This article is part of the ongoing Meditation for All challenge. Subscribers to the free newsletter receive weekly guidance and a daily practice.
Meditation makes us happier, healthier, and wiser. It gives us more energy, better focus, and greater awareness.
You don’t need to be suffering from a midlife crisis to start a meditation practice. Meditation is the key to preventing a mental crisis in the first place. We all, kids and adults alike, need spiritual tools in our spiritual toolbelt for whenever illness or loss does occur.
Meditation simply helps us process our thoughts and emotions in a positive way. No matter what is going on in our lives, we can feel a deep and abiding peace and joy that emanates from within.
Just like it’s important that we get our body checked out by a doctor, checking out your own mind is even more important, and there is really only one person able to do it — you!
It’s absolutely essential that every day we put aside all our gadgets and gizmos for just a few moments, check in with ourselves, center ourselves in the present moment, relax and slow down. This is essential for letting the body heal and repair.
If you’re always naturally always peaceful, blissful, and present, without stress or worries or fear, congratulations. You may just be the Dalai Lama or the second coming of Jesus.
If you’re like the rest of us though, meditation is for you.
I have never met anyone who couldn’t benefit from being happier, more patient, more relaxed, more aware, or more focused in their lives.
These days, it seems everyone is addicted to something, whether it’s caffeine, overeating, alcohol, tobacco, work, TV, the news, smartphones, or social media. Becoming more mindful through meditation helps us break the unconscious habitual thought patterns, and live more consciously and thoughtfully.
For many people suffering from mental afflictions, meditation has been proven to be a safe and effective treatment. From OCD to ADD/ADHD, from depression to anxiety, meditation addresses the root of the problem by heightening our awareness and improving our concentration.
The more we observe the nature of the mind, the more conscious we become. The more conscious we are of our own mind, the less we unconsciously create mental suffering. Through meditation, we can all become less stressed, more relaxed, more present, and more fulfilled in our daily lives.
It’s common to hear people say, “Swimming is my meditation,” or “I meditate when I’m gardening.” In the next article, we’ll look more closely at what meditation actually means, what these activities offer instead, and whether the two are interchangeable.
The Meditation for All Challenge takes place in my newsletter, where I share:
• Weekly practices that accompany the reading
• Common difficulties and how to work with them
• Step-by-step instructions for meditation mastery
If you are reading this on the website, make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next step.
Can't Meditate?
Join the Meditation for All Challenge
We will all go through loss, heartbreak, aging, financial setbacks, disappointment, tragedy, loneliness, uncertainty, and fear. But we are never taught how to survive these challenging periods of our life.
The Guidebook to Being Human: An Instruction Manual for Life, is Todd’s answer to the questions we all face. Now available on Amazon
