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Encarta dictionaries define meditation as the emptying of the mind of thoughts, or the concentration of the mind on one thing, in order to aid mental or spiritual development, contemplation, and relaxation.
Meditation dates back to over 2000 years ago. Several religions and deities have practiced it. It has been used a long time ago as a tool for contemplation and relaxation. People meditate for several reasons ranging from a tool for relaxation to a gateway of answers and solutions. In old and present times, people seek forms of knowledge from the metaphysical dimension through apport and séance. These were all intense forms of meditation, which proves that its use was validated long ago.
Great books like the Bible and Koran all make clear the importance of a silent meditation or contemplation with God. And meditation is an integral part of Religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Chinese philosophy, and Buddhism.
For example, In Hindu practices, a yogi (a person who practices yoga) enters into a state of intense commitment to the search for knowledge through meditation in the cross-legged “lotus position.” He goes beyond the limitation of flesh and connects with an infinite source of knowledge. This is done through intense concentration and focus on a particular subject.
Far back, it was a means of seeking information and a communication link with a deity. However, meditation has transcended ages and as such, better and contemporary needs for it has been discovered.
Contemporary Needs for Meditation
Meditation has long existed and the many who practice it have had various reasons for their involvement. However, the subject of meditation continues to prevail even in these contemporary times and its relevance continues to expand.
Well, since am not a fan of superstition, I believe there are normal things cool guys can achieve with this important tool. Here are a number of things meditation can do for you.
#1 Stress Relief
Even though you may not realize, in most cases you spend most of your day worrying about what to eat, the children’s school fees, their clothing and many other things. These activities are urgent and demand your immediate attention. Your boss calls from work; your spouse demands your attention; you want to protect the relationship, but job security seems to have more priority. As early as 4am you are up and running. The kids should get to school on time; you can’t even be late for work because it has its penalty.
Most of our time is spent on one urgent activity or the other, and by the end of the day, we are completely stressed out. Sleep time comes, but they are spent on calculations and projections for the next day.
Perhaps if you gave yourself some time to think and meditate, you will discover that you can have the peace of mind you so deeply desire. Meditation integrates a process of clearing the mind of every thought and worries and centering all neuro nerves on the one thing that gladdens the human mind. It is a great tool for relief and in fact, I have personally discovered that no matter how stressed out a person may be, the one solution that has always prevailed is to find a quiet place to meditate. It is in these precious moments that you discover a deep sense of rest and relaxation.
Among the many things you can do with meditation, stress relief is very important and advantageous to humanity as a whole. However, we rarely find time to engage in the exercise of deep contemplation which leaves us filled with the anxiousness of the next thing to do and the next problem that will pop up.
#2 Problem solving
Have you discovered that it is when you pause a moment to have a careful contemplation that you realize exactly where you kept the car key you’ve spent hours looking for?
Scientists have stated that giving yourself intermittent breaks in a project will help improve your productivity. This is because when you’re into the hustling and bustling, the brain does the same and as such, it has to access several fragmented directories in order to get the exact information you need to be successful at a task. Taking a break relieves the brain of pressure and helps him concentrate on the most important data, therefore increasing your likelihood of a success.
Mathematicians, programmers, and core inventors have been seen to solve the most challenging questions after a contemplative sleep or rest. These persons go to bed with a problem in mind, and then they sleep over it. In order words, they meditate on these problems while they sleep. And the sequel is a problem solved.
I call it the meditative sleep. They utilize this incredible tool to assess knowledge that otherwise would have been impossible or very time-consuming to assess. Isn’t it amazing how this works?
Meditation is a good problem-solving instrument even though we hardly recognize this fact. With this ancient and yet contemporary instrument of significant change, we can solve the most challenging of problems. So yeah, meditation is the big word.
#3 Self-awareness and contemplation.
Self-awareness is a state of consciousness with self in relation to other people. It is how deeply you understand your own self and how these understandings of your core values affect the other person. How the habits you act out influences who you are and the surrounding people.
Many times over, we live the entire day in values that contradicts our fundamental principles. And as such, we cause conflict with self, purpose, and persons. Do you know how many people you offend in a day? Of course, you don’t.
The only way to be fully self-aware of the people you hurt and how our actions affect your environment is by finding time to meditate contemplatively and living a principle-centered life.
In contemplative meditation, you are able to see what you wouldn’t see otherwise. You discover how your actions affect the other person. That level of self-awareness alone is enough to create a highly positive interpersonal relationship with the people around you.
You can begin to see how important meditation can be regardless of your status and the level from which you operate. And as you begin to expand each point, you will find out the unlimited ways it can apply to your businesses, relationships, and family.
In the business organizations, bosses will begin to realize the tremendous impact on productivity meditation is going to have if upheld. Some managers will call it brainstorming but regardless; meditation is a very great problem-solving tool especially in the business setting.
In organizations, departments with pressing problems should be given the time to meditate. Individuals that hold key roles in the running of a department should also be allotted time for their personal contemplation. You will be surprised at the tremendous flow of ideas and solutions to problems. In these sessions, participants will even tend to establish a bonding effect with their roles and duties, which makes the managers less pruned to embark on a “do this and that” type of leadership.
Meditation also applies to relationships. If spouses could find time to meditate, then they will find a sense of relaxation and stress relief even in the midst of their boisterous schedule and commitments to work, family, and kids.
How about in social gatherings. We could be more conscious of the other people’s feelings, more self-aware and thus improve our social relationship with others.
How to Meditate Effectively.
Some personal development advisers and bloggers opine that one should meditate within the early hours of the morning. However, I don’t seem to accept that formula because it does not work for me. I'm sure there are a number of folks out there that might have the same view as I do. I still do my meditation during my own time and it works for me.
Here’s my little piece of advice, if the morning hours is not a good time for you, then find another time that works for you and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be sometime in the morning, afternoon or night, it just has to be a time you feel good about. And this is so because a prerequisite for an effective meditation is that you must be at peace with yourself, you should be able to concentrate and concentration is only realizable when you're committed.
Here’s my little piece of advice, if the morning hours is not a good time for you, then find another time that works for you and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be sometime in the morning, afternoon or night, it just has to be a time you feel good about. And this is so because a prerequisite for an effective meditation is that you must be at peace with yourself, you should be able to concentrate and concentration is only realizable when you're committed.
Secondly, meditation requires one to clear the mind of all thoughts and every form of disturbances. That is more of the reason why it is recommended that meditation is done in a very quiet environment. One should be able to put behind every thought and forms of disturbances. It is also at this stage of meditation that you are able to find relaxation; a sense of calm and an apparent separation from the world’s disturbances.
Meditation is not a means to an end. It is both the means and the end. — Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895 – 1986)
The third stage is the point of focus and the reason for meditation. Do you wish to discover the solution to a problem or to become more aware of yourself and your relationship with the people around i.e. how your actions affect your social relationships? Whatever the point of focus is, you have to concentrate all attention and brainpower on it. It is then that you begin to realize a stream flow of ideas and a bunch of revelations you will otherwise not have discovered.
Meditation is a natural way of seeking knowledge or better still, it is a way of unlocking the right brain's visual and intuitive skills together with the left brain's logical and analytical skills. It doesn’t have to be superstitious. Anyone anywhere can always use this tool for increased productivity.
These are the three stage of mediation. So how about taking out time to figure out the many problems you could solve with effective meditation. I bet you will be marveled at the result.
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How often do you meditate and how has it worked for you? Share in the comments below.
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