Meditation is one of the oldest traditions in the world. Ancient civilisations and Buddhists and Africans were meditation thousands of years ago as a collective way to improve the whole of life, not just for themselves but for everyone else too.

Today in the 21st Century, meditation has taken on many modern forms. A lot of people see it as solitary, but looking back in history we can see that although you meditate alone it was not done to advance yourself to an affluent position, rather to become a better person. There are literally thousands of online resources about meditation and hundreds of meditation classes across England and Wales. A new found culture of people looking to improve their mood, to become better people, to experience some variety of enlightenment.

I am going to talk through 5 essential benefits of meditation. I want to give you an idea of how this is going to have a positive influence in your life. Sometimes things get hard or stressful, sometimes you become depressed or anxious. Other times you just want to improve yourself and feel more connected to God or the Universe. I understand. I’ve managed to use meditation to assist me before and am currently using a meditation that works for me. There are many types available, guided meditation or Samatha – calmness of the mind – are examples. Meditation can be as simple as mindfulness. You can practice meditation morning or night. I had the luxury of practicing in the garden at the weekend under a harvest moon and then in the dawn of sunrise. Both give a tranquil experience and help greatly in quietening any intrusive thoughts.

The above is a Buddhist position for meditation. It is used when engaging the Samatha meditation. To read a little more about how meditation affected individuals check out this link.

Benefits of Meditation!

1. Calm Mind – There is no doubt in my mind that meditation in fact leads to a calm mind. The whole point of meditation is to calm the mind and to become better in tune with your body. At its core, you need a calm mind to meditate! Without the experience of meditation you may find your mind to be full of ‘clutter’ or ‘noise’. The noise or intrusive thoughts might be a fleeting thing, or it may plague you. Meditation over time will allow you to develop such a strong calmness that even after meditation, your mind will be clear from thoughts. Remember, thoughts come and go and they cannot harm us.
2. Improve Depression and Anxiety – If you are sad or anxious you may be thinking about the past or the future. Depression can be improved through meditation, because you are not to be thinking of the bad things or to be thinking at all. It takes time, but simply being in the moment either alone or in a group, meditating, can be enough to help shift your depressed thinking to a higher level. Anxiety will naturally decrease as you learn to visualise other things, you stop focusing on the anxious events or things and then you forget about it. For those with pain, meditation can help shift you away from it and to more focused on your breathing for example, or the position of your feet, or simply that energy that comes from silence within.
3. Ability to Cope – As a result of the above two, a calmer mind and reduced or improved depression and anxiety, you will thus have a significantly better chance of coping. The way you cope can be positive or negative, is can help or destroy you. Turning your struggles into a state of meditation and in turn, having a clearer mind and a stronger outcome or more certain decision you will see an improvement. Having a hard day and cannot get through? Wait… you can and that surprised you. You wonder why. Then you accept that for the last week you meditated everyday and actually it turns out it helped you through the present. Meditation can help those assisting others, we may be better in tune with our intuition and better able to help those in need. It will allow us to know instinctively what our own bodies need too.
4. Connected to the Universe – It seems out there does it? The reality is that everything is connected, and there is no truth higher than that. You will be making a conscious effort to quieten the mind and in turn the body and soul will develop at first a low level feeling of connectivity. As you continue you may become warm after meditation and feel like you are never alone. You are simply connecting to the universe and God, and everything in it. You won’t feel alone as much. I certainly noticed this improvement after just 2 weeks of mindfulness meditation!
5. Better Life Quality – Ultimately all of the above will improve your quality of life, or it should do. If you don’t feel like any of the above is happening, you might need to carry on for longer in your sessions, or perhaps you have not done it long enough? Everyone wants to feel better. Sometimes inner peace can bring us closer to that feeling of happiness or content. You might want a better life through being able to better understand how the world works, and maybe meditation is doing that for you? You have nothing to stop for, and everything to gain. There is no better quality of life than a clear mind.

“If you are depressed you are living in the past.
If you are anxious you are living in the future.
If you are at peace you are living in the present.”

Lao Tzu

Holding a crystal during meditation can help better focus on your aims. If you are looking to heal you could hold Amethyst (pictured above). Rose quartz can be used where you want to heal the heart. There is so many choices when it comes to healing crystals. Always treat your body with respect and the crystals because they can be powerful things.

*Never substitute real medical advice with alternative practices where the medical advice is going to save your life. Only ever use alternative practices like crystal healing and meditation where it is safe and where it is a complimentary addition to any potential real medication or treatment. Always check with an experienced practitioner if you are unsure whether it is safe to do so.*

Thank you for reading and I hope that you give meditation a try! Namaste.