Have you ever noticed how in life, all pleasurable experiences are temporary? Have you ever noticed the futile effort we make to prolong happy experiences, and yet they are always followed by more longing and craving for those same good times? This may be why meditation is making a comeback. So just what are the benefits to meditation?

It seems we spend our whole lives seeking pleasure and avoiding pain as best we can. But, no matter how hard we try, the pleasures are fleeting and the pains are inescapable. This is because happiness is not the same as joy, and pain is not the same as suffering. Joy is how much we enjoy our lives.

Happiness is how much pleasure we derive from a brief experience. Pain is a chemical reaction in our brain telling us something is not right, i.e. move your hand away from the fire. Suffering is the voice in our head saying that the pain is unbearable. 

Meditation Benefit #1: More Peace and Joy

In meditation, we practice raising our level of joy in life and diminishing our suffering. As experienced meditators, we can experience both pain and pleasure as life’s beautiful dance unfolding.

We do not get attached to each passing moment, we do not identify with anger or fear, and we instead live in a constant state of gratitude, love, compassion, and wisdom.

We understand the nature of suffering and we understand that true happiness is everlasting and comes from within. 

Meditation Benefit #2: Become the Master of Your Life

How does meditation benefit you? To understand the true nature of the mind and reality, one must both learn about it and then one must put it into practice. Like becoming a doctor, we have to have good teachers, and then we must practice what we’ve learned.

When it comes to being more joyful, more mindful, more focused, more patient, and more loving, the process is the same. It takes a good teacher, and meditation is that daily practice. Together, they will lead to true transformation. 

Meditation Benefit #3: Less Negativity, Anger, Addiction, Stress

How does meditation benefit you with anxiety and negativity? Through meditation, we can unlearn negative habits, become free from addiction and anger, we can de-stress our minds and bodies, we can heal from the many chronic physical and mental conditions that stress creates, and we can lead more content and fulfilled lives. How does meditation benefit?

Meditation Benefit #4: Better Sleep

Hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies have proven once and for all what every meditator already knew: meditation is amazing for sleep! Not only does meditation lead to more sleep, but it even leads to a night of deeper and more restful sleep.

By calming the racing mind and by calming a restless body, a meditation class or course taught by an expert can result in falling asleep quickly, staying asleep the whole night, and waking up super refreshed.

Meditation Benefit #5: Better Relationships

How does meditation benefit your relations? Relationships are all about being present with other people. When our mind is elsewhere, when we’re impatient, when our attention is distracted or on our phone, we can’t be the best possible friend or partner that we can be. As recent neuroimaging has shown, meditation literally changes our brain. It makes the part of the brain known for empathy visibly larger.

This is because as we practice mindfulness, we strengthen that part of our brain. We also decrease in size the part of the brain responsible for fear. The more we meditate, the more compassionate, more present, and more patient we become in our relationships.

Meditation Benefit #6: More Energy

All-day long, our mind is racing from one thought to the next. Even if we take a break, it never takes a break. That’s what makes the meditation you’ll learn in our classes the ultimate brain break. A lot of things, like watching movies or smoking or eating food, or getting on social media, temporarily distract our minds.

But only meditation lets it rest and trains the mind to be naturally calmer and more restful throughout the day. Taking just a brief meditation break leads to greater energy so that we never feel run down or exhausted. 

Meditation Benefit #7: More Focus and Concentration

How does meditation benefit your mind? If you can learn to pay attention to your breath with the same level of focus and concentration as you have when you’re watching your favorite movie, you’ll be able to pay attention to anything. Even if you don’t have ADD or ADHD, society as a whole is losing its attention span.

Meditation Benefit #8: More Success

With more energy, more clarity, more focus, and better concentration, also comes more success in our professional lives. Hundreds of today’s most successful and richest business people, entrepreneurs, and celebrities credit their success to meditation.

As we let our thinking mind take a back seat to our observing mind, we see more. We understand more. Furthermore, we are able to see through the fog of our thoughts and judgments and opinions. Thanks to having more clarity and less stress, we make fewer mistakes. We arrange our day more thoughtfully and mindfully. Additionally, we see exactly what we need to do, when we need to do it, and we do it.

Why Not?

The real question is, “Why shouldn’t I meditate?” Who among us couldn’t use more joy, better sleep, less stress, more patience and concentration, greater awareness, and a greater understanding of ourselves and others?

In today’s high-tech light-speed world, full of industries trying to grab our attention, setting aside just 20 minutes a day for yourself to unwind and recenter can be the greatest gift anyone can give themselves. The peace of mind you gain will even be a gift to those around you.