What are reasons one should meditate?
Meditation offers a variety of benefits. For example, it cultivates awareness and sensitivity, as well as greater concentration, calm and equanimity – the capacity to remain calm and composed in the midst of turmoil. The purpose is to train the mind, and thereby foster psychological and spiritual well-being and growth. Eventually, meditation becomes a self-rewarding process. It’s similar to exercise. If you do it, you feel the benefits; if you don’t do it, you miss it. How does one begin a meditation practice? A daily routine really helps, as do a teacher and a support group of fellow meditators. You can start by practicing 15-20 minutes a day in a quiet, pleasant environment. There are many methods; one is to simply sit up straight and gently focus on the sensations of the breath to quiet the mind. Several kinds of meditation are described in Essential Spirituality. At first, the mind is very difficult to work with. In the West, we spend our lives rushing around and looking outside, n
