Our mental stress/suffering is associated with many outside factors, but if we look at it closely, we understand that the main cause of this suffering is due to our conditioning of attachment and identification to what is outside of us: identified with our job, our name, our education, where we come from, our age… the list goes on! This identification to our outside identity takes our awareness away from our true nature thus causing concerns, anxiety, feeling of inadequacy. The practice of meditation aims at bringing us back to our true core, our true self, and find the unchanging stillness within which is our true nature.
Meditation requires commitment to a method and regular practice. Regular practice of meditation, positive thinking, and mind control will greatly improve anxiety and stress level. Through meditation we learn to know our true self, and not to identify with our thought patterns. We also learn the power of positive suggestions, which will change our brain chemistry to a positive, and bring positive outlook on life. The yogic tradition believes very strongly that we are what we think; every thought pattern is a chemical energy which shapes the way we act and fit into this world. By grounding ourselves through meditation, and positive thinking, it is possible to live a more harmonious, stress free existence.
The transformative power of mediation will help changes to occur at deep and subtle levels that will reveal themselves to you and/or the outside world. These changes take time, and a commitment to the practice, but there are universal indicators that all those who meditate regularly will experience sooner or later:
Meditation as a great energiser:
Meditation is a vigorous tonic for the physical system: Scientists have become aware of the relation between mind and body cells. Bio-feedback techniques prove that most bodily functions can be controlled by concentration. The mind can control the activity of a single cell as well as a group of cells.
During meditation, powerful soothing waves penetrate the cells and exercise a benign influence on all the organs, setting in motion a process of healing and strengthening that prevents and cures many diseases. It is an established fact that those who meditate on a regular basis visit the doctor and hospital far less often than those who do not practice.
Regular meditation will help you reduce the time you devote to sleep, and enhance the quality of your sleep, leaving you more rested than after many hours sleep.
Meditation helps develop a powerful digestive system; you will enjoy lightness of body and mind. Your senses will sharpen, resulting in heightened perception and the ability to hear sound and see objects more clearly and at a more subtle level.
Achieving calmness of mind:
Meditation greatly reduces stress levels and acts as a powerful tonic for the body and nervous system by decreasing the heart rate and consumption of oxygen.
Each part of the body down to every cell is allowed to relax and rejuvenate
Progress in the practice will be accurately measured by the peacefulness, serenity and calmness that you demonstrate in the waking state.
You will become aware that you identify closely with emotions, thoughts and actions and you will gradually move away from this, assuming the role of witness, as if you were watching someone else.
Negative tendencies will decrease and your mind will become steadier.
Development of inner clarity
Along with mental strength comes a corresponding expansion in the power of your intellect. The practice of concentration increases willpower and memory, resulting in bright and sharp intellect.