5 Ways Meditation Can Change The Mind
Before we discuss how meditation can change the mind, we must understand what meditation is. People think that sitting on the floor, cross-legged, spine erect, body motionless is what meditation is all about. Some people play meditation music, or light candles. They buy special clothes or a meditation mat. Meditation, however, is not about music or candles, or posture, and how and where we sit. Meditation is about making the mind still. One can meditate on a chair or a sofa. In fact, if one is enlightened with the truth, one can be in a meditative state all the time.
The mind is a thought factory. It produces 50 thoughts a minute, which can amount to a staggering 50,000 thoughts a day. Like a monkey, the mind jumps from thought to thought, from the past to the present, from regrets of yesterday to worries of tomorrow. There is no peace of mind because the mind does not let us be in peace. It creates thoughts of fear, dread, misery. It fills us with negativity. Therefore, we have to discipline the mind. How can we discipline it? To begin with, we must sharpen the sword of our intellect to discriminate thoughts. We must do away with negative thoughts. Then, we must bring down the Mental Thought Rate, the MTR, from 50 thoughts a minute to one thought per minute. This quietens the mind. To do this, we have to observe the mind. We have to watch it, catch it and latch it. When a thought comes, we must watch that thought, just like we watch fish swim in the ocean. We have to become the witness, the observer.
We have to make the monkey mind a monk. We have to stop it from wandering. We have to stop its constant chatter. If we look at the word ‘MONKEY’ carefully, we will see that it has EY at the end. What is this EY? The EY is the tail that is Ever-Yelling and Ever-Yearning. We have to cut it. If we cut the EY from the MONKEY, it becomes a MONK. We have to make the MONKEY a MONK. Meditation quietens the incessant chattering of the mind. It cuts off the noise. Once the mind becomes quiet, we become calm.
Meditation is known to positively impact the mind and change it in many ways:
· It helps us focus and concentrate, and improves attention span. It gives clarity. An uncluttered mind, along with the intellect, guides us to make the right decisions. Meditation enhances creativity and innovation. It is also known to slow down mental ageing and maintain brain health as we grow older.
· Because the number of thoughts go down, it declutters the mind. The mind stops jumping. Consequently, there is less stress, less anxiety. We are calmer, more relaxed.
· Meditation results in a positive mindset and enhances a sense of total well-being. Most of us think that the mind is king, it is everything. We do not realize this but our mind is our biggest enemy. By creating thoughts of anxiety and fear, it makes us miserable. If we discipline the mind, not only do we experience peace but also happiness. Negative thoughts are replaced by positive thoughts. We flip from NEP, Negative Energy Poison to PEP, Positive Energy Power.
· Meditation regulates moods. It prevents mood swings. We respond instead of reacting. It helps keep emotions in check and promotes emotional health and well-being.
· Meditation increases self awareness. It leads to the state of thoughtlessness, to the state of consciousness. It is in this state that a seeker of the truth, a seeker of God can spiritually evolve to attain self realization and God realization and connect to the the Supreme Immortal Power we call God. This results in us experiencing true peace and bliss, Satchitananda, a state of Divine happiness, inexplicable in words and unknown to the common man.
