Anyone beginning meditation knows that it is challenging. There are no quick results and that is why many people give up on it quickly. You have to enter a meditation practice as a long-term investment into your health and well-being. Do you want to be free of tension, fear, doubt and worry? Would you like to feel at peace no matter what is happening around you, anchored in a state of joy? Then meditation is the way to go. The key is being patient and consistent in your practice! These kinds of results don’t come to the once-in-a-while meditation practitioner. (Learn more in Meditation: How to Find the Starting Point.)
Set aside a daily time to be still and practice focusing the mind on your breath or on a mantra. You will notice that as soon as the body gets quiet, the mind ramps up. Be willing to sit through the discomfort of the restless mind in order to come out at the other side into your natural state of peace. With regularity, patience and earnest devotion, your concentration will build and the benefits will come. The trick is to let go of any expectations of particular results or accomplishments. (Read more about Accepting Discomfort.)
Meditation studies show that a consistent practice improves brain performance, helps manage pain, reduces blood pressure, combats aging, boosts immune function and creates a lasting, palpable inner joy. Your ability to tap into the calm intuitive state of inner perception will become heightened, enabling you to find answers to life’s questions. Over time, you will find an increase in mental and physical efficiency in daily life. Time taken from work and given to meditation is priceless. (Learn about A Busy Person’s Guide to Practicing Yoga.)
As your heart opens more completely through meditation, you will feel a connection to all beings, an expanded consciousness of love for all creation. Finally, you’ll connect with the Divine essence within, which is felt in meditation as bliss and perfect peace.