When I began this journey, I had no idea how to meditate, what to expect, and what I was suppose to do. I had no idea what it would feel like. I had heard about meditation, and that it was a practice that only Buddhist or monks followed. I had such a distorted view on this concept and I believed that meditating would mean that I would have to sit for hours with my eyes closed and I had to breath a certain way and be and act a certain way and that only special people could do this. I had no idea what to expect and had no idea about the many different benefits of meditation. But eventually I decided to give it a try.
The first time I was scared and a little anxious. I did not follow the instructions that the teacher had set out. I found it a bit too much but I stuck with it, and by the 3rd or 4th time I had a better outcome of it. Yet, I still had a very hard time with it as much as I was trying to be in a positive state a lot of old pain was coming up. I would say that for the first year or so, I had a lot of healing and a lot of crying, but it felt like I was not going ahead, but our teacher kept saying “Look at how much you guys have grown! You have done leaps and bounds“. But I could not see it, and this was disappointing at times, and I felt like giving up, but for some reason I kept on going.
There are a lot of stereotypes out there and skeptics but there is also a lot of fear. The unknown always brings fear with it and it goes hand in hand with new ventures and new beginnings. Having said that, there are many reasons and different ways in which meditation can be done and used. To accomplish this is a safe manner, if you are really ready to try it, seek out a teacher that knows about it and that you feel comfortable with, there are many out there and you don’t necessarily have to pay a lot of money to learn from a great teacher. Some are doing it to help others expand their knowledge about themselves without taking money for it and some are offering other things along with the meditation and they want to be compensated for an exchange of energy. There is no right or wrong but rather just what you feel comfortable with.
Meditation is a tool to enhance and reconnect with your inner self or higher self, it is a very enhanced tool that we have all used for centuries and therefore it brings so many benefits. In today’s age where we feel pressured and rushed, this is needed more now than ever. I cannot stress enough on this subject, especially because of the health benefits to it. Meditation is not only for connecting with the spirit world, but it is to keep calmer, to be relaxed, it helps with memory, sharpens your thoughts and lowers blood pressure, and improves your sleep and weight too but these are only a few benefits. But you don’t have to take my word for it, try it and see for yourself, only make sure to use your gut feeling about the teacher that you choose, and to give it enough time to see any results.
Ask around and find a place that will do the meditation that you need, some meditations are there for a spiritual development, some are just to relax and some do both and more. Like I keep saying, meditation is a tool and we have been given many tools to survive in a healthy and calm way but we have forgotten upon birthing. If our memory was not wiped clean, we would not need this lifetime experience to learn new things. In many countries, they use meditation in schools for children which helps the kids calm down and concentrate; They actually achieve better marks! Some places have used meditations in work places, and to the astonishment of the C.E.O. have lowered the sick days and the stress leave that their employees would have used which in returned saved money for the company, there is an actually study done on this subject.
This was what I found as I was doing a bit of research. I always felt that stress is a silent killer, I had experienced this in my work place, and this is where I found myself feeling like I was going to have a heart attack. My blood pressure was so high that the head nurse of the place that I worked at turned white while she panicked and told me to take a cab and go to my doctor immediately, as my pressure had reached dangerously high level 220 over 110! I did not know at the time that this was dangerous, I realized later that I was a ticking time bomb and I do remember how I felt. My whole body would be tightening and my head would be tingling, my heart rate would speed up, and I would be very short tempered with my husband and children. Eventually I was put on high blood pressure meds and had to be careful with my diet, fast forward a few years and found a meditation teacher and joined this was my ticket to restoring my nerves, and not to mention my sanity and the sanity of my family. I feel 100 per cent better and would recommend it to everyone.
If you don’t want to take up meditation, try yoga or Thai chi, these practices are also known tools to help the body to destress. Trust me, your family and work place will thank you.