All posts tagged “benefits of meditation”

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"How has meditation changed your life?"
fredclaymeyer — 14 years ago — in What works for me

I found a thread by that title on an online forum called Vipassana Forumâ€”here's a link.
I think it's a pretty good question. For me, the first few answers that come to mind are:

I'm not as irritable as I would be otherwise. When I don't sit for a few days, I start saying and doing things I really regret.
I don't get overwhelmed by fear, generally.
I'm much more compassionate and perceptive than I would have been without a meditation practice.
Meditation sort of gives my life "context"â€”not "meaning," but a sense that I know what I'm doing here and how the whole thing works.

I'm sure there's more, but those seemed like the first few answers that came up.

Tags: benefits, benefits of meditation

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Retreats!
fredclaymeyer — 14 years ago — in What works for me

I just did a several-day meditation retreat. It was wonderful, and I came out of it completely energized to practice. I would absolutely recommend taking any amount of retreat time you can manage--it's one of the best things you can do for yourself.
I'm back in a fairly stressful situation now, and I can see those stresses gnawing away at my practice. So (for my own benefit and everyone else's) here are a few thoughts on doing a post-retreat correctly:
â€¢ When you get out of it, continue to sit twice a day, morning and evening. It's really important to carry forward the practice momentum you've had.
â€¢ As a way to keep it a priority in a busy schedule: Notice how you feel during and immediately after a retreat, and think of that as being the result of meditation (which it is!). So, if after the retreat something comes up that threatens to interrupt your practice schedule, ask whether the thing is worth risking the benefits of practice for. Maybe it is, but at least you'll recognize the tradeoff you may be making.
â€¢ Don't worry too much about "holding on" to whatever benefits you feel in retreat. Some of these are just temporary excitements that only exist in a retreat environment and are bound to wash away anyway; and the things that really are lasting, valid insights will be difficult to access if you're worried about clinging to (your idea of) them. What you should hold onto is the practice itself.
Hope that's helpful! I better go practice soon...

Tags: retreat, retreats, regular meditation, benefits of meditation

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Question for May 18, 2014: Uniqueness of meditation
Medivate — 12 years ago — in Question of the Week

For you, how is meditation different from other helpful practices (running, yoga, creative pursuits, etc.)?

Tags: meditation, benefits of meditation

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davidbhayes — 12 years ago — permalink
It's an interesting question. I do think it's similar and different in a number of ways. Start with similar:

I really feel like there's a clear benefit from all of the things I'm counting. And a lot like exercise, or good oral hygiene, or eating well, it doesn't necessarily feel beneficial in every session or period, but over the long term it's more evident.

For all of them, the benefit come more from returning repeatedly and contintually working than from a single good run or single good session on the cushion or single good writing session.

For all of them, I didn't really all come together for me until I routinized it and made it so regular I felt weird *not* doing it. Until that point, each time to do it would require a larger effort than I could regularly muster.

They all can feel a bit like a grind at times, and are hugely helped by the way in which I trust in the long term goals and results to get through the times it's not fun and I have to grit my teeth and just do it.

Ways they're different?

They obviously have different goals and results. While all things I'd describe as "helpful practices" have the very simple goal of "a better me", body health and mental health are related but still pretty distinct in my mind. Lots of people have one but not the other.

The kind of discipline and attention that's needed to go running when I'm not really feeling it is at least a bit different from the kind that's needed to sit when I'm not really feeling it. It's similar, but "bearing down" to meditate is a trickier and finer line for me then for exercise. Because meditation is so mental and balance is so embedded as and necessary for the goal, it requires a lighter touch.

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