The Five Reasons to Meditate
Meditation is the new work-out…for the brain. Daily mediations can reap many benefits. Here are five important changes a meditative practice can bring. To listen to a meditation and start your practice: www.Melissalowe.com and select tab for meditation.
1. Life becomes serene and calm. Meditation is the most effective way to work with emotions and to find a still and stable part within that isn’t affected by the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Heart-centered meditation has been shown to reduce stress and decrease anxiety. (www.heartmath.com for research on heart-centered meditations) With the decreases in anxiety, the mood is lifted and you approach life from a more happier place.
2. Changes the brain and develops to neuron pathways to process information. In essence, you are able to react to situations differently which indicates that changes are occurring at deep levels. It re-wires your brain so that you don’t respond from “flight or fight” responses. You begin to use the frontal lobe areas of the brain that control logical reasoning along with intuitive creativity.
3. Helps develop focus and enhances creativity. By meditating and clearing the mind from useless chatter, you learn to sharpen your focus. When the focus is sharp, new avenues to creatively approach a problem begin to come to mind. It is reported that Benjamin Franklin first thought of his discoveries by staring at a fire in a fireplace and freeing his mind.
4. Creates ability to renew the self and increases the ability to have good sleep at night. By meditating you drop into delta brainwaves, rapidly. Delta brainwaves are associated with deep, refreshing sleep. Studies from HeartMath indicate that 20 minutes of good meditation is worth several hours of deep, restful sleep.
5. Meditation develops quality relationships. Typically the underlying component to difficult relationships is an inner conflict with the person that is then projected out onto their partners or others. It is called the “pointing finger” concept where one finger is pointing outward and four are pointing back. When a person begins to take responsibility for the fingers pointing back and uses meditation to release the conflictual projection, then quality of relationships improve. To learn more about projections.
To attend daily can be a walking meditative practice. To understand that process click here.
Melissa Lowe, Ph.D. is a Psychological Depth therapist and teacher of mindfulness and meditative practices. Her office is located in Newton, MA.
