I started meditating.

I know what you’re thinking.

You’re probably thinking something similar to most of the world when they hear “meditating.” Something like, “That’s dumb” or “That can’t possibly work” or “I cannot focus that long, my attention span is too short.”

To those who are skeptical, I encourage you to read the rest of this article. Hopefully it will open your eyes to meditation in a different way.

Meditation is not just someone sitting in stillness thinking about absolutely nothing. The idea that one can think about nothing is ridiculous. What guided meditation will do is give you one specific thing to focus on, the breath, the sensation of the body, and those things occupy your brain waves and the energy you normally spend thinking about other things. It allows you to become present, to be in the moment.

What I have gathered about meditation is that almost every person’s definition is slightly different. Personally, I use meditation to center myself, encouraging myself to be present in the moment, to calm anxiety and to focus my mind on my faith and things above. This article will focus on that.

I have always done a form of spiritual meditation and journaling to begin my day, but recently have also added meditation that is focused on my mind body connection, calming anxiety and allowing myself to become present in the moment. This has brought about a unique discovery for me: when I make time for both of these meditations at the beginning of my day I approach the events of the day in a more centered, present, positive way.

What are some of the benefits of meditation?

1. Meditation forces you to put the rest of your life on hold. As a student my life is nonstop. I am always thinking about one thing or another and probably trying to complete twelve assignments at the same time. The total of about a half hour of meditation I do (fifteen minutes of centering myself and fifteen minutes of spiritual meditation) allows me to press pause on all of that and exist merely in those moments in and of themselves.
2. Meditation assists in calming anxiety. I have noticed that when I am anxious about something, if I stop and focus on my breathing and the state of my body in space, the anxiety will begin to melt away. Becoming acutely aware of the musicality of your breathing allows you to then have control over it, taking your mind off of the thing making you anxious by giving it another task to focus on.
3. Meditation allows you to be present. If you’re anything like me your mind is always on your to do list. What needs to be done by when, for whom? What is the cost if that task is not completed? What does next week hold? Or the month after that, or the year after that? Meditation brings me into the moment I living right then. My mind is solely focused on my current state, my presence in the world right now. This prevents the probable anxiety that will stem from my mind focusing on the future, on what is to come.
4. Meditation allows you to align yourself spiritually. What I typically do is meditate over a passage of scripture. I read it several times and mull it over in my mind. I think about what the words mean. I’ll even say it out loud. Then I’ll write out my prayer, typically including my thoughts on the scripture I’ve meditated on. It puts me in the right frame of mind and frame of spirit to take on a day. I notice the difference in my day when I don’t take the time to do this.

I hope that reading this has opened your mind to meditation. It serves numerous different purposes for different people, and my hope is that someone will at least have their interest piqued enough to give it a try. Opening your mind will open your heart and in turn open your spirit.