The Impact of Meditation on Everyday Life

It’s been long held as common knowledge that exercise and a nutritious diet are keys to health, but what about spiritual and mental health? It’s important to take the time to foster your inner spirit, a part of people that is sadly neglected all too often. One way to access this part of you is through meditation, a practice that’s done for thousands of years to clear the mind and ease the spirit.

What is Meditation?

The practice of meditation has been around for thousands of years. It has often been intrinsically linked with religious beliefs and practices, but doesn’t have to be. It can often involve rhythmic chanting, the use of prayer beads and specialized breathing, or nothing at all. Essentially, meditation is shifting your thoughts and consciousness inwards, hopefully reaching a place in your consciousness where you have clarity. To further explore meditation, a forum on spirituality can easily be found on the internet to investigate more.

Some people meditate in order to achieve nirvana, while some just do it to calm their chaotic thoughts and find a place within that creates peace. Meditation is a completely personal experience, and is different for everyone.

Benefits of Meditation:

- Stress Relief: It has been studied that while meditating, the brain activity shifts from the right frontal cortex to the left, reducing stress and anxiety. Activity in the calmer left frontal cortex makes a calm, happier brain.

- Health: It’s no secret that stress can adversely affect health, creating everything from hypertension and high blood pressure, which can lead to heart problems, among other things. Since meditation is inherently a stress relief practice, it can lead to overall better health.

- Focus: Our modern lives are incredibly over stimulating and full of all sorts of pressures. It’s very easy to forget to focus on yourself, and to give your spirit a chance to unwind and pay attention to the things in life that really matter.

- Creativity: In this busy world we often stop paying attention to our inner child. We forget how cathartic and important it is to use your imagination and get creative. This can be anything from writing down a few thoughts in a journal, or going to a park with your oil paintings and having at it. Meditation helps shift brain activity from what we have to do to what we want to, and allows us to be well rounded, creative individuals.

- Intelligence: Since meditation develops brain function, it will also improve your focus and attention in learning new things. Meditation helps open your minds potential, be it in the classroom or learning on your own time.

- Relationships: It goes without saying that if meditation helps create a calmer, happier you, it will only serve to improve the relationships in your life. You will be able to see things from different perspectives and apply your newfound skills of relaxation and focus to different personal connections in your life.

As you can see, incorporating the practice of meditation in your everyday routine can benefit practically all aspects of your life. It is a small thing you can do for yourself that will positively affect you and those around you that will lead to greater happiness in your life’s journey.