What are the benefits of meditating? Here’s 4 plus 1 more BIGGY

Meditation has a multitude of benefits, but what are the benefits of meditating?

It’s much more than what most westerners think it is, that is, that it is for relaxation purposes.

However, with stress now being a topic generally acceptable to talk about, this then allows for discussion about potential solutions.

Meditation then has become an accepted solution to reduce stress (and it certainly does) and as a form of relaxation.

But, anything beyond the benefits of relaxation or stress reduction has been avoided by most marketers of meditation or for that matter people who teach meditation because it can scare many people off as being “too out there”.

So, any terms that aren’t generally accepted or where a level of understanding has not yet been reached are avoided.I’m not going to avoid them here though.

My take on it is, if what I share resonates with you great, if it doesn’t, that’s fine too. Take what you will, discard that which doesn’t appeal. Sometimes, it’s just about being ready or not.

But, don’t let anything you feel is “out there” prevent you from meditating because really the general benefits of meditating are too good to pass up.

I’m going to cover just five of the benefits of meditating here.

What are the benefits of meditating?

In no particular order, the 5 benefits of meditating are:

1. Focus

Does meditation help you focus – it certainly does.

Meditation is by nature a focused activity. So, you do practice focusing during meditation but over time the ability to be more present as you move through life means that you are able to focus much more in whatever situation you are in whether that’s having a conversation or undertaking a task.

You become much more present, for example, you’re not thinking about the next thing, or where you have to be or what you need to do next. You are completely in “the now”.  So yes, meditation does help you focus.

2. Relaxation – Mental & Physical Time Out

Yes, meditation is relaxing, but not in the way you might think.

Most people equate meditation with relaxing almost to the point of falling asleep (or actually falling asleep).

If you’ve read my previous articles you will see that I don’t actually have a problem with this happening, however, the process of meditating is actually more around having a relaxed alertness.

Having said that, meditation once you are able to manage the stream of thoughts and remain still, will give both your mind and your body a much-needed and well-deserved break.

3. Healing

Over-thinking is a sickness that many in modern society suffer from and I really do mean suffer. Consequently, emotional and physical pain and disease can ensue. Meditation allows us to get in touch with who we truly are beyond our incessant and often crippling thoughts.

Again, once we manage the stream of thought and create space it gives our minds and our bodies space to heal. And, the spaciousness within that meditating creates can be taken with you through your day to day life. With this space comes a calm and a presence that allows for mental agility but without the worrying or stressful components. On a physical level it can also help.

Our bodies and our minds want health, they want equilibrium. Meditation helps with creating balance.

4. Clarity

Meditation also helps with clarity. Because meditation is about the cessation of thinking and/or raising our awareness/consciousness, we are able to tap into a level of intelligence beyond our surface level thoughts.

We become smarter (actually that’s not completely correct – we just tap into our greater intelligence) and we can have insights not available to us when we are trying to cope with our busy minds (you will see how busy your mind actually is when you are meditating).

We are actually more likely to come up with solutions and it enhances our creativity.   Think Steve Jobs and Albert Einstein.

When we shift focus from the busyness of the mind and other external distractions etc and go within this is where we find the answers, the clarity, the purpose many so desperately seek.

The key here though if I can just give you a little tip is to not push for it or chase it for that is more of the same that we essentially want to move gently away from.

You can certainly ask for clarity but go forth with ease around it.

Once we are “trying to get to something or get somewhere” we are back where we started – we are not present (right here, right now) nor in touch with ourselves but projected into the future and with it into negative thoughts and emotions such as frustration or despair.

5. The Biggy – Enlightenment

I won’t go into too much of an explanation here (I’ll save that for another time but it’s inexplicable anyway as it’s more experiential – words would not do it justice) but suffice to say that the ultimate benefit of meditation is enlightenment.

Some may achieve an enlightened state without the practice of meditation (like Eckhart Tolle for example) but I think in the main that the potential for most people is the greatest through meditation.

The result of enlightenment is oneness. Oneness with all life. Too far out there? If there is resistance to that concept, I would just say “it couldn’t hurt could it and it might just be wonderful”.

Experience the benefits of meditating right now!

Even if you can’t wrap your mind around benefit five, the biggy (Enlightenment), the benefits of Focus, Relaxation, Healing and Clarity (remember, I’ve only mentioned 5) are also pretty big if you ask me and worth beginning a meditation practice anyway, or how I like to put it “just sit”.

Experience the benefits of meditating right now by starting your practise.  If you need some help or would like to be guided, check out my review What is the best guided meditation? Top 5 Best Value for Money or  Top 5 Affordable Mindfulness Meditation Online Course Picks Review

These are quality courses and affordable with some being only $2.50 to $6.00 per day.

It helps to have a teacher and a little guidance to maximise our chances of success so go ahead and read my reviews. I’m sure they’ll help.

I hope you have found this article of some help and decide to take up meditating.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this article or meditation generally or suggestions for future topics, I would be more than happy to receive them.

Good luck with your meditation practice!

Go forth with ease and just be! Martine

 

8 Comments

  • Cathy

    Excellent article! I have been trying mindfulness meditation with a few books written by Jon Kabat-Zinn. It’s amazing how much can be written about such a seemingly simple process. And it isn’t easy! I’m excited about being able to focus on one or even just two things, rather than having my mind race around like a mad dog.
    The “one-ness” reminds me of acid trips. It’s hard to define what “One” is. I can see why many people take it as Nirvana, but I have other views – for another time. I’m a Christian.
    Thank you for posting this! It’s been rather – dare I say it – enlightening.

    • Martine

      Thank you Cathy. I appreciate your comments. The mind can drive us crazy. I see “oneness” as a realisation of connection to all life and that of being one with all life. I am you, you are me etc at the level of the essence. Thank you again.

  • andreas haag

    I love the “biggy” it is the best thing in my experience with meditation, I would love to hear more about the “enlightenment”
    I have meditated for years and just the biggy may be the best part 😉

  • Mike

    Hi Martine, I’ve long flirted with meditation and I’ll admit I’ve used it to de-stress a few times.

    The problem I tend to have is consistency and technique. Any advice regarding those points? And how often would you meditate to get the most out of it?

  • Kelby

    Hi Martine,

    All these benefits of meditation sound great. But the first three things really hit home for me because these days, I have trouble keeping my focus on what I set out to do during the day. Reading a book is hard for the same reason, even though I read and finished a lot of books easily when I was younger.

    I also have a lot of stress and bad thoughts about where I am in life, and what the future will be like. I try to combat that with good thoughts – but that only works to a point for me.

    I’ll have to give meditation a try. Thanks for the post!

    • Martine

      Yes, I understand. Trying to push the thoughts out or try to change them can often be more of the same (a constant battle). Personally, I find accepting them and watching them is better without necessarily engaging with the thoughts and just feeling the emotion in the body – where does it sit in the body (without the dialogue). Focusing on the feeling inside the body can help dissipate it. It would be great if you could give meditation a go. I have a couple of other articles with the some simple techniques which you might find helpful. Thanks for your feedback.

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