Today’s fast-paced, high stress world is exactly what meditation is good for. It’s no wonder that more and more people are discovering it and experiencing the benefits of meditation. But what is meditation good for exactly?
You may have heard of some of the benefits or even experienced them yourself. Depending on the type of practice you follow and the amount of meditation your practice, the benefits will vary. But overall, meditation can unlock new ways of thinking, change your perspective and attitude, and allow you to live a more examined life.
Think of meditation as an intellectual project that you pursue. Your main goal should be mindfulness. Everything else that meditation does for you is just a bonus. Fortunately, there are a lot of “bonuses” to meditation as we’ll explore in this article.
What is meditation good for?
First, let’s look at what meditation is good for and back it up with some studies and science. In a world inundated with high powered marketing and hyperbole, we want to be careful not to overstate or exaggerate the benefits of meditation and the effects on the mind it has.
We should also note that meditation will benefit different people in different ways, and it will be more useful for some people compared to others. It’s also important to note that meditation is as good as the amount of practice you put in.
One thing to be careful of is seeking instant gratification and results. Sometimes, there’s a placebo effect for newcomers, who think meditation is working, when they’ve only scratched the surface learning how to meditate. For others, they give up after a few sessions because they lack patience.
Think of meditation as less of a solution to a problem, and more as a spotlight on a problem, we can offer insight to the solution. Of course, there are cognitive benefits, but when it comes to using meditation as a solution for problems and disorders, it takes a lot of work.
So let’s take into consideration that with enough practice and finding the right style of meditation for you, here are some of the things that meditation is good for.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be considered the state of living in the present moment. However, mindfulness can also mean being aware of the thoughts and emotions that take your attention.
It’s very easy to get lost in thoughts, or allow ourselves to become our thoughts, especially when they’re negative. Meditation helps us practice being more mindful of the present moment and taking a step back from our thinking and emotions, and observing them, instead of simply acting or following them.
Most people live in a state of momentum, never taking a step back and recognizing just how much of their lives they spend in their heads. Meditation is the path to getting out of your head. It’s the path of recognizing how chaotic our minds are and that most of our suffering comes from our thoughts.
Sure, bad things happen but how often when these things happen, we make them worse by stressing about them? How often are we dwelling on the past? How often are we worried about the future? Meditation is how you steady the mind and live a much more tranquil life.
Anxiety and Stress
The most common state of being for most people is to live in the past or future. Very few people actually take time to live in the moment or even notice the present.
This is where a lot of stress and anxiety comes from. As mentioned earlier, mindfulness allows us to become aware of this type of thinking, which can allow us to let go of this anxiety and stress, when we begin to realize that it’s not these thoughts that make us anxious, but our judgement of these thoughts.
Studies have already shown how meditation affects the brain and the areas of the brain that control our moods, how we feel, and anxious thinking.
Depression
Depression is the leading disability around the world. This may be one of the reasons why meditation has become more popular and common in the west, since many people are using it to help deal with depression and its symptoms. There are also several studies that suggest regular meditation can help provide relief from depression.
For example, Johns Hopkins did a study that suggested meditation provided about as much relief from depression as what other studies found with antidepressants.
Focus
Mindfulness meditation requires one to sit and pay attention to, and focus on the breath for long periods of time without allowing the mind to wander or become distracted.
This kind of training and discipline helps develop the focus muscle of the mind. So not only are you getting all the benefits of meditation, you’re also training.
When you’ve trained your mind enough to allow it to be quick to notice when the mind wants to wander, or has become distracted, it will be that much easier to return the focus to the important task at hand. Whether it’s improving focus for work, school, productivity, or living more present, guided meditations for focus are a great training tool. Think of it like a personal trainer for the mind.
Happiness
Happiness Meditation, specifically Loving-Kindness meditation can help create more positive emotions, and thus a much happier state of being.
There’s also evidence that suggests people that meditate are more likely to maintain this state when they encounter challenges and tough times in life. They’re more likely to adjust their judgements of these challenges, and much more likely to meet these challenges head on.
Anger
You know the feelings and physical reactions to anger: heart beating faster, fists clenching, teeth grinding, and a cloud of enraged thinking.
With a regular meditation practice, it’s possible to not succumb to these feelings and physical reactions every time something happens that you might have an emotional response to. Meditation is a great tool for anger management.
Science backs this up, too. Meditation practitioners weren’t emotionally reactive to situations that would have previously made them angry.
