Finally Something with Good Side Effectsby Jerry L. Saunders

Studies have proved that those who meditate on a regular basis have reduced illness, stress, and need for rest. The side effects of meditation include a list so long it would take a whole page to list them. I’ll bet you know what most of them are already.

One of the most compelling reasons to meditate is that the process of meditation itself is so relaxing. Meditation isn’t dependent upon the outcome, but the act of meditation itself is a rewarding one, transporting you to a state of tranquil awareness during the process of meditation itself, not just at the end of training.

Think about that for a minute. All of the great benefits of meditation you read about are side effects! Don’t you wish you could find a list like that on a medication bottle? But you can’t -you only get them from a regular meditation practice.

Every day you experience a constant onslaught of stress. You are bombarded by negative energies in the form of such things as television, noise pollution, arguments, and blaring music or angry people. In order to counteract this overwhelming force of negativity and stress, you need a super power. That super power is meditation.

Many moons ago, nature surrounded people during their daily routines. There were no artificial sound vibrations from telephones or machinery; there were no stresses and diseases resulting from urban industrial complexes. There was the sound of water, the hum of the wind, the beauty of the stars in the sky, and the scent of the earth. There were natural rhythmns in every aspect of daily life, as people planted seeds, nurtured them into foodstuffs, and as they observed the cycles of nature they felt a connection to them.

Now, of course, we can live our entire lifespan without ever contacting nature in a direct meaningful way. We live in artificially controlled climates, we gather food from fast food restaurants or grocery stores where it’s been prepackaged from a factory. In a way, you might say we divorce of ourselves from our natural origins and our organic, original pace of life.

Meditation gives you an easy and portable method to enter into those lost natural rhythms, by closing out the world around you, letting go of your body, and clearing your mind of all the artificial stress it gathers knowingly or unknowingly during the course of your daily life.

Meditation costs nothing, it has no harmful side effects, and it won’t add calories or cholesterol to your diet. And it’s not addictive in the same sense as drugs and alcohol. But it does give you an elevated sense of well-being, that can be compared to a natural “high” more powerful than those induced by drugs. It can become a “positive” addiction.

Your body is a complex creation, and your brain helps your body naturally produce drugs that are many times more powerful than narcotics. As you meditate, your body secretes hormones and chemicals that actually provide an incredible rush of energy and happiness, and this is only one of the amazing side effects of meditation practice.

Meditation means different things to different people. Some use it in place of, or in addition to, psychotherapy. Others find it valuable as a tool to improve sports or work performance, and to increase memory and creative thinking. Some people rely on it to help them deal with grief or the aftermath of trauma or tragedy, and to regain an appreciation for life’s beauties. And there are those who use meditation as a creative tool to inspire them in art and music.

Meditation gives you stronger vitality, sexual energy, and calmness, as it provides a rest that is comparable to deep, restful sleep. That, in itself, is a fantastic reason to spend a few minutes a day meditating.

There are countless reasons to meditate, not mention that it’s the number one way to make your personal world a better, more peaceful and harmonious place. Take some time out of your stressful life to pause and refresh yourself with a regular meditation practice.

Never Stop Exploring Life!


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