People start meditating for different reasons. If we divide those who start meditating in two groups, there are spiritual seekers seeking a deeper meaning to life, or seeking god. The other group are those who want to improve their mental and physical well-being. There are of course other reasons too, but most can be sorted under these two groups in one way or another. Enough scientific research has been done to prove the positive effects of meditation for it to be recommended by health professionals.
Physical health
An interesting study was made based on health insurance statistics. It showed that meditators had 87% fewer hospitalizations for heart disease, 55% fewer for benign and malignant tumors and 30% fewer for infectious diseases. The meditators had more than 50% fewer doctor visits than did non-meditators.
I have heard from many sources that at least 80% of all disease has it’s roots in mental and emotional issues, most of the time related to stress. This means that if we get perfect mental and emotional health we would almost never get sick, or at least 80% less often! For some this is the goal with their meditation practice. For others this is just a positive side effect on the way to a higher goal.
Mental well-being
Since the book and film “The secret” became popular, more people have become interested in using meditation to help visualize various goals in life because according to “The secret” you can draw anything you want to you by having a clear mental image and feeling of what it would be like to have what ever is it you are wanting. It may be material things or it could be a relationship or the job of your dreams. Some people are content with just enjoying feeling good from within, being more relaxed, happier and a clearer mind.
Meditation gave prisoners improved well-being and behavior
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. Everyone can benefit from meditation. A very interesting study was done with a group of prisoners at a high-security federal penitentiary in the United States. They formed a meditation group which met once a month with a qualified instructor and then weekly among the prisoner-students themselves, without the instructor. The group meetings were supervised by a clergy member who was a full time member of the prison’s administrative staff. After only one session with their teacher, all students reported increased peace of mind and mental contentment, even though 90 percent of the prisoners had no previous knowledge or experience with any form of meditation practice. The prison administration monitored the group, and reported that they became more cooperative, more inwardly-focused on self-development, less anxious, and less apt to use drugs or alcohol or engage in any form of violent behavior.
The prison meditation group began with five participants, and increased in popularity until there were more than 50 meditation students, and each of them meditated at least 15 minutes per day. The participants referred to meditation as “a furlough for the soul”, and said that when they were in a meditative state, they felt completely free from the environment, stress, and physical confinement of prison life. It was an escape for them, but not into denial and repression, but into expanded awareness.
Enlightenment and Oneness
There are spiritual seekers who see all of the mentioned positive effects merely as positive side effects on the way to their true goal: Enlightenment, Nirvana or oneness. In order to reach this goal they often feel that they can not get caught up to much in the external or mental well-being they achieve through meditation. Their goal is beyond the mental, emotional, physical and even beyond the mind itself, because the mind can never achieve this higher state. The mind and thoughts are what most people identify with but to this group of people these things are just outer chatter that will stop them in their progress if they get caught up with them. Many guru’s and spiritual masters talk about higher states of consciousness beyond the mind. A state where there are no thoughts.
No mind? No thoughts? Can one live or even exist without it? If what they say is true, then they are the living proof of it. Some say that the mind and thoughts still exists in their life, but are experienced as background chatter that doesn’t effect them in a negative way and that they can still chose to use the mind in situations that require it, but that it still never takes control over them. They use the mind when needed, instead of the other way around. Would’t that be liberating? To be able to shut off the mind and thoughts sometimes.
Change the world
It seems that what ever your goals are, meditation can be used to help you get there. Most people don’t have the patience to learn meditation and find it to be very boring. There are ways to experience meditative states and enjoy the positive effects by using technology (mostly sound technology) without the need of learning any meditation technique.
We really live in a time that makes inner transformation available easier then ever before and I have a feeling there is a reason for that. Look at the world and what is happening to it. There is a need of change and now is the time. Start today, or you might never start at all.
People start meditating for different reasons. If we divide those who start meditating in two groups, there are spiritual seekers seeking a deeper meaning to life, or seeking god. The other group are those who want to improve their mental and physical well-being. There are of course other reasons too, but most can be sorted under these two groups in one way or another. Enough scientific research has been done to prove the positive effects of meditation for it to be recommended by health professionals.
Physical health
An interesting study was made based on health insurance statistics. It showed that meditators had 87% fewer hospitalizations for heart disease, 55% fewer for benign and malignant tumors and 30% fewer for infectious diseases. The meditators had more than 50% fewer doctor visits than did non-meditators.
I have heard from many sources that at least 80% of all disease has it’s roots in mental and emotional issues, most of the time related to stress. This means that if we get perfect mental and emotional health we would almost never get sick, or at least 80% less often! For some this is the goal with their meditation practice. For others this is just a positive side effect on the way to a higher goal.
Mental well-being
Since the book and film “The secret” became popular, more people have become interested in using meditation to help visualize various goals in life because according to “The secret” you can draw anything you want to you by having a clear mental image and feeling of what it would be like to have what ever is it you are wanting. It may be material things or it could be a relationship or the job of your dreams. Some people are content with just enjoying feeling good from within, being more relaxed, happier and a clearer mind.
Meditation gave prisoners improved well-being and behavior
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do. Everyone can benefit from meditation. A very interesting study was done with a group of prisoners at a high-security federal penitentiary in the United States. They formed a meditation group which met once a month with a qualified instructor and then weekly among the prisoner-students themselves, without the instructor. The group meetings were supervised by a clergy member who was a full time member of the prison’s administrative staff. After only one session with their teacher, all students reported increased peace of mind and mental contentment, even though 90 percent of the prisoners had no previous knowledge or experience with any form of meditation practice. The prison administration monitored the group, and reported that they became more cooperative, more inwardly-focused on self-development, less anxious, and less apt to use drugs or alcohol or engage in any form of violent behavior.
The prison meditation group began with five participants, and increased in popularity until there were more than 50 meditation students, and each of them meditated at least 15 minutes per day. The participants referred to meditation as “a furlough for the soul”, and said that when they were in a meditative state, they felt completely free from the environment, stress, and physical confinement of prison life. It was an escape for them, but not into denial and repression, but into expanded awareness.
Enlightenment and Oneness
There are spiritual seekers who see all of the mentioned positive effects merely as positive side effects on the way to their true goal: Enlightenment, Nirvana or oneness. In order to reach this goal they often feel that they can not get caught up to much in the external or mental well-being they achieve through meditation. Their goal is beyond the mental, emotional, physical and even beyond the mind itself, because the mind can never achieve this higher state. The mind and thoughts are what most people identify with but to this group of people these things are just outer chatter that will stop them in their progress if they get caught up with them. Many guru’s and spiritual masters talk about higher states of consciousness beyond the mind. A state where there are no thoughts.
No mind? No thoughts? Can one live or even exist without it? If what they say is true, then they are the living proof of it. Some say that the mind and thoughts still exists in their life, but are experienced as background chatter that doesn’t effect them in a negative way and that they can still chose to use the mind in situations that require it, but that it still never takes control over them. They use the mind when needed, instead of the other way around. Would’t that be liberating? To be able to shut off the mind and thoughts sometimes.
Change the world
It seems that what ever your goals are, meditation can be used to help you get there. Most people don’t have the patience to learn meditation and find it to be very boring. There are ways to experience meditative states and enjoy the positive effects by using technology (mostly sound technology) without the need of learning any meditation technique.
We really live in a time that makes inner transformation available easier then ever before and I have a feeling there is a reason for that. Look at the world and what is happening to it. There is a need of change and now is the time. Start today, or you might never start at all.
Article Source: http://www.articlewarehouse.com
/Marcus Knudsen. Inventor of Bliss coded sound – www.xphirience.com
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