Mindfulness and Spirituality

How Meditation Changed My Life

There is profound wisdom in sitting alone and doing nothing.

‘’ What day is it ?’’ asked Pooh.

‘’It’s today,’’ squeaked Piglet .

‘’My favorite day’’ said Pooh. — A . A . Milne

What is Meditation?

In simple words, mediation is sitting alone and doing nothing. How ironic it is to benefit from such a laid-back activity in life.

Probably, this is what comes to your mind when you hear the word meditation. This exactly makes meditation one of the most difficult things to do.

We can’t sit for a while doing absolutely anything. We are conditioned to ‘do ‘and ‘keep doing ‘. We all want change. We want to change and become a better version of ourselves, or we want to change and become like someone else.

This is not a bad idea. Change is the only reality. What else can be a better tool than meditation to help us change? I cannot think of anything else.

Meditation is an inner journey.

Meditation and Yoga are now globally trending as the best tools for self-help and mental health. Self-help books almost always include a chapter on meditation. All spiritual masters across the world had agreed upon this one single fact.

You need to sit alone, observe your thoughts, and breathe at least for a few minutes during the day. They all ask you to look within to find your answers. At the same time, we are conditioned to look outside to find everything.

Our five senses are trained to gather information from the external world. What we find outside is a limited resource. We cannot find everlasting happiness with the material world outside of us.

Did the money ever bring us happiness? What about that travel you did with your sweetheart to an exotic island? Great sex, delicious food?

Nothing satisfied you! You went mountaineering and climbed on top of the Everest … Finally, did that achievement make you the happiest person on earth? Probably not. You are still craving for happiness and inner peace.

Then, one fine day, you sit down. You close your eyes and try to look within. You find a certain peace and harmony. You are yoked to your own frequency. No compulsion, no expectation, no hurry, or need to prove anything.

This is meditation, meeting yourself within the confines of your inner sanctuary.

‘’ What the superior man seeks is himself; what the small man seeks is in others’’ -Confucious

Don’t expect to find this peaceful and fulfilling experience every time you sit down to meditate. But, every time you sit down to meditate, you are clearing some inner clutter; you are clearing the tracks to reach that beautiful inner space. You become more mindful.

Life and the fruits of your achievements become more satiating. You are happy without external gratification. Negative feelings come and go faster than they arrived. Your mind space is now fertile and tilled for growth and creativity.

Here is what the great mystic Osho says about the qualities of meditation:

‘’ A meditative person is playful, life is fun for him, life is a Leela, a play. He enjoys it tremendously. He is not serious, he is relaxed’’

I’d like to share some excerpts from Om Swami, author of A Million Thoughts

‘’ A master instructed his disciple to meditate for six hours every day and do so for ten years.

‘’What if I meditate for 12 hours every day? ‘’ the disciple asked. ‘’ How long will it take to reach the goal then?’’

‘’Twenty years ‘’

‘’ Really? And what if I meditated for 18 hours a day?’’

‘’ Thirty years ‘’

‘’How can that be?’’

‘’With one eye on the goal, you only have one left to focus on the task,’’ the master replied.

Most of us are like this disciple; we want instant gratification.

How Meditation Impacted My Life

Books were my only companions on my journey in the pursuit of beauty and happiness. I came across the concept of meditation through the writings and speeches of spiritual masters like Osho, Om Swami, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, and many more thought leaders.

I have been doing meditation for the past five years. My first meditation experience happened at the Osho Zen meditation, which was a whooping one-hour sitting.

I have a one-year meditation streak on my credit, using the meditation app Black Lotus in 2020. That means I meditated daily for at least ten minutes without a single break during this time. Now, I meditate thrice a week for twenty minutes. This is my progress report for the past five years in meditation.

One noticeable change in my life is that nothing changed. I am the same person and live in the same city in the same home. I still get anxious moments; I still forget about the boiling milk pan on the stove, and I fight my anger and negativity.

But, I am less complaining, less demanding, more creative, and more self-loving. More than anything, I am not looking for external validation. I am happy in my pajamas as well as in costly Kanchipuram sarees.

That’s something! I give all credit for this self-awareness and compassion towards self and others to meditation. Meditation is the hotbed of self-love! Definitely, meditation is the best feel-good tool available today!

I find a lot of Zen writers and meditators among us in Medium. When I first read the blogs of Dr Mehmet Yildiz, I couldn’t believe he meditated thrice a day and had only one meal during the day.

He has written many scientific blogs on meditation and its effects on the human brain. According to Dr. Yildiz:

‘’In focused attention meditation, we direct our attention to a specific objector focus point, maintaining sustained concentration. Open-monitoring meditation involves non-reactively observing and becoming aware of our thoughts, emotions, and sensations without judgment or attachment.‘’

I encourage you to give meditation a try and experience the multitude of benefits, just as I have.

As Dr. Yildiz informed us, based on his years of research, Meditation Can Boost the Cortical Thickness in the Brain and Prevent the Thinning of It.

From my experience, not only mystics and spiritual people but also scientists and people like you and me embrace meditation for good reasons.

Keep meditating and keep smiling :)

Thank you for reading my story.

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