What Is Meditation?
The need to meditate is present in every human being because it is a natural tendency of human life to find joy and peace within your life. Meditation is an ancient tool to reach such a state.
In spiritual meditation, individuals engage in focused introspection, seeking communion with a higher consciousness, the connection to the Source/God or the Unified Field of Consciousness, depending on your perspective. This practice involves quieting the mind, finding self-awareness, and exploring the depths of one’s spiritual essence, leading to a profound sense of connection with the divine and an inner tranquility that transcends ordinary consciousness.
Through intentional and sacred contemplation, spiritual meditation becomes a transformative journey toward enlightenment and spiritual awakening.
We are made of both matter and spirit. Our body is made up of carbohydrates, amino acids, proteins, etc., but our consciousness or spirit is made of joy, energy, enthusiasm, peace, happiness, and all these beautiful qualities. Anything that uplifts the spirit, anything that brings more happiness, love, joy, creativity, compassion, and enthusiasm in life is spirituality. Spirituality gives you strength; that inner strength to manage difficult situations and to keep you smiling, feeling positive, and full of confidence.
Meditation is a journey from movement to stillness, from sound to silence. It is our tool to connect to the infinite space of consciousness, where all answers and intelligence can be accessed. It is a mental exercise to clear the mind that trains attention and awareness. Beyond all the chatter and noise in our mind, there is a silent, peaceful, blissful, beautiful space that exists in all of us, a place that is intact and unbroken. Turning our attention to this silent chamber is meditation. This silence cleanses the mind, giving it a much-needed rest, and makes room for better perceptions and new ways of looking at life and its challenges.
Meditation is food for the soul. When you are hungry, spontaneously you go to eat something. If you are thirsty, you want to drink some water. In the same way, the soul yearns for meditation and this tendency is in everyone.
There are both Spiritual Benefits as well as Scientific Health Benefits that we will begin to breakdown now, beginning with the spiritual aspects.
Spiritual Benefits of Meditation:
The Mind-Body Connection
Meditation serves as a profound bridge between the mind and body, unraveling the intricate dance of interconnected energies. The practice deepens our awareness of how thoughts and emotions manifest physically, influencing overall well-being.
Cultivating Inner Peace
Cultivating inner peace through meditation is an art that transforms the internal landscape into a serene haven. The practice provides a sanctuary for the mind to retreat from the noise of daily life.
Spiritual Awakening
Meditation becomes a conduit for spiritual awakening, ushering individuals into a realm beyond the confines of ordinary consciousness. The practice serves as a catalyst for transcending the limitations of the material world, opening the door to a heightened state of awareness. Through meditation, individuals touch upon the sacred dimensions of their existence, awakening to the eternal essence within. This spiritual awakening is not a one-time event but an ongoing process, an evolution of consciousness that aligns individuals with their higher selves and the universal flow of divine energy.
Transcending Ego
Transcending ego is a transformative aspect of meditation, allowing individuals to move beyond the constraints of the self-centered mind. As practitioners immerse themselves in the practice, they witness the ephemeral nature of egoic identifications.
The regular practice of meditation becomes a gentle dismantling of the illusionary self, fostering a shift in perception. This transcendence of ego is not about negating individuality but realizing a deeper, interconnected aspect of self that extends beyond personal narratives.
Through meditation, individuals embrace a more expansive sense of identity, aligning with the vastness of their higher selves.
Manifesting Desires through Meditation
Meditation becomes a conduit for manifesting desires, aligning the energies of thought and intention with a higher plane. This focused practice creates a harmonious space where clarity and purpose converge, propelling the realization of aspirations.
By immersing oneself in the meditative process, individuals can witness the transformative power of their own intentions, fostering a sense of empowerment and agency over the trajectory of their lives.
Elevating Spiritual Vibration through Meditation
In the embrace of regular meditation, individuals embark on a journey of elevating their spiritual vibration. This transcendental process connects them with higher frequencies of consciousness, fostering a profound sense of oneness with the universe.
As practitioners delve deeper into the meditative experience, they transcend the limitations of the material world, entering a realm where spiritual growth becomes an inherent part of their existence, leading to a more enlightened and expansive perspective.
Breaking Free from Karmic Cycles with Meditation
In the sanctuary of meditation, individuals find a pathway to liberation from karmic cycles. This profound practice cultivates self-awareness, enabling individuals to break the chains of repetitive patterns and past influences.
Through introspection and spiritual connection, meditation becomes a transformative force, allowing individuals to navigate their karmic journey with newfound insight. Liberation from the constraints of karma unfolds, paving the way for personal growth and a more liberated existence.
