Why Meditate?

REPOSTED FROM THE TRANS-SCEND BLOG 2015

​There are two main reasons why people are drawn to meditation: spirituality and health.
​
While Eastern Cultures have seen the benefits of meditation for eons, the West is now beginning to hear of the benefits as well. Many Doctors and other scientific researchers are beginning to release studies on the health benefits of meditation on our contemporary culture. While it still hasn't found a foothold in most Western homes it is starting to become more and more main stream as Doctors prescribe the benefits to more and more patients. You can even find classes on different types of meditation or meditation practices in many senior housing centers and Adult Education classes.

---

Meditation can help reduce and/or relieve such symptoms as stress, high blood pressure, anxiety attacks, tension headaches, ulcers, insomnia, muscle and joint problems, can improve the immune system, increases the energy level, improve emotional stability and helps to sharpen the mind. Other benefits are now being researched to see just how much more meditation has to offer on the many regulatory systems of the human body such as the immune system.

Meditation has been a facet of many Religious philosophies throughout the ages. Many Eastern philosophies focus on meditation as one of the vehicles to Nirvana or Enlightenment. In fact many Christians are unaware that meditation was once a large part of their religion too via prayer. The original definition of the word Prayer was "listen for the voice of God", which can be viewed as a basic instruction for meditation.

Meditation helps us to still what Buddhist refer to as "the monkey mind" or the ego. Ego in this case is not a reference to your self-esteem or self-importance but to the part of your mind that is not the creator essence that we all are. It is the voice that haunts you with the past or worries about the future, it is the voice that whispers constantly in your head and is the driver of most of our unconscious emotional and physical reactions.

Meditation is used to still the ego in order to reach the inner essence of a person in order to reach your true potential as a physical manifestation of the creator essence that is your higher self. Your higher self is you, it is the true self that we are all here to connect with by being able to quiet the ego and to see through the lies it tells us. You are here to embody your higher self, to be the loving essence that you are as a part of the Creator and Meditation is one of the primary ways in which you learn to bring forth your higher self.
​