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Dyan Diamond on the fantastic journey of meditation.

By on June 6, 2013

Through meditation, we create an inner space and clarity that enables us to focus our minds on what we really want to do.

by Dyan Diamond

 

Why meditation?

With the fast pace and demands of our lives, it is easy to feel stressed and over worked.  We often feel like there is just not enough time in the day.  Our stress can lead us to feeling frustrated and unhappy.  Stress even affects our health.  Yet we are often so busy we do not see how we can take time to stop and meditate.  But meditation actually gives us more time by allowing for calm and focus.

Meditation can help us understand how our minds work.  We can gain insights about ourselves every time we meditate.  A simple ten or fifteen minute breathing meditation can help us to overcome our stress, change our negative thinking to positivity, and can help us find inner peace and balance.  Anyone can benefit from meditation.

What is meditation?

The purpose of meditation is to quiet and calm our minds. When our minds are peaceful, we can be free from mental discomfort.  We can experience our spirits just as they are.  Loving, energetic and full of creativity. The more we meditate, the more our minds will go to that place of happy calm – until eventually we are able to live there all the time.  Even when we are not meditating.  Through meditation, we create an inner space and clarity that enables us to focus our minds on what we really want to do.

Meditation is simply quieting our minds by focusing on our breathing.  Our breath sustains us all the time.  Even when we do not take the time to acknowledge and recognize it.  When we focus in on our breath, we can calm and quiet our thoughts.  Many people say they do not know how to meditate.  It is a very simple and very lovely process.

How to meditate

Get comfortable.  You do not have to sit on the floor.  You do not have to cross your legs.  Just get comfortable.  I find sitting upright with my spine straight is a great way to stay awake and alert during meditation – and to keep the energy flowing through my body easily.

Start to take some deep breaths.  Begin to relax your body.  Consciously relax your muscles.  Start at the top of your head and work down to your toes.  Take as much or as little time as you need to relax your body.  Keep breathing slowly and deliberately while you relax.

Keep breathing deeply while you relax your mind.  Let all of your worries, cares, concerns, plans just fall away.  I can assure you that anything important will still be there when you finish meditating.  Keep bringing your awareness back to your breath.  Be fully aware of how you are breathing.  Keep it slow and steady.  Keep your focus on your breath.

Now sit with yourself like this for a while.  The first few times you try meditation, it may not be as easy as it sounds. Meditation does get easier.   As you practice, it will become easier to relax both your body and your mind.  Have patience with yourself as you learn.  Keep bringing your focus back to your breath.  Let all of your other thoughts come up and then let them go.

Some people like music in the background for meditation.  If you try this, use instrumental music with no words to distract you.  Some people enjoy guided meditations – you can find plenty of those on the internet.  I enjoy the sounds of water while I meditate sometimes.  You can meditate anywhere and I have found meditating in nature to be extra soothing.

I also believe in smiling during meditation.   I find it lightens up my energy beautifully.  I usually get my body relaxed before I begin smiling in meditation and I always end my meditations with a smile.

Benefits of meditation

Neuroscientists have found that people who meditate are actually shifting their brain activity to different areas of the cortex.  From the stress prone right frontal cortex to the calmer left frontal cortex. This shift decreases the negative effects of stress, depression and anxiety.  Scientists have also found that there is less activity in the amygdala, which is where the brain processes fear.

By expanding our inner peace by quieting our thoughts, meditation helps to reduce our mental clutter.  Meditation makes space for a deeper connection to our true selves.  It is at these higher levels of being that our true potential can be found and harnessed.  During meditation we can become more alert and focused.   We can become less reactive and more responsive.  Meditation can give us the ability to better handle stress.  The emotional benefits of meditation are wonderful.  We have less irritability and more emotional self-control the more we meditate.

There are also physical benefits to meditation.  Through deep breathing, muscle fatigue and tension are reduced by increasing the circulation of oxygen to the muscles.  Meditation induces the relaxation response which reduces the occurrence of pain, insomnia and headaches.  Another major physical benefit of meditation is that you have a better ability to focus your attention throughout your days.

The benefits of meditation, when practiced regularly, are long lasting and eventually become permanent.  Greater self-awareness, the feeling of being more connected and a greater sense of purpose can be found in meditation

Just keep meditating

Meditation definitely takes practice.  The first few times may be uncomfortable.  You may want to give up right away.  But if you have patience with yourself and give yourself this loving gift, you will find that meditation has many wondrous gifts for you in return.  Meditation is not a destination but a fascinating journey where you can become more awakened to your true self.

 

Dyan Diamond has decades of formal and informal research and study in all fields related to psychology, including 30 years of work experience in the field as a life coach/counselor and as an advocate for others. An artist, writer, adventurer, music lover, cook and avid nature enthusiast, Dyan is the author of “Inspired, An Adventure in Self-Awareness,” an interactive workbook journal and “Summoned Angels.” Contact Dyan Diamond for more information or visit dyandiamond.net.

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