Meditation for Stress Relief

      Many people can be reluctant to try Meditation because of its origins in mystical Religions such as Hinduism,Buddhism,Sikhism,etc.The word itself conjures up a mental image of the Yogi or Zen Monk sitting in a cave chanting Mantras for thirty years,but there is many benefits people maybe unaware of.Meditation is a practice that helps us center in present time Awareness,keeping us from getting caught up in thought,the root cause of all Mental Illnesses.When we meditate,we connect back to our origins,before thought and time,back to the one Consciousness that is God.

    Most if not all Mental illnesses stem from identification with obsessive thought,Depression thoughts of inadequacy,not being worthy,resentment of the past.Anxiety thoughts based on fear of loss,fear of the Future,etc.Our thoughts are time based,when we sit in meditation we can observe these time based thoughts and start to shed the identity we have with the "thinker" of thoughts.When we meditate it gives us an opportunity to relinquish the hold our time based mind has on us.

    The immediate benefits of meditation is there is more Peace and contentment in your life.Situations or circumstances in our lives that angered or upset us before dont seem so serious anymore,they lose steam,giving us more contentment.When we are not caught up in the movement of thought we start to see the beauty and sacredness of the world around us that was once a backdrop to worry and resentment.A natural blissful happiness starts to appear that needs nothing to be maintained.It is the happiness of knowing your timeless,eternal natural self which is God,not the thought based mental image of who you think you are.

    So I highly recommend taking up mediation as a daily practice to improve the overall quality of our lives.There is no need to make it a ritual or convert to some exotic Religion,but just to sit in silence and observe thoughts and inquire into the very nature of the mind.You will feel a new love and joy for life never experienced before.Namaste and Peace and Blessings to you.