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It’s taken me a while to write about my observations in my 30 days meditation streak. I hope you learn from this. 🙂


These days, it seems like references to meditation is on the rise and I am one huge advocate of the practice. Not just because I want to be but it’s the single most rewarding habit I have taken on that I can link to things I have been able to create, achieve. Best still, I have realized how much of it is linked to my faith(Christianity).  But why exactly do people say meditation is good.  I have read about a scientific research in which over 100 studies were analyzed and the results were categorised  into 76 benefits (divided into 46 subheadings). You will be surprised in reading some of these.

It’s no secret that meditation can be used to enhance mental health and focus plus relieve stress.

Traffic

Firstly, I realized that meditation has helped me to cope better with Lagos traffic. Being mindful(I practice mindfulness meditation) has helped me to analyse(word chosen specifically) why I had road rage. It helps me observe very foolish people. It helped me to realize that a lot of energy is lost due to the hurried driving Lagosians do. I have observed that tension levels in traffic are incredible. One big take away is that whenever I’m not struggling to fall into that other lane, or when I am not screaming at the person on my left because he’s close to scratching my car, I realize I save myself not only energy levels and tension, I save time. When you can think clearer, you make better decisions.

Fear

I am not easily startled. Something I noticed with spending more time in the day being mindful. I don’t know how this happened but I notice that sudden noise, sudden events, explosions, screams etc don’t startle me. It’s a good one because sometimes panic causes more harm than you know.  From making stupid decisions, to activating headaches due to the quick adrenalin rushes, to a high blood pressure…the list goes on.

Sleep

One huge advantage of a meditation practice is that it helps you fall asleep quickly and more soundly. I can confidently say I am a sleep therapist.

The Practice of Meditation.

For obvious reasons, people associate meditation to early eastern spiritual practices that are often weird. Some people think meditation is numbing the mind of all thoughts. I actually doubt that can ever happen. But meditation in it’s simplest form is what I refer to. It is the concentration of the mind on only one thing. It could be a concentration on music, a music lyrics, the sound of your refrigerator, the shaking of your legs, whatever. Concentration on breathing is recommended because your breath is always with you. Just concentrating on your respiration for 2 minutes is enough meditation. Yes, of course we all suffer from the ‘monkey mind’. Your mind is just too busy. The untrained mind is a marketplace with endless, uncontrolled chatter. Meditation helps to slow the chatter and create some calm. You can get so calm that it can be likened to the free flow of water from a stream.

I meditate for 10 minutes daily and that does it for me. I also use the app, Headspace, which is probably the best app for meditation.

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