Meditation is a special topic to me. I began meditating at the age of 12. At that time, I did not know what I was doing, let alone knowing if I was doing it well.
My fascination began when my Grandparents used to watch “The Twilight Zone” when I was over their house. In the opening credits, a large spinning spiral would take up the tv screen while the iconic eery music played.
I was curious, what was that? So I asked. And they told me, “It’s to hypnotized you.”
Hypnotize? What could that mean? That led to me discovering “trance-like states”. From “trance-like states”, I found meditation. I’ve committed to the journey ever since.
Here are 12 insights on why meditation should be part of your life.
1. Meditation Has Massive Health Benefits
Meditation has been proven to increase the grey matter in your brain. This leads to increased feelings of connectedness; empathy; compassion; sense of self; memory; and stress reduction.
Meditation is not a “one-time thing”. Its benefits are highly correlated to consistency.
Consistency is the only way you can truly succeed at anything. Or reap long-term benefits.
2. Meditation Allows You To Be Aware Of Your Mind
Everyone’s mind is different. Physically different. We can also observe this in the lack or robust levels of neurotransmitters an individual has.
Through our lifetime, our brains physically change—a process known as neuroplasticity.
The motto of that field is this: “neurons that fire together, wire together.”
Meditation allows you to step outside your habitual thought patterns and logic, and observe your inner circuit board. Why is this important?
3. Being Observant Of How Your Mind Works, Allows You To Master Your Mind
Through meditation, you begin to bear witness to thought patterns that you easily fall into. This is powerful. Because you can supersede how you react to things, and allow yourself the option of choice.
Many times our reactions to things are ingrained thought patterns. Passed onto us from others. That’s it.
And it’s usually your thought to a situation that can amplify your suffering and pain. Or reduce it.
4. Because All Of Life Is Perspective
Meditation allows you to take space outside your thinking mind—outside your engrained thought patterns—and include the possibility there might be another way.
An option and opportunity to look at a circumstance differently.
Maybe with more compassion. Maybe admitting you don’t know all the details. Possibly finding that you weren’t loving yourself deeply enough, and allowed yourself to stay in a toxic situation.
Perspective is everything.
5. Meditation Builds A Protective Space In Your Mind
When done consistently, meditation offers you a place in your mind you can retreat to. Even on your worst day, you find you’ve built an inner sanctuary that no outside circumstance can touch. Or topple over.
This is helpful: when going through a breakup; when you feel lonely; when you feel your utmost courage is called for; through life’s trials and tribulations; through insurmountable stress; etc.
6. Meditation Forces You Into The Present Moment
All Eastern Philosophies, especially Buddhism, encourages you to do one thing: run deeply into the present moment.
It’s in the present moment, we escape the anxieties and hurts of the past—and worries of the future.
In the present moment, most of us aren’t really present at all: our minds are constantly addicting itself to the past and future. Never truly “here”.
7. Not Being Present, Wastes Your Time
Imagine, for every part of your life, it was obsessing about things which have hurt you in the past. Or ruminating about not having all the answers for the future. Where does that leave you to enjoy what’s happening now?
Truth is, it doesn’t. It robs you of time. Because you are not able to appreciate how far you’ve come.
You aren’t able to embrace your journey. Instead, mindlessly caught up in fantasies; worries; self-judgment; self-doubt; self-limitations; etc.
8. If You Aren’t Present, You Can’t Make Optimal Choices
The science states that human beings are incredibly bad at multi-tasking. Something will always pay the price when we are too scatterbrained and doing too much at one time.
If you desire success, it requires focus. Because as Tony Robbins says, “Where your attention goes, energy flows.”
Therefore, attention to detail and making big decisions, all require you to be present—to make the best choice possible.
If you aren’t present for your life–if your attention isn’t here right now–what kind of choices ARE you making?
9. Meditation Allows You To Have A Better Connection With Your Self
Our entire lives are dependent on the relationship we have with our inner selves. The more you establish a healthy relationship with your mind, your vibe, your energy—you are slowly building up a fortitude of integrity to YOU.
And it’s in that place you can build trust with yourself. Because you are allowing yourself to be introspective.
Am I thinking this because that’s how I was taught to believe? Do I believe this about myself, because it’s true—or did someone say or do something in my past that made me believe that?
When we can drown out the opinions and experiences others have given us on our journey, we become less reliant on good praise or negative feedback. We become reliant on how we make ourselves feel.
10. The Power Of Thought
Thoughts fuel emotions. Emotions fuel beliefs. Beliefs fuel actions. Actions change your world—and the world—around you.
Meditation allows you to get to the precursor of what will manifest and alter your physical world around you.
This is why those who believe in The Law Of Attraction are about being mindful of your thoughts. Your thoughts are powerful electrical currents in the brain, yes. But even more so, just like a magnet made by electricity, so does your mind work in a similar fashion.
11. It’s Not About Erasing Thought, It’s About Embracing YOU
When you first begin meditating you will find your mind is tackling so much thought. It’s literally a mess up there.
With consistent practice—and a desire to succeed—you get into a space in which the pattern of thought calms down. It’s the peak of the mountain you will need to overcome as a beginner meditator.
Thoughts aren’t erased. They just become, an observable aspect of function of your brain. You sense it happening, but the interesting thing is you become less reactive.
12. Less Reactivity Shows You The Path Towards Compassion
By strengthening your ability to be less reactive, you allow experiences in life to happen FOR you, not TO you.
Just like your mind and its thoughts: they are happening FOR you, not TO you. Every thought doesn’t need a reaction. You don’t need to attach to every thought…especially the ones that are hurtful or just plain mean—including to yourself.
Your ability to do so allows you the experience of self-love. And self-compassion.
And what you can give to yourself, is what you can give to another.
Conclusion
Meditation will always be my favorite practice. It has changed me, a lot. One of the most interesting facts about meditation is that in very deep meditative states it has been reported to be equivalent to a psychedelic experience or a Psychedelic Assisted Therapy session (MAPS).
What does this imply? To me, it implies that one doesn’t need to partake in such modalities to have an experience.
Because all experiences are found, deep within.
And for those who do partake, it’s assuring to know, there are ways to achieve those experiences without taking particular plant medicines or substances. Which is encouraging to know there are options.
Meditate. Try it out. You lose nothing by trying.
Be safe & Well,
– Liana
