Why meditate?
Stressed, unfulfilled, stuck? Do you have the feeling that there just has to be more to life than the way you are living it today?
Anyone who has had even the slightest introduction to Buddhist teaching is familiar with its starting point: the inescapable truth that existence entails "suffering." This is The First Noble Truth, one of the most central teachings of Buddhism. One of the fundamental teachings behind Buddhism, its ethics, philosophy, practices and community life, is the discovery that freedom and joy are possible in the face of the regular "suffering" of human life.
Feeling scattered and having trouble focusing? Is your attention divided all day long and you don’t seem to feel as though you can catch your breath? Sit. Stop moving. Just try it for five minutes a day for this week and begin to notice that incessant internal dialog that doesn’t seem to want to give you a break. Don’t expect instant results. Enlightenment and awakening take practice and dedication. Start right where you are. Just start.
Are you one of the millions of Americans who has a difficult time getting to sleep or staying asleep throughout the night? Do you lay awake ruminating about the day or worrying about the day ahead tomorrow? Research has proven that the regular practice of meditation promotes sound sleep that is deeply restorative.
Why should I begin and foster a meditation practice? Have you ever noticed that the moment you try to sit still and stop thinking, it’s next to impossible? Having trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep? Consider the many benefits of a dedicated meditation practice.
Most of us believe that stress is related to and caused by external forces and events beyond our control but in fact, stress is actually an internal response. Stress is really our reaction to those events or circumstances or the perceptions we have about them.
It doesn’t have to be a big, life-altering event to trigger your body’s stress response. It can be something as simple as your neighbors dog keeping you up barking all night last night or your kids not getting along for the third day in a row.