Buddhism), to develop compassion and wisdom, to train the mind to focus intensively or strengthen concentration, and promote energy balance.
Some new and other common purposes of meditation is to deal with: stress, anxiety, work stress, finances, relationships, health, dealing with death and dying, balance hormones, better sleep, transform anger, gain concentration and focus, better understanding of yourself and who you are in the world, etc.
Research published by Behan (2020) suggests that regular meditation will allow you to react to your environment and any issues that may arise with a calmer approach. In those who meditated regularly in the long-term, studies showed that that areas of the brain which control stress and anxiety, had healthy changes overtime. There was calmer activity in the amygdala (the part of the brain that correlates to emotions and anger), and participants in these studies were more able to control their emotions. In today’s society, we tend to feel more anxiety, heightened stress, lack of sleep, despair, anger, short-tempered, frustration, impatience, and so on. Meditation has been proven to benefit all of these factors, which can lead to an improved overall well-being, resilience, and a better relaxation response. Regular meditation further enhances mental clarity which allows you to think about things more clearly and make better decisions, deeper concentration and for longer periods of time (this teaches us to stay disciplined to get things done), improves memory, and attention span.
Personally, as someone who was used to moving all the time as a personal fitness trainer, it was giving me more anxiety to sit on a mat to do meditation or yoga. It took me a few years actually, for my mind and body to finally settle and embrace meditation, then later, I started doing yoga. Overtime, I realized that I needed to get better control of my mind before my body or anything, because the brain is our most precious organ, and we have the special opportunity to be born human with an intelligent organ that can master great things. Humans are always striving to get into some sort of God-like realm if we think about it. We want to control everything – from creating rockets to fly to outer space, building vessels that allow us to explore the depths of the ocean, creating large skyscrapers, computers and other technology, cars, and so on. The human brain is literally out of this world, but at the same time, more stuck in this world than ever! Meditation can help us get back to ancient self-exploration without machinery, technology, etc. We just need to embrace the organ that’s in our heads, and if we can master our minds, we can face anything. Eventually after a few years, I was able to sit still on a mat and meditate. I found that it’s actually really hard, but depending on what you’re meditating on, you can get better quickly. Here’s the thing though, I didn’t know back then that I can meditate anywhere and all the time, and that I don’t need to sit on a mat to meditate. You can do it anywhere and at any time. That’s what’s so wonderful about using meditation as a healthy tool in daily life and even in your sleep. It can truly help you face anything, keep going through whatever life brings you (good or bad), and realize that everything is okay. In Buddhism, there is a quote by the Dalai Lama that goes, “Nothing in life is permanent.” At work, I meditated on this quote after a co-worker upset me, and I realized that I’ll stay upset as long as I hold onto what she said. I let it go that instant when I meditated on my anger arising, how my emotions were making me hang onto the situation, and that this too will pass and be gone in life, so why worry?
Later, when I was able to add yoga to my meditation, I found that it’s even harder to hold difficult postures while in a state of epic concentration/meditation, but it taught me even more discipline than years of weight lifting has. I learned through the pain of holding postures and feeling my muscles burn, that even pain is temporary, and I started to embrace the feeling. I always loved the burn from lifting weights, but in yoga – it’s more time spent feeling tense, holding your entire body weight, so it actually became more challenging than lifting weights. What a great way to master meditation and pushing past pain. The pain is a metaphor for anything difficult in life that can arise, and you’ll most likely and naturally be able to face anything using meditation if you’ve practice using certain types of yoga or any form of exercise that is challenging. For many people, they can just use difficult situations that come up in daily life with meditation as practice. Today, perhaps if I get into a painful car accidents or if someone punches me in the arm, I could probably instantly go into a meditative state, because I’ve practiced holding difficult exercises that are quite challenging in conjunction with being in a meditative state. They say anything you do regularly, practice will equal perfect – but I think it’s more like, practice will equal better. It’s hard to reach perfection, especially as humans in this realm.
There is a lot to contemplate in life, so meditation helps to create meaningful contemplation and thinking outside the box. So how do you meditate? Well, there are many apps and videos for that. However, you can make it your own since you know the goal is to master your mind and to face any situation with calmness, clarity, understanding, empathy, and compassion. For example, in Eastern Buddhist traditions of India and Tibet, there is a practice of being in a situation where someone is yelling and cussing at you, but you practice observing the situation, acknowledging your own emotions, and transforming your hurt or anger into loving compassion and empathy for that person. The reason you would do that is because we know, as human beings, we are all suffering in this life. We all have to go through a birth where we come into the world crying and screaming, gasping for air, we go through heart break, turmoil, trauma, sickness, and eventually death. Heck, sometimes I feel like we’re born to pay bills (LOL). Here’s the thing, we’re all in this life together, we are all one race (human beings) and we all feel pain and understand when another human being or an animal is suffering. That little tinge of pain in the heart when you hear or see someone hurting, crying, screaming in pain, etc. – is a sign that you have compassion and empathy. Meditation is a great tool to transform your own ego, inner anger, and attachments to temporary things in this world.
In conclusion, there have been many studies regarding the benefits of meditation and how it can truly transform the health of your brain, life, and overall well-being. It’s up to you to add this to your tool kit of skills to learn and master, so you can pull it out when life throws curveballs at you. Individuals can have their own purpose(s) for why they want to meditate, and whatever the reason is, it’s a powerful way to enhance your abilities in facing anything in this lifetime, and like Eastern cultures believe – you’ll be able to face anything you may come across at the time of death and beyond. Another powerful meditative thought to ponder is that – everything is a reflection of your own mind, like a mirror (use the photo below to think about this).
Some tools that may help you stay consistent with meditation and get creative with it at home:
Meditation White Noise Sound Machine
Yoga Meditation Washable Pillow
Natural Indian Agate Meditation Mala
Rudraksha Authentic Meditation Mala
Floor Meditation and Tea Alter Table
Mindful and Modern Meditation Chair
Manduka Lightweight Non-Slip Grip Yoga Mat
As you can see, there are a plethora of fun ways to get started with meditation! Choose what you like and use my links above to take you directly to the items I love and feel comfortable with. Meditation is an evidence-based tool to improve your mental health and overall well-being. I hope you enjoyed learning about how it can be beneficial for you. Share this page with your loved ones – family, friends, and even co-workers who may be stressed and could benefit from anything on this page. I’m always here to help! Send me a message if you have any questions.
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