Letting Go of the Past
Meditation serves as a therapeutic voyage for letting go of the past. The practice of mindfulness becomes a guiding light, illuminating the path to release emotional baggage and unburden oneself from the weight of past experiences. By embracing the present moment with mindful awareness, individuals navigate through the landscape of memories, allowing them to release attachments and find freedom from the shadows of yesterday. Meditation becomes a transformative vessel, propelling individuals toward a future unencumbered by the ghosts of the past.
A Balanced, and Grounded Sense of Being
Regular meditation brings a balance between your heart and mind and makes you both sensitive and sensible. The confluence of knowledge, understanding, and practice makes life complete. When you grow into higher states of consciousness (through meditation), you find that you are no longer thrown off balance by different situations and disturbances. A regular meditation practice can transform the quality of your life by culturing the nervous system to maintain peace, energy, and expanded awareness throughout the day. You become beautiful yet strong, capable of accommodating different challenges in life without any conditions.
A Deep Experience of Inner Stillness, Peace, and Joy
Our minds can affect our surroundings. Only a peaceful and happy person can spread happiness.
Meditation creates ripples of happiness and peace within you, which then spread out in multiple waves all around the world. A better you make the vibrations, energy, and people around you better.
A Heightened Sense
A snake sheds its skin and moves on with brand new skin. If cats or dogs have water on themselves, they shake it off. The caterpillar, a worm-like creature, forms a cocoon around itself and emerges as a whole new animal, a glorious, colorful butterfly!
However, we tend to carry our emotional baggage for years. Meditation can awaken you spiritually and helps us to shed our old attachments, feel renewed and rejuvenated, and move forward. With regular practice, it will begin to feel normal to only carry around what’s necessary. Use meditation to free yourself from within.
The profound inner peace and bliss that you experience with daily meditation are unparalleled. Meditation can lead you to a deep state of samadhi and inner freedom or enlightenment.
Ability to Live in the Present Moment
Have you observed what is happening in your mind every moment? It vacillates between the past and the future. It is either in the past occupied with what has happened or in the future thinking about what will happen.
There is another tendency of the mind – it clings onto the negative. If 10 positive events are followed by one negative event, the mind will cling to the negative. It will simply forget the 10 positive events.
With meditation, however, you can become aware of these two tendencies of the mind and bring the mind to the present. Happiness, joy, enthusiasm, efficiency, and effectiveness are all in the present.
When you culture your mind with meditation, its tendency of holding on to negative emotions simply disappears. You gain the ability to start living in the present moment and are able to let go of the past.
A sense of Inner Bliss
The quality of our life depends on the quality of our minds. We can’t control what happens on the outside but we do have a say over the quality of our mind. No matter what’s going on, if your mind is ok, everything is ok. Right now.
At Ease and Natural Wherever You Go
When one attains a deep state of meditation, it gives access to energy and long-lasting bliss. When one can relate to the self, relating to everybody becomes instinctive and negative emotions like sadness, depression, and loneliness disappear. You start radiating love. If you are loving, then you are welcome everywhere in the world. If you feel and are at one with people anywhere you go, then people are ready to do anything for you. Your electromagnetic energy will radiate and broadcast outwards wherever you go, making an impact on everyone you come into contact with.
Well-Bonded, Nurturing, Fulfilling Relationships
The key to a happy relationship is based on how we handle our minds. This is why we all must regularly practice our meditation. We must learn how to calm our minds and relax, even if for a few moments every day. If each one of us can manage to broaden our vision just a little bit, I tell you, we can all bring such a great transformation in our lives. We will become happy and also bring happiness to the lives of others around us.
Think about who you like to be with and why you choose them as companions. Are the ones you love happy and joyful, or sad and depressed? Contented, cheerful, and upbeat?
Similarly, when we are happy, our personality reflects that, and others look to us for good company. These interactions are another area of life where meditation helps. Practice with the intention of becoming the best version of yourself, which will attract other positive-thinking friends to you like a magnet.
Meditation can bring about a balance between the different states of the mind. You can learn to switch from the tough aspect to the gentler aspect within you. You can be firm when appropriate and at the same time let go when needed. This ability is present within everyone, and meditation enables you to switch between these states effortlessly.
Greater Feelings of Abundance and Security, Generosity and Gratitude
When there is gratitude, there will never be a lack of anything. Meditation is a natural way to foster gratitude consciously. When gratitude is nurtured, the feeling of abundance follows.
More Compassion, Kindness, and Forgiveness
Forgiving others with a sense of compassion is the best form of forgiveness. Cultivating this sense of forgiveness in oneself is a mark of being noble.
