Greetings,
One of the concerns I most often hear is the concept of being powerless in our lives. This could be a very local issue such as the inability to find a satisfactory partner or job, or it could be on a national- or global-level, where there is fear of violence and disruption on a grand scale. How can we react to these elements of life that are causing dis-ease in our physical and emotional selves? Are we able to achieve a sense of personal peace or well-being when the world around us is chaotic? The answer is an emphatic “Yes!” through meditation or mindfulness practice.
Before I speak to the many benefits of meditation, I would like to share a quote from His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Ironically, it is due to the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 50’s, that we have gotten to know about Tibetan Buddhism and its many spiritual leaders and teachers as they live as refugees in countries all over the world.
In November of 2012 The Dalai Lama quoted: “If every 8-year-old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.”
This is a bold statement, but science and spirituality are starting to merge, and holistic core beliefs are being substantiated by solid scientific evidence. Dr. Dan Siegel began as a family psychologist, specializing in parent-child relationships in the early stages. In his book The Mindful Brain, Dr. Dan Siegel speaks to the benefits of meditation and how they emulate the benefits experienced in strong and healthy relationships. What he found was that people are healthier and happier when they experience “presence” and “mindfulness” in early stages of development. Here are some examples:
· Body regulation: better understands the workings of the body, such a heart acceleration when we are angry or frustrated
· Attuned communication: being aware of the feelings of others and how that impacts our own feelings and thoughts
· Emotional Balance: seeing the ebb and flow of emotions as our world provides different experiences
· Response flexibility: understanding that our response to an event can be tempered and controlled
· Insight: experiencing our connection with source and a sense of well-being that comes with being connected to the Universal Energy of Abundance and Love
· Empathy: having a healthy connection with others and being concerned for their well-being
· Fear modulation: realizing that the present moment can be free from feelings that are generated by the mind
· Being in touch with intuition, or the wisdom of the body: allowing the information that is received by being in connection with a collective consciousness to be heeded or validated
So, these are the some of the benefits of meditation and how, when we integrate this into our lives, an overall sense of well-being is well within reach.
For the benefit of all beings...