Why I meditate

Meditation has brought about many changes in my life, shaping my outlook and well-being in a variety of ways.

My meditation journey has taken some time.  I first encountered the practice in my late teens at a Buddhist forest monastery in Thailand.  Although my time there was only brief the practice was intense, many hours a day, and some of my experiences whilst sitting were striking and strange.  Once back home, and for many years afterward, my practice was irregular.  I tended to be something of a 'crisis meditator’.  But a few years ago, following some significant events in my personal life, I felt it was time to make the commitment to sitting each day.  Since making that change I’ve seen many positive effects in my life.

Some of the most significant changes I've experienced are within my emotional life.  Through practicing I've gained a healthier and more constructive emotional outlook.  I've become more aware of my emotions, more familiar with them and their rhythms.  I can now manage my feelings with greater skill and confidence.  I’m learning to see my emotions rather than to see with them, even in the most challenging situations, giving me an increasing ability to respond to experiences, rather than react impulsively.  The ability to pause, reflect, and then choose a course of action is valuable in many different situations, and has improved my decision making. 

These changes have made me kinder, more supportive, and calmer in my interactions with others.  People around me have noticed this, and I hope I've become a more positive and valued presence in their lives.

Meditation has also been a powerfully effective tool for reducing my stress and anxiety.  I can now face unfamiliar or challenging situations with a greater sense of ease and adaptability.  Not only has this improved my mental health, it’s benefitted my physical well-being too.  Generally, meditation has shown me just how interdependent our bodies and minds are. Seeing this has led me to make deep changes in my approach to my physical well-being since I began daily practice.

Meditation has not only improved my health, my emotional well-being and my relationships.  It has changed how I view the world in significant ways too.  Understanding that we are not identical with our ever changing thoughts and emotions, appreciating more fully the dynamic processes of change to which everything is subject; seeing these things both in myself and in the external world has helped me to be more accepting of things I previously viewed through lenses of attachment and fear of loss, leading to feelings of greater freedom and equanimity.

Also, I’ve gained a richer appreciation of the interconnectedness of people’s mental states, and the ways in which human beings are profoundly connected through powerful feedback loops of experiences, thoughts, and emotions. This understanding is a gateway to an increased sense of empathy and compassion, as a well as a powerful motivation to continue to practice and to learn so I can bring a better version of myself into the connections I make with others.