5 Reasons Why Meditation Needs To Be a Part of Your ‘Success, Serenity, and Sanity’ Game Plan

Whenever I get in front of a coaching client or step on the stage to present to a group of people, one of the things I really want them to walk away with is the idea that a daily practice of meditation (or dedicated mindfulness) is not only a success multiplier, and sanity tonic, but it is absolutely essential in 2017.

Especially if you own a smart phone of some description.

Would that be you?

Teeth brushed. Check. Food eaten. Check. Fluids drank. Check. Moved body. Check. Showered. Check. Stilled the mind.

Check.

I am telling you. These are all ESSENTIALS for a healthy body and mind.

I am sort of hacking this law a bit. This law suggests that there is an equal and opposite to all things. Night and day. Light and dark. Up and down. Inside and outside. If you are 2m from me, I am 2m from you. Equal and opposite.So if you desire to operate at a high level of performance or want to sustain the ability to perform at a high level; you need an equal and opposite quality of ‘rest’. To perform at a high level, you need to balance it out with deep rest.

If you play too high, for too long, without deep rest, then you are very likely to crash and burn (aka: get sick).

Meditation is amoung the best sources of DEEP relaxation on offer.
Some teachings suggest that meditation is actually more effective for the body than an equal amount of sleep. And there are also suggestions that is 2-3 times more impactful than the same amount of sleep.

That makes it a HIGH RETURN ON INVESTMENT activity if you want to perform at a high level.

 

Really important reason #2: Welcome to your crash course in epigenetics

Let me summarise what I understand about genetics.

There are about 20,000 protein-coding genes in the human body. Not all of these are expressed all the time, or even most of the time. About 1.5% of your genes are actually expressed.

And the field of epigenetics suggests that what we think, feel and do, has a direct impact on the genes that are expressed in the body. Dr Herbert Benson, has been studying for decades the effect of what he calls ‘the relaxation response’ on the expression of genes in our bodies, and how it turns on the genes related to health and well-being and turns off the genes that relate to poor health.

We can use meditation as a tool to specifically influence the expression of genes in our bodies.

You are not a slave to your genes. You are actually a slave to the choices you make (or don’t make). Damn it!!

Another by-product of meditation is reduced blood pressure (with no side effects and at nil financial cost).

 

Really important reason #3: A tonic for beeping and buzzing

I know you are one of those people who owns a smart phone (except my dad who is reading this and has never owned a mobile phone in his life. Impressive!!). Therefore I am going to assume you are getting beeped at and buzzed at through the day.

You also might not be so good at day dreaming these days. You might prefer to fill any ‘space and time’ with doing something. Like checking your phone, or sending messages. You also are likely to have televisions, electrical equipment, computers, etc. in your home and workplace. In other words you are surrounded and influenced by a lot of electromagnetic fields. Plus you have a lot of disruptive sound (pollution) through the day.

And don’t get me started on ‘social media’ as a form of distraction and over-stimulation of the mind…(no one likes a grumpy old ranter and raver).

I recently spent time with a retired hypnotherapist who did 50,000 hypnosis sessions over his lifetime, and a lot of deep research along the way. He suggested that one of the greatest causes of depression is suppressed emotions.

For me, equally debilitating is distracting and numbing us out from feeling our emotions. It is another form of suppression.

We live in a day and age, where our minds are so over-stimulated, and our nervous systems so disruptively aroused for chronically long periods of time, that we are past the case of whether meditation is a good idea or not. I believe meditation or specific mindfulness practices are absolutely essential if we want to maintain our physical, mental and emotional health throughout our lives.

Meditation is no longer a desirable practice. In 2017 and beyond, it is ESSENTIAL.

 

Really important reason #4: Want to look younger than your age?

There is a possibility that someone might have skipped past the other 3 reasons, but probably not this one.
Who (in their right mind) does not want to look younger than they are? To be vibrant, radiant and vital.Dr Joe Dispenza has been doing deeper research for several years now into meditation slowing down and even reversing, the aging process. Apparently there is a direct effect on the telomeres which are at each end of a chromosome. The telomeres are not deteriorating with age (which was accepted as a natural part of aging) at the same rate, and in some cases have actually regrown. Interesting…I do not have that level of research under my belt, but I do believe that if meditation slows our heart rate, and reduces our blood pressure, then it has the potential to extend our lifespan.I have also seen people who have began a practice of meditating start to look 5-10 younger, due to the release of tension and stress in their bodies, brains, nervous system and life in general.For a free, non-side-effects beauty treatment, you can’t go past meditation. 

 

Really important reason #5: It makes you money 

I might have your attention on this one as well. He he he.

As a coach, I find that almost all problems and challenges in peoples lives can be solved with creative solutions. I believe we all have the capacity and possibility to overcome our adversities…IF…we get even more creative.

I also believe that one of the best ways to make more money is to get creative.

And one of the best ways to create an environment that is conducive to creativity is…
…you guessed it!…MEDITATION!!!

Meditation deactivates the stress response. It activated the parasympathetic nervous system (relaxation response). It allows more blood flow to your brain (which means more fuel in the form of oxygen).

AND it allows the mind to broaden its perspective (when we are stressed our vision narrows). We see the whole picture, the moving parts and how they can more seamlessly fit together. An essential ingredient for creativity.

MEDITATION = ENVIRONMENT FOR A MORE CREATIVE MIND = MORE MONEY

Convinced to meditate yet?!?!

 

IN SUMMARY

Meditation makes you:

Need more convincing?

For a copy the chapter on Meditation from The Guidebook to Optimum Health click hereSending you a plethora of joy, encouragement, inspiration and a nudge to get your meditation on.

Take care.

 

As always, please ask questions of me, or share your thoughts in a response email or by putting a post on Facebook.