Why Should I Meditate?

Have you ever noticed how after significant moments in your life, you have almost no memory of them?

Like how you can give a big speech and it feels like you missed the whole thing. You gave the speech, or you were at your wedding, but you forgot to be present for it. This doesn’t just happen for big moments either. Most of our lives we spend lost in thought, thinking about some other place or some other time.

I had a good friend who, whenever we would go for a walk through the park with nowhere in particular to go, she would walk a million miles an hour. She would miss the flowers, the birds, trees and streams. She was so used to getting to the end of a task that she was never present during the task.

If we live our lives this way, we’ll get to the end having realized we were present for so little of this precious life. This is why it’s so important to bring presence into our lives whenever we can. 

The more we become mindful of our thoughts, the more we can just witness, without attachment and identification, our thoughts and our body. All suffering goes away when we bask in the eternal and infinite ocean of awareness. 

Our minds are like the ocean. The waves can be chaotic, they can be calm, but that’s just the surface. Our thoughts are merely the surface of our minds — the part we usually give all our attention.

We think thoughts are all there is to us, but just beneath the surface lies a vast depth of calm, quiet stillness that we can anchor ourselves to so that we don’t get carried away by the waves.

Meditation is putting on the scuba gear and diving deep, tapping into the deep, rich sense of peace and bliss that lies within when we are fully present, fully aware, and fully alert

The more we recognize that this peace and joy is always there within us, the less we will need to turn to addictive substances or destructive behaviors to provide relief from the chaotic world we live in. The more we touch the source of love and joy within, the more we trust that we can survive anything and that the universe is here for us.

Happiness does not lie in a sports car, a mansion, a hot spouse or a dream vacation. Many people who have all these things are very lonely and miserable. True happiness lies within, and meditation is the doorway through which we can discover life’s true riches.

All day long, our mind is racing from one thought to the next. Even if we take a break, our mind never takes a 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. 

Through meditation, we can even 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.

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, daily meditation can result in falling asleep quickly, staying asleep the whole night, and waking up super refreshed.

In addition, recent scientific studies have shown that meditation slows the rate of cellular aging. It lowers stress, and increases the positive physical and mental states that can lead to longer, healthier lives.

Sometimes, when we’re not sure what to do, we overthink and over worry. By learning to quiet the mind in meditation, we’re able to tap into our higher intelligence of intuition — the 4 billion years of brilliant DNA programming that lies in each of us. 

In the stillness, our hearts can speak, and they always know what to do.

And most importantly, meditation can help every single person in the world become more joyful, more conscious, and more peaceful. When we take care of our own psychological well-being, we can better be there for others. Meditation is the perfect way to start.

So, the real question is not why should I meditate, but rather, ‘Why shouldn’t I meditate?’ After all, who among us couldn’t benefit from more joy, improved sleep, reduced stress, increased patience and concentration, heightened awareness, and a better 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.

Meditation isn’t merely for chilling out; it is a powerful tool that trains our minds to be present, focused, aware, peaceful, and joyful. 

It’s not just about the time spent sitting down with our eyes closed in meditation; it’s about how that time improves the rest of our lives.

Gaining insights into ourselves and our own minds is one of the greatest ways meditation can improve our lives. The more we observe the nature and quality of our thoughts, the greater wisdom we develop about ourselves and our place in the universe. Using meditation properly can help us gain an understanding that can be used to transform our lives.

Will Meditating Daily Bring You Happiness?

If there was one simple step we could all take that would dramatically improve every aspect of our lives, wouldn’t we be crazy for not doing it? It’s free and requires only a little bit of effort. And yet, so many of us find ourselves unable to make it a part of our daily practice.

There are always billions of pieces of information that our mind is constantly processing. We are only conscious of a very, very tiny percent of the amount of things we perceive — less than 1%. The rest is perceived subconsciously or unconsciously, meaning our mind is aware of it, but consciously we have not made ourselves aware of it; we keep it in the back of our minds. But we are not fully aware of an aspect or object or concept when we are meditating, which is really only a microcosm of life. 

Everything that happens in meditation is a lesson for how we approach life. 

In meditation, when we are experiencing all of the sensations around us — the noises, the feeling of our chair — we are still using our unfocused mind. We are allowing ourselves and our mind to be easily distracted and to be dictated upon by the circumstances of our surroundings. So, instead of creating our reality, we are victims of circumstance.

Over time, through practice and repetition, we make a habit out of focusing our mind. We are training our powers of focus and concentration to be stronger so that we develop that laser-like, single-pointed concentration where we can focus on one thing without distraction for an extended period of time, creating a deep sense of peace and stillness. It is only the monkey mind, that wandering mind leaping from thought to thought wildly and chaotically, that is unable to control its focus.

It is the chaos in the mind that is so exhausting, draining, and why meditation truly re-centers, rejuvenates, and re-energizes us because it gives our mind a rest — something even sleep can’t achieve. It trains our mind to be calm and still, allowing us to take that state of mind and being and apply it to every moment of our lives. This is what’s most important. 

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. 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 is the act of turning our attention away from the material world, turning it inward, tuning in to our body, our breath, and the present moment, and becoming fully alert, and fully conscious of our environment and our body. Without looking at it through the cloud of thoughts and opinions and judgments.

In meditation, we practice raising our level of joy in life and diminishing our suffering. Experienced meditators can experience both pain and pleasure as life’s beautiful dance unfolds, without getting attached to each passing moment, without identifying with anger or fear, and instead living in a constant state of gratitude, love, compassion, and wisdom.

They understand the nature of suffering and they understand that true happiness is everlasting and comes from within.