Meditation is an effective and proven method of eliminating stress and thereby promoting health and inner well-being.
Like any discipline it is taught, and the quality and effectiveness of the teaching depends greatly upon the experience and the knowledge of the teacher. It is therefore important when learning meditation techniques that the pupil is in the charge of somebody who has undertaken the requisite training and who has acquired some previous teaching experience.
Location is of course another important factor. If you are in London, for example, you will require all your training to be available at a London meditation centre, in a place that is convenient and easy to access.
Then it is necessary to be certain as to which form of meditation is most appropriate to your own particular needs. Have you researched the various meditation types available and if so which comes closest to meeting your requirements?
Certain forms of meditation involve concentration, the purpose being to expel particular, unwanted thoughts from the mind. This is an intense process that can be traumatic, which of course would seem to run contrary to the stress-free state that meditation is intended to bring about.
Others revolve around contemplation, focusing the mind upon a particular thought that is at once both pleasant and beautiful. The intention is to invoke a feeling of peace and inner calm, again rejecting outside thoughts that may jeopardise one’s feeling of peace and tranquillity.
Then there is mediation that is transcendental, recognised to be the most simple, natural and effective form of meditation available.
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology (1989):
“(This form of) Meditation is more than twice as effective for relieving the mental effects of stress as all other meditation and relaxation techniques.”
Meditation of this kind has been likened to diving under water: “you just take the right angle to let go and effortlessly slide into the silent depths of the mind”.
The meditation benefits of such a programme are manifold, with reduced stress, improved general health, a less traumatic and more manageable work environment, better concentration, calmer and thus more enjoyable relationships with others and a peaceful and more enlightened lifestyle.
Learning how to meditate could prove to be one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences of your life, quite simply because it has a bearing on almost every other aspect of your lifestyle.
The secret of true wisdom is to be found through discovering who we really are; we are not our worries, our thoughts – even our successes, but far more – at the quietest levels of our mind we connect with that infinite creativity, intelligence and energy that is to be found everywhere in Nature.
