Why Should we Meditate?

The benefits of meditation are positive and countless. Studies have shown that those who meditate on a regular basis have a reduced risk of being ill, are less stressed, and need less rest.

But one of the main reasons to meditate is that the process of meditation itself is sublime. Meditation is not dependent upon the result, but the act of meditation itself is a blissful one, transporting you to a state of contentment and tranquil awareness during meditation itself, not just at the end of meditation. In fact, meditation has no beginning and never ends as the means equals the end.

The Absence of Nature

In modern times we are all constantly exposed to an onslaught of stress. We are bombarded by uninvited energies in the form of television, noise pollution, arguments, and angry or envious people. In order to counteract this overwhelming force of negativity and distress, we need a superior power, gathered within ourselves; and meditation connects us to this internal reservoir of cleansing, enlightening energy.

Years ago, people were surrounded by nature in their daily routines and rituals of existence. There were no artificial sound vibrations from telephones or machinery; there were no stresses and diseases resulting from urban industrial areas. There was the sound of water, the hum of the wind, the beauty of the stars in the sky, and the scent of the earth. There were natural tempos in every aspect of life, as people planted seeds, nurtured them into foodstuffs, and as they observed the cycles of nature they felt a connection to them. Nowadays we can live our entire life without ever contacting nature in a direct way. We live in artificially controlled climates, we get food from fast food restaurants or from stores where it is packaged in a factory; we invite a total divorce of ourselves from our natural origins and our organic, original pace of life.

Meditation allows us an easy, convenient, portable method to enter into those lost natural rhythms and aesthetics, by closing out the world around us, letting go of our bodies, and clearing the mind of all the artificial stress it gathers knowingly or unknowingly during the course of our lives.

What Does Meditation Do?

Meditation costs nothing, it has no harmful side-effects, and it won’t add calories or cholesterol to your body. Nor is it addictive in the sense of drugs and alcohol. But it does provide practitioners with an elevated sense of well-being, often compared to a natural “high” more powerful than those induced by drugs. This component of meditation can be fully embraced for positive, healthy benefits.

The human body is a complex creation, and chemicals are made in the brain which are hundreds of times more powerful than pharmaceutical narcotics. As you meditate, the body secretes hormones and chemicals that actually provide an incredible rush of energy and happiness. This is only one of the amazing benefits of meditation practice.

Meditation is different things to different people. Some use it in place of, or in addition to, psychotherapy. Others find it most valuable as a tool to enhance sports or work performance, and to increase memory and other mental functions. Some people rely upon it to help them deal with grief or the aftermath of trauma or tragedy, and to regain a contentment and appreciation for life’s beauties. And there are those who use meditation as a creative tool to inspire them in the arts. Meditation gives us stronger and more sustainable vigour, sexual energy, and calm, as it provides a restfulness that is comparable to deep, exceptionally restful sleep.

There are countless reasons to meditate, and one way to make the world a better and more peaceful and harmonious place, is for all of us to dedicate some time out of our stressful lives to pause and drink from the mental oasis of meditation practice.