An Increase in Creativity and Out of Box Thinking
Creativity surfaces when you meditate. Creativity is the core of our personality as individuals, but sometimes it’s suppressed or hidden.
As your mind calms down, creativity can calmly and confidently surface. When we clear the turbulent or cloudy water from our minds, we can see down to the bottom. Inside all of us is a well of creative resources and possibilities.
More Resilient and Greater Ability to Handle Stress
Most hard-working adults wait for months to go on a vacation, but meditation allows you to go on a vacation within yourself every day.
The practice rejuvenates you until you feel fresh and relaxed. Because you know the results, you take the time to close the doors of your daily chatter and spend a few minutes with yourself.
After a peaceful meditation session, you’ll feel energized and ready to calmly take on whatever challenges come your way.
Increased Acceptance
Meditation calms our minds. When the mind is calm, you have better acceptance. And you can act, rather than react. If you don't accept, you are so jittery and agitated. Whatever action you take, you will regret it. That is why acceptance is essential. And meditation helps us to accept people and situations as they are.
Gives you a Glimpse of Infinity
Every cell in our body has the ability to hold infinity. However, limiting concepts in our minds impede us from perceiving our infinite potential.
When we culture and purify our consciousness through the process of meditation, we take a dip in the ocean of spiritual bliss and experience deep rest. In other words, we can easily tap into the timeless energy that surrounds us, resulting in a strong feeling of calm and assurance.
Meditate now and connect to your spirit
Scientific Health Benefits of Meditation:
Meditation has been shown to offer many health benefits. Although it’s well known as a technique to reduce stress and anxiety, research shows that it may also help enhance your mood, promote healthy sleep patterns, and boost cognitive skills.
Meditation is the habitual process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts.
The popularity of meditation is increasing as more people discover its many health benefits. You can use it to increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings. Many people think of it as a way to reduce stress and develop concentration.
People also use the practice to develop other beneficial habits and feelings, such as a positive mood and outlook, self-discipline, healthy sleep patterns, and even increased pain tolerance.
Stress Reduction is one of the most common reasons people try meditation.
Normally, mental and physical stress cause increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This produces many of the harmful effects of stress, such as the release of inflammatory chemicals called cytokines.
These effects can disrupt sleep, promote depression and anxiety, increase blood pressure, and contribute to fatigue and cloudy thinking.
In an 8-week study, a meditation style called “mindfulness meditation” reduced the inflammation response caused by stress.
Furthermore, research has shown that meditation may also improve symptoms of stress-related conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, and fibromyalgia.
Meditation Promotes Emotional Health
Some forms of meditation can lead to improved self-image and a more positive outlook on life.
For example, one review of treatments given to more than 3,500 adults found that mindfulness meditation improved symptoms of depression.
Similarly, a review of 18 studies showed that people receiving meditation therapies experienced reduced symptoms of depression, compared with those in a control group.
Another study found that people who completed a meditation exercise experienced fewer negative thoughts in response to viewing negative images, compared with those in a control group.
Furthermore, inflammatory chemicals called cytokines, which are released in response to stress, can affect mood, leading to depression. A review of several studies suggests meditation may also reduce depression by decreasing levels of these inflammatory chemicals.
Focused-attention meditation is like weight lifting for your attention span. It helps increase the strength and endurance of your attention.
For example, one study found that people who listened to a meditation tape experienced improved attention and accuracy while completing a task, compared with those in a control group.
A similar study showed that people who regularly practiced meditation performed better on a visual task and had a greater attention span than those without any meditation experience.
Moreover, one review concluded that meditation may even reverse patterns in the brain that contribute to mind-wandering, worrying, and poor attention.
Even meditating for a short period each day may benefit you. One study found that meditating for just 13 minutes daily enhanced attention and memory after 8 weeks.
Improvements in attention and clarity of thinking may help keep your mind young.
Kirtan Kriya is a method of meditation that combines a mantra or chant with repetitive motion of the fingers to focus your thoughts. Studies in people with age-related memory loss have shown it improves performance on neuropsychological tests.
Furthermore, a review found preliminary evidence that multiple meditation styles can increase attention, memory, and mental quickness in older volunteers.
In addition to fighting normal age-related memory loss, meditation can at least partially improve memory in patients with dementia. It can likewise help control stress and improve coping in those caring for family members with dementia.
The mental discipline you can develop through meditation may help you break dependencies by increasing your self-control and awareness of triggers for addictive behaviors.
Research has shown that meditation may help people learn to redirect their attention, manage their emotions and impulses, and increase their understanding of the causes behind their impulses.
One study in 60 people receiving treatment for alcohol use disorder found that practicing transcendental meditation was associated with lower levels of stress, psychological distress, alcohol cravings, and alcohol use after 3 months.
