The Benefits of Meditation
The result of a consistent meditation practice is the coordination of the four functions of the mind. The result of this coordination, as it relates to the mind, is calm, stillness, quiet. This stillness in the mind will result in bodily stillness and a rhythmic synchronicity of the body’s functionalities. The brain, nervous system, reparatory system, endocrine system, autoimmune system, and mind are all connected. The biological sciences have made great leaps over the past few years in linking meditation to actual biological benefits.
Elizabeth Blackburn, a Nobel Prize winner and TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in the World 2010,” has found what she considers to be proof that meditation is responsible for actual gene mediation at the level of telomeres, coverings around cells that protect them from wear and tear. After conduction the famous Shamatha Project, one of Blackburn’s colleagues, Clifford Saron, an associate research scientist at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain, stated: “Meditation may improve a person’s psychological well-being and in turn these changes are related to telomere activity in immune cells, which has the potential to promote longevity in those cells. Activities that increase a person’s sense of well-being may have a profound effect on the most fundamental aspects of their physiology." The scientists further concluded that those under higher levels of stress saw greater deterioration in their telomere activity, which enhanced the level of cell deterioration. Meditation is perhaps the most effective activity in remedying the stress of the day and Blackburn agrees that the beneficial impact meditation has on eliminating stress appears to have a biological argument. [1]
Elizabeth Blackburn, a Nobel Prize winner and TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in the World 2010,” has found what she considers to be proof that meditation is responsible for actual gene mediation at the level of telomeres, coverings around cells that protect them from wear and tear. After conduction the famous Shamatha Project, one of Blackburn’s colleagues, Clifford Saron, an associate research scientist at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain, stated: “Meditation may improve a person’s psychological well-being and in turn these changes are related to telomere activity in immune cells, which has the potential to promote longevity in those cells. Activities that increase a person’s sense of well-being may have a profound effect on the most fundamental aspects of their physiology." The scientists further concluded that those under higher levels of stress saw greater deterioration in their telomere activity, which enhanced the level of cell deterioration. Meditation is perhaps the most effective activity in remedying the stress of the day and Blackburn agrees that the beneficial impact meditation has on eliminating stress appears to have a biological argument. [1]
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During meditation you come face to face with habitual thought, perhaps a type of thought that has been detrimental to your health in the past. At first this can be quite intimidating; it is well known by all meditators how challenging the act of meditation can be. Even the greatest say that taming the mind is the most difficult undertaking a person can take. But, there is a promise: The greater the challenge, the greater the accomplishment, the greater the reward. There is no challenge greater that the challenge of coming face to face with your every thought. As your meditation deepens your thoughts will become more visible, observable, and as they do you will become skilled in learning to identify the underlying motivation behind your thoughts. You learn to act skillfully. As my teacher Ram Lev says: “And you will begin to align your outer action with your inner, intuitive wisdom. Every action will help lead you to your highest and greatest good.” This is a promise.
Those who are called to meditate know there is no backing down. There is no turning away from your thoughts because where ever you go, there they are; there you are. You will know this by observing that whatever you resist becomes more prevalent in your awareness. To prove this, close your eyes, and don’t think of a purple gorilla. You will hear your mind saying: “Stop! Don’t think of a purple gorilla. There’s no time to mess around, this is serious! Stop it!” The same is the case for those called to meditate. How will you know? All I can say is that it will be around you. You’ll hear of it, and it will “catch your attention.”
All come to meditate for different reasons, with different intentions. Some are drawn to meditate because they have inkling that it’s the remedy they have been seeking. Some are simply curious about what all the hype is about. Sometimes these people are turned away, disappointed. Whatever the reason, just do yourself a favor and meditate! Promise yourself that you will begin a consistent regiment of one of the daily meditative practice included in this packet. But don’t limit yourself to this packet; there are numerous books out there that speak to this subject. Go surfing! Be curious. Give it a shot. Stay open-minded, have no expectations, and see what happens.
Those who are called to meditate know there is no backing down. There is no turning away from your thoughts because where ever you go, there they are; there you are. You will know this by observing that whatever you resist becomes more prevalent in your awareness. To prove this, close your eyes, and don’t think of a purple gorilla. You will hear your mind saying: “Stop! Don’t think of a purple gorilla. There’s no time to mess around, this is serious! Stop it!” The same is the case for those called to meditate. How will you know? All I can say is that it will be around you. You’ll hear of it, and it will “catch your attention.”
All come to meditate for different reasons, with different intentions. Some are drawn to meditate because they have inkling that it’s the remedy they have been seeking. Some are simply curious about what all the hype is about. Sometimes these people are turned away, disappointed. Whatever the reason, just do yourself a favor and meditate! Promise yourself that you will begin a consistent regiment of one of the daily meditative practice included in this packet. But don’t limit yourself to this packet; there are numerous books out there that speak to this subject. Go surfing! Be curious. Give it a shot. Stay open-minded, have no expectations, and see what happens.
If you wish to experience the happiness that is your birthright, you will at some point have to stand and confront your mind. However, the mind will not back down! After all, it has had full reign for the past however many years. But, with time, the strong willed warrior will see, and fully understand, that the untamed mind can be reigned in, and controlled. The thoughts will be seen for what they truly are, suggestions. You have absolute free will to either act upon these suggestions or not. With experience you will begin to understand the functions of the mind and know which are operating at any one point in time. You’ll begin to make conscious choices that will help lead you to your highest and greatest good.
[1] UC Davis News & Information :: Positive psychological changes from meditation training linked to cellular health. (n.d.).UC Davis News & Information. Retrieved from http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=966.
[1] UC Davis News & Information :: Positive psychological changes from meditation training linked to cellular health. (n.d.).UC Davis News & Information. Retrieved from http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=966.
Find below a recent publication from American Mindfulness Research Association. Their Mindfulness Research Monthly publications share some of the most comprehensive research being done on the effects of meditative practices in varying fields.