There are many resources including books and scientific studies that provide plenty of data related to the benefits of mediation, so you don’t need me to list all of it here for you. Likely, since you are reading this blog, you have been interested in mediation and already know what benefits you are looking to achieve. However, I will recommend a book that I think covers a lot of ground on this topic; “Becoming Supernatural” by Dr Joe Dispenza. It does a great job of tying the Eastern understanding and perspective on mediation to the latest Western scientific research. In his own mediation retreats and seminars, Dr Dispenza utilizes scientific equipment to understand the depth and effects of his students mediations so through his teachings he continues to gather scientific data on the effects and benefits of meditation. The list of which is long and growing.
So aside from the physical, health related benefits, of which there are many, for me, one of the most important and beneficial side effects of mediation is how it changes your relationship to your thoughts. Most of us are subject to a standard process related to thoughts which, more or less, goes as follows - a thought arrises which produces an emotion that results in us taking a fairly immediate action. (An aside - the root of the word emotion is motive, which is related to movement. Emotions cause movement or action. A further aside - action done without consciousness creates karma, or what we call consequences in the West. A topic for another time.) Where was I? Right, most of us react immediately to our thoughts. But mediation, for a number of reasons, creates some space between you and your thoughts, and therefore your thoughts and the resulting emotion. The most basic reason for this is that as you meditate you are actually practicing not reacting to your thoughts. You sit, focusing on a Mandala, thoughts arise, and you stay sitting and focused until your mediation is done. Don’t underestimate the impact of this! This is a huge step towards freedom! Freedom from being bullied by your brain, freedom to choose what emotions you feel and act on. In short, mediation enables you to chose happiness.
How does this work? Being in a meditative state makes it much easier not react to your thoughts and emotions. By giving you the ability not to react to your thoughts, a meditative state takes you out of your default mindset and into a very special place where you can generate skills and break habits and patterns you just can’t in your standard mindset. You rewire yourself in mediation and the results are nothing short of wondrous. Little by little, you will begin to not take your thoughts so seriously and the less seriously you take your thoughts the less of them you have. Things that used to trigger you will blow through you like a sudden breeze and be gone. A mind that was typically occupied with thoughts of dreading the future, ruminations about what people think of you, constant judging, and regrets about the past, will start to get quieter and quieter. All that time and energy spent worrying will now need to get replaced and you get to choose! The less and less you are on a reactive autopilot mode in relation to your thoughts, the more and more freedom you have to choose how you feel and what you want to do with the energy you have freed up. (This is part of how mediation gives you more energy.) It’s a great problem to have. In fact, it’s not a problem, its liberation, it’s freedom. It’s all good.