Meditation may also help you control food cravings. A review of 14 studies found mindfulness meditation helped participants reduce emotional and binge eating.
Nearly half of the population will struggle with insomnia at some point.
One study compared mindfulness-based meditation programs and found that people who meditated stayed asleep longer and had improved insomnia severity, compared with those who had an unmedicated control condition.
Becoming skilled in meditation may help you control or redirect the racing or runaway thoughts that often lead to insomnia.
Additionally, it can help relax your body, releasing tension and placing you in a peaceful state in which you’re more likely to fall asleep.
Your perception of pain is connected to your state of mind, and it can be elevated in stressful conditions. Some research suggests that incorporating meditation into your routine could be beneficial for controlling pain.
For example, one review of 38 studies concluded that mindfulness meditation could reduce pain, improve quality of life, and decrease symptoms of depression in people with chronic pain.
A large meta-analysis of studies enrolling nearly 3,500 participants concluded that meditation was associated with decreased pain.
Meditators and non-meditators experienced the same causes of pain, but meditators showed a greater ability to cope with pain and even experienced a reduced sensation of pain.
Meditation can also improve physical health by reducing strain on the heart.
Over time, high blood pressure makes the heart work harder to pump blood, which can lead to poor heart function.
High blood pressure also contributes to atherosclerosis, or a narrowing of the arteries, which can lead to heart attack and stroke.
A meta-analysis of 12 studies enrolling nearly 1000 participants found that meditation helped reduce blood pressure. This was more effective among older volunteers and those who had higher blood pressure prior to the study.
One review concluded that several types of meditation produced similar improvements in blood pressure.
In part, meditation appears to control blood pressure by relaxing the nerve signals that coordinate heart function, blood vessel tension, and the “fight-or-flight” response that increases alertness in stressful situations.
Scientific Evidence Links:
Critical Analysis of the Efficacy of Meditation Therapies for Acute and Subacute Phase Treatment of Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review - PMC (nih.gov)
Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis - PMC (nih.gov)
Simple Guided Meditation For Beginners:
1. Create a Sacred Space:
Establish a quiet and comfortable space for your meditation practice. This environment should be free from distractions, allowing you to focus on your inner journey. Consider adding elements like candles, cushions, or symbols that hold spiritual significance for you.
2. Choose a Comfortable Posture:
Select a comfortable posture that suits you, whether sitting cross-legged, on a chair, or lying down. The goal is to be at ease, enabling you to relax and fully engage in the meditation experience.
3. Set an Intention:
Before you begin, set a clear intention for your spiritual meditation. Whether it’s seeking inner peace, spiritual insight, or connection with the divine, having a purpose will guide your practice and enhance its effectiveness.
4. Focus on Your Breath:
Bring your attention to your breath as you inhale and exhale. Notice the sensation of each breath and allow it to ground you in the present moment. This simple yet powerful technique helps calm the mind and initiate the inward journey.
5. Utilize Guided Spiritual Meditations:
For beginners, guided spiritual meditations are invaluable. Use recordings or apps that provide step-by-step instructions, leading you through visualizations and prompts to deepen your spiritual experience. This external guidance can be a helpful support as you navigate your meditation practice.
6. Acknowledge Thoughts Without Judgment:
As thoughts naturally arise, acknowledge them without judgment. Imagine them as passing clouds in the sky of your consciousness. Gently redirect your focus to your breath or the guided meditation, cultivating a sense of mental clarity and detachment from fleeting thoughts.
7. Extend Gratitude:
Towards the end of your meditation, express gratitude for the experience. Whether you’re thankful for moments of stillness, insights gained, or the connection with the spiritual realm, gratitude enhances the positive energy cultivated during your practice.
8. Gradually Increase Duration:
As a beginner, start with shorter meditation sessions, gradually extending the duration as you become more comfortable. Consistency is key, so aim for regular but manageable practice sessions to build a sustainable routine.
9. Reflect on Your Experience for Deep Spiritual Meditation
After each session, take a moment to reflect on your experience. Journal your thoughts, emotions, and any insights gained can deepen your understanding of your spiritual journey and provide a record of your progress.
10. Be Patient and Gentle with Yourself:
Remember, spiritual meditation is a journey, not a destination. Be patient and gentle with yourself as you explore this transformative practice. Allow your meditation journey to unfold naturally, embracing the growth and insights it brings.
Repeat as often needed, recommended daily.
Download Guided Meditations in our shop and continue regular practice in the Awakening Guided Meditations page.
All Guided Meditations – Awakening Mass Meditations
Awake Within. I AMM.
