Meditation - Feb. 2020
Why Meditation
Many times, the experience of life leads some to feel empty, exhausted, stressed, burned out, unfulfilled and wondering if they are on the right path, asking themselves, “Is this what life is meant to be?” This is because we have a conditioned self, that we have programmed over our lifetime to be living in this way. We are inadvertently in a fight or flight state of being more often than we would like. Actually, life is meant to be quite the opposite. Life is meant to be happy, joyful, satisfying, abundant and full of love. We are born with imagination, creativity, and an openness to our heart and soul. Through the years, we may experience stress, hardship, health issues, trauma and difficult situations that pull us away from our magical childhood selves. While we can’t always control things that happen in life, we can manage how we perceive and react to these events.
At some point, we have to get to know ourselves again and minimize stress, hardship and things we have created in this life, which we don’t seem to be enjoying. We need to turn this around, love life the way it was meant to be, take back control and create an environment of happiness, forgiveness, peace, love and joy. One way to do this is by choosing to exercise and utilize the power of our mind, and become involved in a daily meditation practice.
You do not have to travel far and wide, or meet a special guru, or pay a lot of money to learn meditation. It is rather a simple practice that anyone can do, in a comfortable setting of their choice. It could take hours or minutes, can be done day or night, in public or alone. It is all about you! Going inward to find your internal and eternal Divine self. The answers to our questions reside inside of us; beneath the ego, intellect, emotions and physical body. We are the guru! We all have the ability to slow our minds and disconnect from activity and go deep within to find our unconditioned self, through stillness and present moment awareness.
Meditation has been scientifically proven to have multiple benefits and positive outcomes on many levels including mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Meditation can reduce stress, decrease anxiety, improve emotional health, enhance self-awareness, improve attention span and memory, improve sleep, assist in pain control, may decrease blood pressure and provide a sense of overall well-being and peacefulness.
I strongly encourage all to partake in a daily meditation practice, even if it is just 5 minutes a day to start, and progress at your own pace. There are many online resources available to learn more about the different types of meditation and the wonderful benefits.
For more information feel free to contact me.
Julie Cunningham, PMHNP, MBA