It’s been long known and is generally well established that the benefits of meditation on stress, anxiety, mental health and ultimately heart health can be enormous. As a regular meditation practicioner myself, I have to say that it’s hard for me to conceive of a life without taking time out to clear my mind and raise my self awareness. It would be like, mentally speaking, trying to listen to singing birds from the middle of a dual carriageway in rush hour.
There’s a problem with the word “meditation” though. It just has – perhaps inescapably so – very strong connotations with the East, with humming leg crossing Yoga masters, with mysticism and with hippies. Now that’s all fine – I’ve got plenty of time for all of those things – but many people haven’t. From the point of view of spreading the Good News of the benefits of meditation for human well being, as a practice that can bring huge wealth to the life of every one of us, these connotations with the word “meditation”, I say, aren’t doing a lot of good.
Meditation doesn’t need to be any of these things. For me, it’s simply this:
1. Clearing the mind from the many thoughts, emotions, feelings – the clutter – of daily life
2. Raising self awareness, by temporarily and voluntarily losing awareness of these other things
3. Facilitating focus. Focus is key. The ability to see clearly, to prioritise, and to concentrate energies on a single item is a rare ability that enhances our life immeasurably.
There will be more on the methods of meditation in future weeks.