Meditation and the Benefits of Its Daily Practice

 

Meditation and Its Benefits

Meditation and the Benefits of Its Daily Practice

Guest blog by: Aaron Wilker, host of Talk with Tom

 

A quick word from Tom:

Are you interested in meditation, but question its validity since it appears a little too foo-foo for you? Despite its PR problem, mindfulness meditation is a simple, secular, scientifically validated exercise for your brain. Just in case you’re worried, meditation doesn’t require a lot of the things people fear it might. For example, you don’t have to sit in a funny position, light incense, chant, become a Buddhist or believe in anything in particular. There’s nothing to join and no special outfits to wear. Meditation is not going to solve all your problems, but it will bring you more mindfulness, the practice of awareness, and with that clarity perhaps bring you to a more intentional, goal-driven life experience. Two great layman-language books on meditation are: 10% Happier and Real Happiness, check ’em out.

Give meditation a try by doing the homework below and, who knows…maybe you’ll find it as helpful of a daily, or weekly, habit as me.  Here’s a word about it from my Talk with Tom podcast host, Aaron Wilker:

Meditation and Its Benefits a guest blog by: Aaron Wilker, host of Talk with Tom

Today we are hyper-connected to everything.  Take a minute the next time that you are walking down a busy street, or standing on a train/subway platform, to notice how many people have their cell phone or some other electronic device in their hand?  Today we get buzzed, dinged or musically notified when someone responds to one of our posts on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.  If our favorite sports team does something, like trade away their best outfielder, we are immediately notified.  We are so inundated with electrical stimuli that our brain and mind have no time to relax and process what is truly important to us, our goals.

ENTER MEDITATION

Enter meditation, a time to take a break from the Internet, television and any other electronic distraction.  It is a time where the mind can tap into, what Napoleon Hill called the Ether, and evaluate what it needs us to do for our next step towards accomplishing our goals.  When we are sleeping our body is getting a rest, but our subconscious mind is still working, processing the day’s activities as well as forming ideas for the next day.  If we take some time during our waking hours to relax, meditate and tap into what our subconscious mind has worked on overnight, we become more productive.  We can better sort out our tasks and plan appropriately.

HOW TO MEDITATE

Meditation could be a period as short as ten to fifteen minutes or as long as an hour.  It is up to you.  When meditating, I recommend you put all electronic gadgets into another room where you won’t hear or feel them.  Get in the habit of separating yourself from that needed stimuli.  Studies have shown that when we receive an alert on our phone, the body releases a little Dopamine, so as the day goes on, we crave that little sensation.

Meditating will help you break that electronic leash and get you into the habit of paying attention more to what is going on around you, see the opportunities that are right there in front of you, and BE IN THE NOW!

TOM’S HOMEWORK FOR YOU

  1. Download my Personal Strategic Plan and add a meditation practice to your list of goals in the Personal life area.
  2. Read my previous blog post on different apps out there, including Habit Chain, and then download your favorite Habit app to keep track of your progress and create some accountability.
  3. Research different guided meditations in the iPhone App Store or Android Google Play, and find the one that best resonates with you. I use the Oprah & Deepak 21-Day Meditation Experience regularly, along with many self-made meditations in the Hero Universe series, especially The Success Principles one.

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