The real life benefits of meditation
There are many scientifically documented changes that occur in the mind and body when you meditate. These include brain growth, increased immune function and decreased stress hormone production to name a few. The beneficial outcome of these changes is feeling less stressed and more energised. But what does life really look like when you make meditation a daily habit?
When you’re too stressed, the brain activates what is known as the ‘fight or flight’ response. In this state, you instinctively sense danger and pre-empt something bad is about to happen. To prepare, you project into the future and try to predict what will happen, using the past as a reference for what has previously happened. Creative thinking and problem solving go out the window. You move into ‘defensively get things done’ mode and forget that the process is just as important as the outcome.
When you meditate, you reduce your stress levels and the fight or flight response switches off. The need to defensively pre-empt, prepare or predict the future dissolves and you’re able to relax. As you make meditation a daily practice, you naturally find yourself more present, calm and curious. You realise that the real joy in life comes from being fully engaged in the present moment, responding to life as it happens… and there’s no other place you’d rather be.
When you’re fatigued, and too stressed, life’s challenges can feel overwhelming and unending. In a high stressed state, your brain is not functioning at its optimum. You can be reactive and defensive, and confidence in your capability to meet life’s challenges slips away.
When you meditate, you create the perfect conditions for your mind and body to rest. Your stress levels naturally reduce and brain function increases. You also begin to access a deeper part of yourself that is strong, stable and confident.
Feeling more relaxed and less under pressure, you’re able to meet life’s demands with enthusiasm and creativity. You become an expert at seeking out challenges. You know they’re the perfect way to draw out your capabilities and put everything you know to the test. Your confidence grows each day and life becomes a playground of opportunities!
It’s a fundamental part of our nature as human beings, to want to know our purpose and feel like our lives have greater meaning. To discover purpose and direction requires you have a clear internal communication with our self. When this is established, it is experienced as powerful feelings that give rise to a knowingness of what to do in each moment.
When you are too stressed the mind goes into overdrive. This creates a whole lot of internal noise and distortion that makes it difficult to detect these powerful feelings. Being disconnected from your sense of purpose creates confusion about what to do next. You can then worry about whether you are doing the right thing.
When you meditate regularly stress is dissolved, and our powerful feelings of purpose become louder and clearer. We become a master at detecting what to do in each moment. We fearlessly move in that direction without any confusion or worry.