Know The Benefits Of Meditation

Why Meditate? and what are the benefits of meditating?

This is the question that runs in your mind when you participate in a meditation challenge and that is your motivation to meditate.

I was fortunate to participate in a 28 day meditation challenge at the blog Awake is Good which answered to many questions about meditation and I am happy to share what I learnt with all.

"Meditation simplifies our outer life and energizes our inner life. Meditation gives us a natural and spontaneous life, a life that becomes so natural and spontaneous that we cannot breathe without being conscious of our own divinity."~Sri Chinmoy

Lets Get To Know The Benefits Of Meditation

A guide to meditation

Various spiritual teachers and meditation experts guide you with their teachings to understand meditation.Everyday of the challenge was an exposure to a new view on meditating.

These are the questions answered in the last week of the 28 day meditation challenge.

1.Is there a difference between prayer and meditation?

Sylvia Boorstein, one of the most beloved Western teacher of mindfulness, meditation, including metta who teaches in the Insight (Vipassana) tradition of Buddhism and is one of the co-founders of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Ca answers this question with great insight.

She makes us realise that "Whatever particular meditation practice we do, we are ardently hoping, indeed praying, for a peaceful and compassionate heart, for our own well being and for the well being of others. The very act of stopping to reorient ourselves-which is central to all meditation and prayer practices-and to focus our intention for the good, is a prayer."

2.What are the Three Quick Tips to become Calm?

Mark Thornton,author and meditation coach,claims you can be "super busy, super successful, and super calm at the same time. No matter what you do, there are simple quick, and sure-fire ways to swim in the ocean of calm."

His Three Quick Tips for Calm are...

1. Notice if you are clenching your jaw. For the next five, minutes, allow the muscles in your jaw to relax. Notice ten times throughout the day if your jaw has become clenched and tight. Less tension here makes you feel less stressed.

2. Place a finger in the middle of your eyebrows. Lower your head forward so your chin is close to your chest. Close your eyes, and focus your eyes on your finger tip for one minute. It's fine if your eyelids flutter. This breaks the pattern of stressful thoughts and creates calm.

3. Take your cell phone. Change the welcome display to "Calm Now" or "Breathe!" or "Super Calm Now!" This will be a constant reminder to practice creating calm.

3.Why do you do metta-lovingkindness meditation?

Janice Lynne Lundy, an inspirational speaker, retreat leader, and spiritual director/mentor with an interfaith focus explains so."Metta softens me. It opens me up like a many petaled flower." Metta helps you connect with YOUR essence, your inner beauty, your pain and suffering.

Repeating...

May I be happy.

May I be healthy and strong.

May I be safe.

May I be peaceful and at ease.

makes you remember that it is good to be kind to myself; to hold myself in loving embrace as I am; to be gentle, open, forgiving, accepting.

4.Can anyone do walking meditation?

Yes,Walking meditation is a supreme form of concentration meditation. By focusing on a specific something-the breath, your feet on the earth, counting, a visualization of some kind-we corral the mind, leading it from chaos to calm. Amazing how something so simple as walking with intention can do that.

Thich Nhat Hanh,a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, a poet, a scholar, a peace activist and one of the best spiritual teacher, guides us to do walking meditation "We walk slowly, in a relaxed way, keeping a light smile on our lips.

When we practice this way, we feel deeply at ease, and our steps are those of the most secure person on Earth. All our sorrows and anxieties drop away, and peace and joy fill our hearts. Anyone can do it. It takes only a little time, a little mindfulness, and the wish to be happy."

5.How will Meditation change your life?

Diana Lang a spiritual teacher and counselor shows us that the awareness you gain while doing meditation will help you grow spiritually.

Meditation is a process of self-discovery and awakening.Every little nanosecond that you spend "in consciousness" adds to the depth and presence of who you are.In meditation there is no goal per se. There is just the doing of it. Any little or a lot of training in meditation is yours through all time and space. You will never lose it. It will always, always be with you.Meditation, and the world that comes with it, is a sacred spiritual journey that unfolds to you, step by sacred step. When we meditate we are not only helping ourselves find inner balance and peace, we become part of the healing solution for our planet.

Meditate and watch your life unfold in perfect rhythm and harmony.

What is your opinion on meditation?

Please share your experiences on the benefits of meditating.