Creativity
Ever feel stuck? Do you ever stare at a blank page and think “what the heck am I even trying to write”? How often do you feel like you’re lacking that bit of creativity to solve that puzzle or be better at your job?
You’ve probably never thought to meditate but studies show that meditation can get the mind out of cognitive rigidity and thus open the mind to more creative thinking. Mindfulness meditation can also clear the mind of distracting thoughts, which can sometimes act as a barrier or roadblock to creative thinking.
Cravings and addiction
Meditation (and likely nothing) could ever truly eliminate one’s desires. It’s part of human nature, even when it becomes extreme such as cravings and addictions. However, regular meditation can make us aware and witness these cravings, instead of becoming a victim to them.
One of the benefits of meditation is that it will train you to notice cravings as they appear, instead of following or acting on them, sometimes without even thinking.
Severe addictions can feel like we’re helpless, or out of control. However, training our minds to be more self-observant helps give us that much more control and at least a chance to witness the craving instead of acting impulsively on it.
In one study in particular, smokers were much more likely to quit smoking and cease from smoking several weeks later, when they participated in mindfulness meditation training.
Sleep
Meditation can help clear the mind of thoughts that persist at night and can keep one from falling asleep. With meditation, you can create the conditions for a good nights rest before heading to bed with specific guided practices focusing on sleep.
But the science also suggests that meditation practices can help increase melatonin levels, which is a hormone that plays a very important role in the regulation of sleep. So besides meditation being a great tool to clear the mind before bed, the benefits of meditation include helping the body release the right chemicals so that sleep occurs quicker and more naturally.
Empathy and compassion
Loving-Kindness is a form of meditation that can help one become much more in touch and aware of the feelings of people around them. It can help you develop more compassion towards others if you feel like it is lacking in your life.
This isn’t to say that meditation will make you passive or “weak”, which is a common concern for people who are interested in learning how to meditate. Even people in the most intense and violent lines of work (like martial artists) meditate and understand the benefits of meditation.
Equanimity
There’s a sense of tranquility and peace that can be achieved both in the practice and outside of the practice in our day to day lives with regular meditation. Meditation can help you recognize the true nature of your mind, and when you begin to look at your thoughts and feelings without judgement, there’s a place of peace that can be found.
We don’t need to be identified with our thoughts and feelings. With enough practice, we learn this and begin to live a life more at peace.
Other benefits of meditation
In addition to the scientifically proven benefits of meditating, there are other benefits to a regular meditation practice that can improve one’s quality of life.
Self reflection
Meditation is an opportunity to take out from momentum of the day, the constant thinking, and the massive amount of thoughts and feelings that enter the mind all day, to take 10, 20, or 30 minutes in silence and observe your thinking non-judgmentally.
It’s not often that we take the time out to take a step back and just realize “what the heck is going on in my mind”. Meditation offers that self reflection that comes only if we make time and effort for it.
Self awareness
Regular meditation can give you a much better sense of self awareness. Once one trains themselves to become better at recognizing the kinds of thoughts that enter their minds regularly, they can begin to identify patterns, notice where the mind likes to wander to, or just how self-critical and judgmental we can be to ourselves.
Being self aware of this can allow you to be more patient with yourself, and maybe even a little more compassionate towards yourself. It’s very easy to be really hard on ourselves. But with a little self awareness, we can understand that it’s just a habitual thought that enters our minds, not actually who we are as a person, or a reflection of us.
Introspection
Mindfulness meditation can provide a level of introspection that is just not possible without regularly setting aside time to observe the mind.
Once you do, you might notice just how mean, judgemental, irritable, and insufferable your thoughts and mind can be! In fact, you might even realize your mind is the cruelest and most maniacal person you’ve ever met! This level of introspection can allow us to begin to take steps to correct for some of our behaviors, impulses, and thought patterns.
It can also help us get to the root of some of our internal struggles. Maybe it allows us to identify a solution, or even if it doesn’t, it helps us better understand the problem that needs solving, and then seek out a solution for it.
Mental health
While meditation certainly shouldn’t be treated as a cure for any serious mental disabilities and conditions, it can help manage symptoms or improve quality of life for those suffering from conditions such as PTSD, Depression, anxiety disorders, and attention disorders.
Meditation should be treated as a supplement to any advice or drugs provided by doctors and professionals.
Get meditating
There’s a lot of scientific and anecdotal evidence that supports many of the benefits of meditation listed here, as well as much more we’re still learning about. This ancient practice has some practical and very useful applications today, so why not try it for yourself with some guided meditations for free.
