TODo you think there is a magic pill for fatigue, stress, apathy or loneliness, which would have no side effects, but only positive effects? What if this pill has been around for thousands of years?
This magic pill is meditation. And this is not mystical practice or magic at all. This is the simplest, most affordable and affordable way to improve your life in quality. What are the benefits of regular practice, and why is it so important to make meditation a part of your life?
Let’s look at 5 reasons to bring meditation into your life.
There is no happiness equal to tranquility
Buddha
Meditation is one of the easiest ways to give rest to the mind, which is endlessly processing a huge amount of information. Even during sleep, the mind is awake. A restless mind gets in the way and does not allow making the right decision. I think that from time to time many people want to stop this wild stream of thoughts that are born in our mind, especially before going to bed, when you want to fall asleep, and not replay the same situation in your head for the hundredth time.
When you start practicing meditation, you may run into difficulties. And perhaps the first stumbling block will be the mind. You will be overcome by obsessive thoughts, emotions such as envy, jealousy, fear, pride. Do not suppress them in any way. So you will only drive them deeper into the subconscious. Let these thoughts and experiences just flow, become an outside observer, as if they have nothing to do with you. Eventually they will lose their power and cease to influence you. With regular practice, the mind will gradually calm down.
The most important thing in meditation is that you get closer and closer to your true essence. ”
D. Lynch
Sergei Rubtsov wrote in his book Finding Oneself: “And suddenly something happened! Completely unexpected! (Before this moment, for a moment everything around was quiet, as if it had stopped, but then I did not even pay attention to it, did not attach any importance). I cannot describe the moment itself, there are no words for this – only the consequences when I saw a soundless “atomic explosion” outside and inside myself. It was like an atomic “mushroom”, as in a documentary film about nuclear tests … The space stirred up – I really felt it and saw it (both inside and outside myself) and I was … split! – the mind-body and I. Instantly came understanding-knowledge (just like that, in one word!): “It doesn’t matter what the body does – I know WHO I am! It doesn’t matter what the mind thinks about – I know WHO I am! I understood everything, instantly understood what had happened, what had happened! .. In a fraction of a second I understood! (This understanding was beyond words, logic and in general everything, but I knew it was enlightenment …). I laughed and cried: “What a fool I used to be, how could I not understand, Enlightenment is so simple! It is so simple! It’s so simple … ”After that, you laugh without stopping. You laugh or cry from the understanding that Enlightenment is so easy that you were so stupid! ”
Meditation allows you to go beyond reality and live a deep transcendental experience. And even if enlightenment seems to you an unattainable goal, many surprises await you on the way to it.
The longer you meditate, the faster you absorb new information, the better you remember it, make the right conclusions and make informed decisions. Scientists conducted an experiment. One hundred participants had MRI scans, half of them had long-term meditation experience, and the other half had never done such practices. The results were striking: the group of meditators showed higher levels of cognitive processes – they were better at processing information. And the longer they had experience in meditation, the better their results were.
To turn to inner wisdom, it is very important to practice concentration and meditation. No amount of worldly happiness compares to a state of complete calmness and contentment. After such practice, a person is surrounded by this energy for some time. In this state, new ideas, projects, goals come, and everyday tasks are solved more efficiently. The inner center, the inner teacher, begins to guide you, and not at all the mind, whose nature is superficial, impermanent and illusory.
What does the average person who is tormented by, for example, mental disorders, panic attacks, anxiety, or depression act? Perhaps he goes to a psychotherapist, who in turn prescribes antidepressants. And many have been sitting on this “needle” for years and feed pharmaceutical companies and their doctors. And yet these antidepressants have so many side effects! Meditation is safe, effective, free.
Scientists conducted an experiment among people who are prone to anxiety, heart disease, stress and other similar conditions. For those who practiced meditation for about 8 weeks, their levels of anxiety and depression decreased significantly. Meditation can indeed be useful as a substitute or supplement in the treatment of diseases.
Meditation is accompanied by slow, rhythmic breathing. This in turn leads to physical relaxation. Meditation removes the typical stress response and relieves psychological stress. When a person moves away from heavy thoughts, he realizes that they do not reflect reality in its entirety, and eventually disappear completely without a trace. A person begins to appreciate the present, stops worrying about the past or worrying about the future. It is in excellent condition here and now.
Is the secret of eternal youth open and the aging process can be reversed? On the web, you can find interesting scientific evidence that meditation has profound positive effects at the molecular and cellular level. Science has long been trying to extend the life of a human cell. In the 80s, British scientists drew attention to the fact that the calorimeters of the germ cells of young people and old people have the same length. These cells remain forever youthful thanks to a special enzyme called telomerase. In the embryo, telomerase is found in all cells. After birth, this enzyme disappears, and the aging process occurs in almost all cells. Scientists have confirmed, based on scientific trials, that meditation protects heat meters from premature contraction of their length, reduces the overall level of inflammatory responses, and fights against aging.
“If every eight-year-old child in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence around the world in one generation,” the Dalai Lama said. In our crazy times, this is becoming a matter of paramount importance. Perhaps we will have a chance to see how in our country meditation practices will be introduced in schools, children’s institutions, universities.
The biggest obstacle in practice for beginners is body discomfort during long periods of sitting. It cannot be avoided, but it can be made easier. When you feel discomfort in your legs, do not immediately change their position, be patient a little. Experience shows that during the first shift, there will be a desire to change the position of the legs every 5 minutes.
Before practicing meditation, do a small set of exercises to warm up the hip joints, neck, and back. When you feel discomfort, try to observe it from the side: in which part of the body it occurs, what sensations do you feel. At some point, discomfort can reach its peak and then decline.
One of the most significant bonuses is that meditation leads to fulfillment, satisfaction. And you no longer want to eat something harmful, buy the tenth thing, spend your day in idle chatter or other destructive actions. Filled with the light of knowledge, wisdom, having calmed your mind during meditation, the state of satisfaction comes – santosha. And the need to take from this world is replaced by the need to give.
