Whether you already like to meditate, are thinking about trying it, or are unsure of why it's useful, here are 5 reasons that taking the time to practice meditation, even for a few minutes a day, can have a profound impact on your quality of life and benefit your well-being.
While societies have changed drastically since meditation has been practiced, the benefits transcend time and have unique benefits to life in the modern world.
1. If consistent, it's a practice that benefits you every single day!
Sometimes peak experiences and wonderful moments, such as adventurous days with loved ones, breakthrough moments in our careers, financial gains, or being moved by live music, can bring real, potent, and momentary joy. We can even carry the power of these moments and the boosts they give, with us, after they have concluded. However, most profound moments do not occur daily. Daily meditation is an act that can bring profound meaning, clarity, and joy, every single day. Not just on days when there is something to look forward to. Even in the most mundane of circumstances, meditation can transform the ordinary feeling of daily life, into the extraordinary. It makes us realize the fact that every day is a unique gift and everything is impermanent.
2. Meditation can transform negative thoughts into constructive and positive thoughts.
Let's face it. If you're human, you sometimes have negative thoughts that don't do you any good. These thoughts can be overpowering, or subtle and subconscious. Regardless, we want negative thought patterns to be as fleeting as possible, instead of intense and inescapable. Feelings and thoughts such as worrying about money, feeling insecure, or being anxious about the future, do us little good. Meditation has the power to uncover these thoughts (even when we didn't realize we are thinking them) and consciously change them into thoughts and feelings that can have us feeling empowered about our financial abundance, confident in how we move in the world, and feeling secure, instead of worried and fearful. Breakthroughs and transformations from negative to positive thoughts during meditation can be carried with us throughout our day and life, making us more powerful. Through meditation, we are investing time to weed out any thoughts holding us back in our minds and replace them with ones that feel better and therefore make our lives better.
3. Studies show meditators are happier.
The evidence is there. Studies have shown that people who who meditate are happier overall and there's little evidence pointing to the contrary. While we are all unique, trying something that's been proven to enhance feeling joyful, will let you decide for yourself whether or not it's true for you. In addition to increasing the baseline of happiness, consistent meditators have been shown to have better cognitive function as they age!
4. Slowing down is vital in today's world.
Many of us experience life that moves fast and it's doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Sometimes sitting to meditate and taking that first breath can feel like a drastic shift from the busy brain absorbed in a to-do list,, to a much slower, relaxed way of being. Even for 5-minutes, dropping into a much gentler rhythm of life can provide a profound recharge and make us more productive when we return to the world of getting things done. Meditation helps us learn our limits, avoid burnout, and give an extra boost in thriving in a full productive life. Yang (active) energy needs Yin (passive) energy to find balance. If you're a busy professional, parent, or someone who juggles many responsibilities, meditating will make you more efficient and relaxed in conquering your daily responsibilities and to-do lists!
5. Meditation provides a digital detox.
Technology is increasingly a part of our lives and sometimes we even turn to it to unwind and relax (Netflix, movies, surfing social media, etc.). We need to detox from technology sometimes too! Meditation is one of the most natural of things we can do. It's powerful to practice something that takes nothing but yourself to do and can reap more benefits that any screen or battery charged object ever could. Meditation is simply you, your mind, your breath, and your thoughts, creating positive, profound, and lasting change.
By Keith Allen