I began to meditate regularly about seven weeks ago. I thought I would share my experience as a meditation novice and my feelings about the practice.
You can find details of the benefits of meditation on many sites across the web. The ancient practice is a great way to deal with stress, provides acknowledged health benefits and many creative people find it helps them to focus when they are working.
I first encountered it about 10 years ago and it helped me to deal with the stressful atmosphere of my job but like many things, life gets in the way and I drifted from it.
My wife uses meditation as one of her tools to help her clients deal with stress, anxiety and depression. Due to the literature she has around our house I decided to give meditation another go.
When I first started to meditate again I found it difficult to still my mind. I wasn't sure that I was doing it properly but apparently it is a common problem for people starting out.
Over the last couple of weeks I have begun to meditate into a deeper state and my mind isn't so restless. My writer's block seems to have been released and I am finally back on track with the book. I feel happier and I think I have coped with stressful situations better in the past few weeks than I would have previously. I have accepted that change and problems are inevitable but after all our family has been through they are, in truth, trivial in comparison.
In the times we live in stress is everywhere. It is a very destructive force and is at least in part the cause of cancer, heart disease and strokes. It may not be for everyone and it's not a panacea for all ills but I would suggest that it is worth giving meditation a go to help you cope with all that life has to throw at you.
I will write again about this subject in a few weeks to tell how how things are going.
It would be interesting to hear from experienced meditators about how you believe it had benefitted you.
You can read more about how my wife helps people at Stress The Positive.
I think that meditation confronts us with ourselves, layer by layer, until we attain some point of stillness. But it's not instantaneous and, paradoxically, requires effort. We're so used to the mind being constantly stimulated, whereas meditation draws us in from the world and, even from our own thoughts. What method did you use - for example, did you concentrate on the breath or a symbol or a sound? Whatever way you chose, keep at it. The clarity and sense of equilibrium carry over into other areas of your life.
ReplyDeleteI have been using a breath technique in conjunction with a recording of Tibetan gongs. I thought I was doing something wrong but feel I'm making progress now. I think I'm already reaping some benefits and I am sure that they will only increase.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments and encouragement, Derek.