Eastern Philosophy: The Benefits of Meditation

Meditation means being present in the moment, living in the here and now, without worrying about the past or being anxious about the future, and without any bias or judgment. It allows the mind to settle in a natural state of awareness. This practice helps us calm our restless thoughts, enabling us to work, live, and learn with greater stability, and to fully enjoy every unrepeatable moment of life.

What is Meditation?

1. What is meditation?

   • It is a form of attention training that helps people focus, calm down, and relax.
   • It serves as a pathway guiding awareness inward, allowing the mind to move from a chaotic, anxious outer world to a tranquil, joyful inner world.

2. What is meditation not?

   • It is not hypnosis.
   • It is not a religious practice.
   • It is not sitting and thinking about things.

The Benefits of Meditation

1.Relaxing the Body

Meditation relaxes both the body and the mind, offering unique benefits. It helps maintain a state of awareness that uses moderate energy, not only during meditation but also in daily activities. It re-educates the body to overcome bad habits like tension and excessive effort. Meditation increases bodily awareness, enabling practitioners to notice tension and relax more effectively, adjusting their bodies accordingly.

2.Therapeutic and Healing Effects

Modern people often experience physical and mental tension due to competition and stress, leading to tight shoulders, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Meditation can help relax muscles and the brain’s nervous system, including the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, thereby alleviating these emotional experiences and improving sleep. Even a few minutes of meditation can sweep away daily fatigue. Additionally, meditation has healing effects on illnesses. Many health problems stem from stress, emotions, and negative thoughts, and meditation helps to dissolve these seeds of illness.

3.Increased Tolerance to Discomfort and Pain

Meditation can reduce pain by 40%, even more effectively than morphine, which typically reduces pain by about 25%. In a study conducted by the University of Montreal, researchers exposed 13 meditation practitioners and 13 non-practitioners to the same painful heat. Brain scans showed that the meditation group experienced lower levels of pain.

4.Enhancing Brain Neuroplasticity

Long-term meditation may enhance the brain’s neuroplasticity, its ability to adapt and change. A study from Harvard University led by Dr. Sara Lazar found that an eight-week meditation course increased the gray matter in three key areas of the brain:

• Hippocampus (responsible for memory storage, conversion, and orientation): Enhances memory.
• Posterior cingulate cortex: Controls mind-wandering.
• Temporoparietal junction: The moral compass of the brain, fostering compassion and empathy.

5.Improving Decision-Making, Memory, and Creativity

The neuroscience lab at the University of California found that long-term meditators have more cortical folds in the brain compared to non-meditators. These folds help the brain process information faster, make decisions, form memories, and improve attention. Steve Jobs meditated for 30 years and credited meditation as a key factor in his success. He noted that many Apple leaders emphasized meditation and that active meditation enhances creativity and problem-solving.

6.Slower Aging Proces

Research from Harvard shows that mitochondria, vital components of human cells, influence cell longevity. Meditation improves mitochondrial energy production, consumption, and other adaptive functions, effectively slowing the aging process. Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, a Nobel Prize-winning professor at the University of California, even suggested that three months of meditation can reverse the biological clock by 20 years.

7.Better Self-Understanding and Self-Improvement

When asked if we know ourselves, we often answer yes, but in reality, most of us are strangers to our inner selves. We live on the surface of our inner life, only aware of conscious thoughts while being oblivious to the subconscious. We know nothing about where our thoughts come from or where they go. Meditation is a process of self-awareness, allowing individuals to recognize their inner abilities, motivations, and personal talents, thus discovering their true value and continually improving themselves.