Throughout history, meditation has been a central part of many cultures; in fact, records show that meditation was practiced in ancient Greece and India more than 5,000 years ago! In the Buddhist religion, meditation is an important part of their spiritual practice. Different forms of meditation are practiced in China and Japan, and Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have traditions similar to meditation.
The word meditation comes from the Latin meditari which means: exercise, turn something over in one's mind, think, consider. It is defined as consciously directing your attention to alter your state of mind.
Meditation is one of the proven alternative therapies that in recent years have been classified under 'Mind-Body Medicine Therapies,' and is continuing to gain popularity as more and more health experts believe there is more to the connection between mind and body than modern medicine can explain. According to researchers, meditation has been shown to aid the immune system, improve brain activity, lower blood pressure, and help alleviate anxiety, and while more and more doctors are prescribing meditations for many of today's ailments, many hospitals now offer meditation classes for their patients because of the physiological health benefits.
Traditionally, meditation has been used for spiritual growth, but more recently the practice has become a valuable tool for managing stress and finding a place of peace, relaxation, and tranquility in a demanding fast-paced world. Benefits resulting from meditation include: physical and emotional healing; easing stress, fear, and grief; improved breathing; developing intuition; deep relaxation; exploring higher realities; finding inner guidance; unlocking creativity; manifesting change; emotional cleansing and balancing; and deepening concentration and insight.
In his book 'Awakening the Buddha Within,' Lama Surya Das says, "Meditation is not just something to do; it's a method of being and seeing an unconditional way of living moment by moment." In other words, meditation is a way to learn how to live in the present moment, which is important because the present moment is all we have. Meditation, therefore, is a great practice to use to connect to our inner selves and really BE in the moment.
Meditation gives us the opportunity to sit with ourselves in a safe, simple way and balance our emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. If you aren't someone who meditates, give it a try! Start slowly and continue practicing in the days to come; you may be surprised by how your life changes for the better!
Stay mystical, my friends!