I was in an organisation the other week delivering an introductory meditation session. The majority of the group had never tried to meditate before but were all open to having a go. When I asked the group at the beginning of the session what they hoped to gain from it one of the attendees said they had had a headache for two days that they couldn’t get rid of so was hoping that meditating might help. I said I couldn’t guarantee it but that it was certainly possible.
The reduction of pain is one of the many potential benefits of meditating. Other benefits can include:
- Relaxation and stress reduction
- Emotional balance
- Assists creative thinking and problem solving
- Greater clarity and peace of mind
- Brings a sense of vitality and well being
- Improved immune system and over all health
- Improved sleep patterns
The practice of meditation is a way of checking in with how we are feeling and of calming a busy mind. Even just 5 minutes of regular meditation can make a significant difference to our lives.
People think they will be unable to meditate because they struggle to stop the busy thoughts in the mind but like all things, it takes a bit of practice. It is not the aim to ‘stop all thoughts’ and although this may well at times happen, it is more a case of teaching the mind to do as we choose rather than it taking over. Over time your ability to control the mind will improve and before you know it your mind starts to become under your control, rather than it controlling you!
It is through the practice of meditation that we learn to connect to what many call our own inner guidance system, or intuition. Through quietening down the inner mental chatter we find we are more in tune with this inner guidance. It may be that insights come to us through the meditation or that they filter in throughout the period of time after meditating where we get a gut feeling to take a certain action, or perhaps we gain insights we had previously been unaware of. This inner guidance system comes from your true nature and will always lead you to your most authentic choices, as well as coming to the realisation of who this true nature really is. Ultimately the underlying aim of meditation or any spiritual path is to lead to this freedom, and this knowing of our true nature.
Some of the best side effects of the practice of meditation are the development of a deep inner peace, a feeling of all being well, of feeling connected, and experiencing a feeling of unconditional love that encompasses everything. This is our true nature, which we will all eventually realise.
Whether we have thought about this higher purpose or not, even in it’s basic use the practice of meditation is a great way to steady the mind so that we can spend a little time turning our awareness inwards. It also gives us a steadiness that remains present amidst any of the fluctuations of everyday life.
For those of you wondering if the attendees headache did go – yes it did! Much to their amazement but not at all to mine ; -)
If you would like to learn how to meditate then join me for a FREE webinar on Thursday 8th November at 7pm there I will be talking about how meditation changed my life, how to get started, how to face any challenges around meditation and of course I will lead you through a short guided meditation.
Webinar instructions below:
Call participation information:
- You may join the call by video or phone so can be visible or invisible.
- The first time you try to join Zoom will ask you to download the software to run the session.This will take a few moments and then you will be able to join the call.
- All attendees will be muted on entry to reduce background noise and interference. I will ask if anyone wants to ask a question periodically and if you do have a question then wave at me and I will ask you to unmute yourself to speak. If there are several people waving then I will write names down and come to you one at a time.
- Please use headphones to reduce feedback during the times you are unmuted.
- The calls will be recorded and available to view after on my website and on my YouTube channel.
To join the call please go to https://zoom.us/j/3129536317
Additional Zoom information:
Please note that I am not a technical expert! If you experience any technical issues in joining these calls then please do research on Zoom who are technical experts!
How to join a meeting info:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-How-Do-I-Join-A-Meeting-
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