I don't know about you, but whenever I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is meditate.

Many individuals think that meditation is "nothing but hokum" (a "Big Bang Theory" reference if you're fond of that show); furthermore, people who talk down on meditation think that it's something for hippies. I can personally attest that it is not "hokum". Meditation, in essence, is very enlightening and soothing. You don't need any incense, weird oils, or any other stereotypical things that people associate with meditation. Meditation is strictly focusing on your breathing and clearing your mind-- that's it. People really love to take things out of context and talk down on what they do not know nor understand. Meditation helps people deal with any unnecessary stress and center themselves so they can progress as human beings.

I am not trying to persuade anyone to dive into meditation and I will admit, meditation may not be for everyone; however, I do believe everyone should at least give it a shot and see if they have the drive to truly dive into it. It has helped many of my friends and family members, so I have no doubts that those who are opposed to it can easily find it soothing if they just gave it a genuine chance.

Meditation not only helps deal with unwanted stress, but it also helps you focus on what you truly need to focus on and that allows you to accomplish tasks more efficiently that you otherwise would do less efficiently when focusing on stress.

For example, I find that I am far more productive in doing school work when I start my day with meditation. Furthermore, I find that more people seem to feel the positive energy when meditation is used to start the day. In my personal opinion, if individuals had more open minds in certain aspects of life, we, as a society, would get along much better than we do today.

Something great that goes along with meditation is music; not just any music, but acoustic music or the sound of waves or vocals with soothing sounds backing up the vocals. I've dived so far into meditation that I have three different meditation playlists. Meditation and music go hand in hand. People get so into the music they're listening to that sometimes they start crying. When asked why they're crying, some people respond "I have no idea. But this song is really speaking to me for some reason." That's because music moves each and every one of us in various ways. Just like music, meditation moves people in various ways as well. When intertwined, and if done right, meditation can be such a revealing and mind-altering experience.