Why Meditate?

“If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.” —Marvin Gaye

In order to answer the question "why," it is best to understand first the purpose of meditation

There are many religions and philosophies that advocate meditation. And when it comes to self-help, meditation is also used as a resource and tool in many of the activities. While there are many different ways to practice meditation, the reasons for doing meditation are quite similar.

Some of us feel we have a reasonable understanding of the practice of meditation, but when it comes to needing to describe the actual purpose, it can be a struggle.

A meditative practice brings so many benefits, but read on below to learn of a few.

It's a dedicated time that your mind really gets to rest. Your mind is constantly active. It probably thinks about ten different things every 15 seconds. Sounds crazy right, but it’s true. It’s telling you that you need a drink of water or to eat. It’s worrying about your trip next week and reminding you that you don’t have enough money in your bank account to pay your cell phone bill.

While you’re sleeping it doesn’t get any better. In your dreams, your mind is acting and behaving the same way it does when you are awake. When you’re asleep, you’re still worrying about the same stuff during your dreams.

Newsflash: sleep is great for resting your body, but sleep is not as useful for resting your mind.In meditation, you create a space and time to empty your mind. In many forms of meditation, you focus on one, trivial thing and concentrate all your thoughts on that single item or thought. If you have never tried it, you will be amazed at how incredibly relaxing it is.

You get to learn how to focus. Sounds elementary huh? Most people think of meditation and imagine someone sitting alone in a quiet room with subdued lighting. This is an easy way to meditate, with no distractions. That is like meditation with training wheels. But you could actually be meditating anywhere, at any time, as well.

It’s easiest to learn to meditate under ideal conditions, but definitely not necessary. That may be best for someone just getting started. The fun begins when you work on expanding your meditation skills to other activities. You will know you are getting better at your meditation practice when you can stay calm, happy, and focused on a loud, hot, busy, smelly subway. Don’t live near the subway? Try a long and busy day at work or a weekend with the in-laws.

It’s unfortunate that most of us focus very poorly. The good news is that it is fixable. Imagine how much better you would feel and how much more you would accomplish if you could stay focused on the activity at hand. Plus, it would be so much harder to be worried if you’re controlling the content of your thoughts.

You can find solutions and answers. When your mind is running a hundred miles an hour, it’s difficult to find any answers to your questions in your head or solutions or to your challenges you may be facing. Your brain needs a little space to find effective solutions to tough challenges you confront throughout your day. Meditation can provide that needed mental space.

Have you ever noticed that many of your best ideas have come while doing something that occupies your mind in a rather mindless way? In other words, when you’re busy doing nothing, something great pops in your mind. Activities like taking a shower, a nature hike or driving down the highway with little traffic are great for problem solving. Your mind is occupied, but it is also free to wander a little. Meditation is similar to that.

Meditation has wonderful health benefits. Stress is extremely hard on the body. Meditation has been known to reduce stress, lower your pulse and blood pressure, and improve sleeping. Meditation can be done in just minutes. It does not take a whole lot of time to quiet the mind. You’d be surprised how much more you can accomplish and how much more enjoyable your day will be when you meditate for a few minutes several times a day. Just five minutes every hour can be a great place to start.

The best thing is that anyone can use meditation to bring rest and peace into their life. Meditation isn’t just for a yogi in India sitting on top of a mountaintop.

It will improve your performance in many areas of your life.

Learn to meditate and enjoy a better quality of life.