For me, meditation has created a path to a more meaningful, happy and relaxed life. A slower, steadier, silent and a more simpler kind of life.

This is because meditating is an extremely effective way to achieve a deeper understanding of myself. It teaches me better ways of dealing with my problems and issues on a daily basis.

Through meditation I become a more calm, happy and balanced person who is on his way to achieve whatever it is I want to achieve in my life.

I’m sure that everyone at least once in their life, has experienced a moment in which they’ve found themselves in a situation of deep relaxation, satisfaction and consciousness.

A situation where all your daily worries had disappeared and your mind was clear and focussed with a feeling of being at one with the present, with the moment.

THAT is the essence of meditation

By regularly practising meditation, I am learning how to return to that same condition time and time again, whenever I need to and by being able to do this, I don’t have to depend on external stimuli to experience such moments of happiness.

I can find it inside myself.

Meditation also allows me to learn to relax quickly and effectively, to improve focus and concentration. It is also an exceptionally effective technique to balance the personal and professional life to a deeper level.

Meditation techniques are successfully used by millions of people every day to:

  • Relax the mind and body
  • Relieve stress and tension
  • Improve physical, mental and spiritual health
  • Increase focus and concentration
  • Harness self-awareness and personal growth
  • Improve your focus and creativity

I have found that when I’ve started to regularly practise meditation and in turn, study the philosophy behind it, I suffer less from unnecessary, unpleasant and frustrating negative trains of thought.

I start to live more in the NOW.

As a result of this I become more in tune with my feelings and will have more confidence that I will make the right choices and do what it is that we really want to do.

I become more authentic and true to myself.

Through a consistent meditation practise I’ve become mentally healthier because I’m not expending my energies on useless and trivial things.

become more successful at our work because I feel better in and about my work. I go about my day to day with greater focus and in turn creativity flows much more easily.

become a more pleasant and a more peaceful person because I feel better inside and out plus, I have some control over my emotions and streams of thought more effectively.

As I get to know more myself more through our meditation practise, I begin to realise that it’s me who is solely responsible for my own happiness and therefore am no longer the victims of the circumstances in which I find myself in.

Finally, I’d like to think that all of these changes would be noticed by the people around me and this will greatly enhance your relationships and your social life. This is of course not the aim of a regular meditation practise but it’s nice to have your efforts recognised from time to time.

If I was impart any final words on meditation, it would be that regular meditation practise means different things to different people but, you won’t know what meditation will mean for you if you don’t start so consider meditation as an essential part of your day-to day living.

Like me, you’ll be glad that you did.

Peace,

Corey 🙂

As a continuation of a previous post about me being a Secular Buddhist, I wanted to outline what meditation is and why it is so important to me.

So… Let’s address the first part of the question… “What is meditation about?”

Well, according to Wikipedia, meditation is defined as…

“… a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing their mind on a particular object, thought or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm state.”

Meditation is the means of stopping the never-ending chatter in my mind through being still, quiet and in the present moment.

For me, the desired result is a feeling of being more calm, relaxed and at peace with myself and the world around me.

The main point to realise with meditation is that you don’t get to your desired result straight away, you need to be patient with it. It takes a lot of consistent practise (the operative word being “consistent”) to achieve the desired result that you would be looking for.

However, there is a plus side to being patient and putting in the practise. The very act of practising meditation (whether you think you’re good at it or not) is just as important.

Giving meditation a go and integrating it in your life’s journey is its own reward.

Another great thing about meditation is that it can be practised by religious and non-religious people alike. This shows the versatile, and inclusive nature of meditation.

You see, meditation is for everyone and for an atheist like myself that is a good thing.

And now for the second part of the question… “Why is meditation so important to me?”

Well, right now, we live in a non-stop 24/7 world where no-one takes a break from it all and because of this, we have all become unwilling participants in a perpetual game of catch up to which there are no winners and no end in sight.

Meditation allows me to step off the treadmill and to take a break from the race. This encourages me to be a human “being” rather than a human “doing.” It allows me to be calmer, more relaxed, more at peace, less anxious and feel happier as a result of doing it.

We all need some time out every once in a while and meditation will give all of us that gift at any time that we choose to practise it.

With that in mind, imagine a world where everybody was calm, relaxed and at peace with themselves and with everyone else?

What kind of a world do you think we would we be living in? I don’t know about you, but it’s definitely a world I’d like to be living in

Anyways, if you’ve ever considered the possibility of meditation being a regular part of your daily life you should let me know so we can chat about it. I’d love to know your thoughts on the matter.

In the meantime, be still and enjoy the silence.

Peace,

Corey 🙂