How Meditation Helps Us Deal With Stress Later

When you’re in the midst of all the stress of your life, will having sat still for three minutes that morning really do anything? That was hours ago!

Actually, it really can! Meditation is good not just while you are doing it, but its effects ripple through your entire life. Here are some of the ways that you can use meditation to help you while you’re actually living life…

It allows space between moments.

Usually in our lives we might become agitated, angry, or upset instantly based on stimuli. It feels instant, anyway. After meditating for some time, you may find that you can slow down that experience and have a chance to respond to things based on reason rather than instinct or habit.

When stress is coming at you, take a moment to remember how peaceful you felt during meditation.

You could even close your eyes for a few seconds and do whatever form of meditation you chose (either hearing a mantra, focusing on your breath, or maybe switching to a mandala screen saver).

When you practice becoming present in meditation, you learn to do it at any time.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by so much that has to get done, come into the present and notice that there is only one thing. The other things are all in the future, in their own moments, and you will get to them.

When you practice focusing attention away from thoughts in meditation, you learn to do it at any time.

During everyday life you may very well need your thoughts. But some are more helpful than others. Once you’ve cultivated the ability to tune out all thoughts, now you can practice only dismissing the ones that hold you back, such as needless worry.

With awareness comes choice. Once we have become aware of a pattern of experience, we are able to choose to act otherwise. No awareness = no choice. –http://www.wildmind.org/applied/stress/how-meditation-can-help-with-stress

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Have you done your three minutes of meditation today?