Feel alive through the ancient practice of meditation, now a modern favourite. It’s one of the best ways to calm your mind, find peace, and ease stress.

Over the years, I have experienced my fair share of stress and problems. I can recall a period of time, about eight years ago, when my life was quite unpleasant due to stress and anxiety.

The possibility of losing my job was looming over me. Money was scarce, the economy was struggling, and my relationships were strained. I could see no obvious path out of the approaching storm.

I was surrounded by darkness. When depression struck, I started taking tranquilizers. I had no desire to do anything. I was indifferent and frequently let my wrath out on the people closest to me. In addition, I abused my body by consuming junk food.

All of this was having an impact on my health, as well as how well I performed at work and in general.

I made the decision one day that I could no longer live that way. At last, I had had enough.

How I Turned My Life Around

I was upfront and truthful with friends and family to start. I told them that I want to change after describing my inadequate coping mechanisms and the reasons behind my extreme stress.

I assured myself that everything would be alright and that these difficult times would pass quickly. Additionally, I would eventually find another work even if I lost mine. The world would not perish because of that.

I started working out after joining a nearby gym.

After work, I would work out three or four times a week, eat nutritious, freshly prepared meals, and spend some time in the garden behind my house.

The work gradually started to get better. I felt fairly decent again, and I kept my job.

But one day at the gym, I was talking to a guy about fitness, happiness, and overall health, and he suggested meditation.

At first, I was skeptical. I had assumed that meditation was only practiced by monks.

Nevertheless, I made the decision to try it and gradually made it a part of my everyday schedule.

I now find that meditation is as normal to me as taking a morning shower and brushing my teeth.

In the hopes that you might be able to benefit from meditation as well, I would like to share some of the wonderful things I have discovered.

1. Meditation helps you foster inner peace.

Our homes and possessions become unclean, dusty, and unappealing to look at or be around when we keep them messy and neglected for extended periods of time.

Now picture your body as a messy room or possession. However, you feel worry, anxiety, depression, and bad thoughts in place of dirt, grime, and clutter.

We can learn these from a variety of sources, such as what we see on TV or the news, from coworkers, friends, and family, from stressful situations, and pretty much anywhere else in the world these days.

Meditation allows us to let go of the negative rather than dwelling on these circumstances, people, and environments. Although it will not take away such emotions, it does provide us with the means to deal with them more skillfully.

We can be optimistic, content, calm, and at peace with ourselves since we do not care as much about the little things, even the bigger ones.

 2. Meditation helps you find more perfect moments.

You find yourself observing the world around you rather than responding to people and circumstances.

I used to concentrate on the negative energy and let it consume me prior to meditation. I learned something incredible through meditation: that everything around us is perfect.

I found myself looking for the good perfection in every moment rather than dwelling on the negative. Once I was able to let go of the bad energy, I began to value things more, like the taste of my favorite food, the faint smile from a stranger, or even the simple comfort of spending a few moments alone.

3. Meditation helps improve your concentration.

One major advantage of meditation is that it greatly increases your ability to concentrate, which will increase your productivity.

By removing distractions from your mind, meditation allows you to concentrate on the mediation process itself. Following meditation, you will be more equipped to concentrate on the present rather than letting your thoughts, anxieties, or concerns consume you.

 4. You don’t find yourself bothered by smaller things.

eFor instance, you might have to clean up after dropping your dinner plate on the kitchen floor. Meditation teaches us to stop worrying about minor things instead of yelling, cursing, and pouting over a minor issue.

Rather than getting upset and feeling sorry for ourselves, we just pick up a cloth and broom, tidy up the mess, and get ourselves some more food.

Meditation helps us put things into perspective and teaches us to not worry about the little things.

There are folks out there that are struggling with severe issues. A small mess is not a huge concern when you consider the overall picture.

 5. Meditation helps to awaken forgiveness.

Meditation has the added benefit of making it easier for us to forgive and move on from our anger.

I collected my pay and left when I became unwell while working overseas and had to return home sooner than I had intended.

I was unaware that I was eligible for a bonus for my efforts. Even though it was not much cash, it was something.

A coworker informed me a few months later that “my dear friend” had taken my bonus from my employer and failed to present it to me when he returned home.

We have been friends since kindergarten, thus I trusted him, therefore I was upset and disappointed. Months passed before I spoke to him once more.

I am not entirely sure how I would respond to this today, but I am very sure that I would not suppress my anger because it would be damaging to myself. It would probably be much simpler to let go with the calm I have created today.

Everybody has those times when they declare, “I will never forgive that individual.” Are they unaware of what they have done to me? I have learned through meditation that forgiveness is not about giving someone something they do not deserve. It is about rewarding myself with what I deserve.

6. You begin to feel more alive.

I know it sounds corny, but ever since I started doing daily meditation, I feel more alive than ever.

I feel as though my senses have all been roused at once. Pictures appear sharper. Tastes appear better. Joy appears to be happier, if that is possible.

I have also discovered that I can read people more accurately, both physically and emotionally. I have a sense that lets me know if someone is having a great day or if something is hurting them. It is a lovely feeling that I did not anticipate at all when I started practicing meditation.

I am more conscious of myself above all else. For me, I am aware of what works and what doesn’t. Thanks to a fortuitous chat I had one day at the gym, I started meditation, which has taught me how to get the most out of myself both spiritually and productively.