Meditation[/caption]Shishar Rao----Stress and anxiety are a part and parcel of our everyday life. However, over a period of time, increased levels of stress and anxiety can take a toll on our body. Millions of people around the world suffer from Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and depression. There are several ways in which anxiety can be controlled including meditation and medication. In fact, research over the years has found that meditation can be highly beneficial for people with GAD and depression.
Meditation connects us with our inner self. It is a state in which we relax our body and mind, and train ourselves to be an observer, and not a judge, of the inner turmoil of the brain. As humans, it is our natural tendency to get worried or worked up on matters concerning us. Meditation helps in relieving some of the worry, and allows us to see things in a different light. Today, meditation is practiced all over the world, and people are benefitting from it tremendously. In Eastern world, meditation is widely used for spiritual awareness, while Westerners meditate to deal with common mental ailments such as anxiety and depression. In the following paragraphs, we will focus on the psychological and spiritual benefits of meditation.
Reduction in Stress Levels
Owing to our modern day hectic lifestyle, stress has become a common ailment that all of us have to deal with. However, through meditation, we can learn to effectively deal to cope up with stress. Meditation gives us the focus to concentrate on building inner peace. Meditation is a great relaxation technique that prepares us to face the challenges of the day. Spending 10 to 15 minutes daily can help in keeping the stress levels in check, which in turn, will lead to a more focused day.
Better Awareness of the Self
When you meditate in a quiet place, you analyze your thoughts without judging or reacting to them. Often, we are plagued by a multitude of worries, which cause anxiety and interfere with our work. In an effort to find a solution to the worry, or avoid it completely, we lose touch with ourselves, and often take to intoxicants to feel better. But the truth is that intoxicants such as alcohol only give us short-term relief, while its long-term intake causes various debilitating conditions. Accepting ourselves in the way we are, takes a lot of courage, and this is what meditation helps us to do. Meditating daily brings a deep sense of self-awareness, which is extremely beneficial in dealing with negative emotions such as anger and frustration.
Leads to Spiritual Awareness
We often turn to God when the going gets tough. But what about all those moments of bliss and tranquility? Do we spare a moment and thank God for all he has given to us. Well, the fact is that most of us might chant Jesus or Allah for a few moments, but the connection is rhetorical and not spiritual. In order to connect with God, we need to be in a state of calm. Meditation provides us with the perfect opportunity to become one with the Universe. It does not matter what religion you are from, or what sect you belong to; meditation can be used as a means to get closer to God.
Changes your Outlook towards Life
As meditation helps in bringing permanent inner calmness, it helps in changing our outlook towards life. Many people who have been meditating regularly talk about how meditation brought a sea change in their outlook towards life. They say that meditation has made them more compassionate and altruistic. It is true that meditation can help a great deal in helping people adopt a positive attitude.
These were some psychological and spiritual benefits of meditation. Hopefully this will inspire readers to meditate regularly.
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Shishir Rao is a web writer who writes on a variety of topics ranging from health to technology. He uses the web as his preferred tool of information dissemination owing to its reach and easy to confirm credibility.
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