Meditation
Benifits of Meditation: What is Meditation Good For?
Some reading this may already be familiar with meditation, others not so much. I believe meditation is a practice commonly over looked or ignored. I'm sure everyone has heard of it before, maybe tried it once and gave up? But have you ever really looked into the benifits? There are infinite ways to practice meditation from sitting in silence on your commute to work, just saying the phrase "thought, thought" when a negative sentence enters your mind, or even guided practices with a therapist or spiritual specialist. The article this week, written by Amber Murphey, goes over every benifit of this beautiful practice. I've highlighted below what I find most important and encourge you to click the link below to read the full article.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be considered the state of living in the present moment. However, mindfulness can also mean being aware of the thoughts and emotions that take your attention.
It’s very easy to get lost in thoughts, or allow ourselves to become our thoughts, especially when they’re negative. Meditation helps us practice being more mindful of the present moment and taking a step back from our thinking and emotions, and observing them, instead of simply acting or following them.
Most people live in a state of momentum, never taking a step back and recognizing just how much of their lives they spend in their heads. Meditation is the path to getting out of your head. It’s the path of recognizing how chaotic our minds are and that most of our suffering comes from our thoughts.
Anxiety and Stress
The most common state of being for most people is to live in the past or future. Very few people actually take time to live in the moment or even notice the present.
This is where a lot of stress and anxiety comes from. As mentioned earlier, mindfulness allows us to become aware of this type of thinking, which can allow us to let go of this anxiety and stress, when we begin to realize that it’s not these thoughts that make us anxious, but our judgement of these thoughts.
Focus
Mindfulness meditation requires one to sit and pay attention to, and focus on the breath for long periods of time without allowing the mind to wander or become distracted.
This kind of training and discipline helps develop the focus muscle of the mind. So not only are you getting all the benefits of meditation, you’re also training.
When you’ve trained your mind enough to allow it to be quick to notice when the mind wants to wander, or has become distracted, it will be that much easier to return the focus to the important task at hand. Whether it’s improving focus for work, school, productivity, or living more present, guided meditations for focus are a great training tool. Think of it like a personal trainer for the mind.
