By practising mindfulness meditation, people can educate their minds to become calmer, let go of negative emotions, and reduce their mental chatter. It blends mindfulness, a mental state that entails being present in the present moment so that an individual may accept and appreciate their ideas, emotions, and sensations without passing judgment, with mindfulness. Simply put, mindfulness meditation aims to focus attention on the here and now without passing judgment.
Meditation eases mental tension and promotes balance, tranquillity, and calmness, all of which benefit one’s general well-being. In the World Economic Forum (2019) film, Kober thoroughly explains mindfulness training and its effects on individual brains. According to Kober, mindfulness training can alter the brain’s default mode network, increasing a person’s resistance to stress and illness. Even just ten minutes a day of meditation can have a significant impact (World Economic Forum, 2019 4:50). Mood and attitude can be improved by meditation. According to Kober, research on meditation demonstrates that those who meditate regularly report feeling more content and happy than those who do not. Nothing can be resolved with a bit of time spent alone in silence, based on promises that meditation may enhance mental health, foster better relationships, and make practitioners better people.
Dr. Richard Davidson also feels this way about meditation and its advantages for the brain and well-being. According to Davidson’s claim in the video A Joyful Mind (2019 1:00), meditation enhances the brain circuits in attention and emotion management. An individual’s body responds to meditation by changing brain circuits and signals, which results in a relaxed experience of being. From a neuroscience standpoint, meditation can be understood as the result of various attentional mechanisms interacting. One way to think of meditation is as a set of intricate emotional and attentional regulation training techniques. It is engaging in contemplation, particularly spiritual or devotional contemplation. To put it another way, meditation is an effort to focus the mind exclusively on one form, one idea, or one element of divinity, excluding all other forms, thoughts, and ideas.
Meditation guarantees that a person is focused on the here and now while lowering brain activity. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to aid in concentration as it is essentially based on attentional focus. Kober emphasizes that during meditation, the mind focuses on one main topic—well-being—instead of straying. Additionally, focus and attitude, which encourage acceptance of the current moment, influence brain function. Approximately fifty per cent of the time, having a wandering mind is the same as being sad (World Economic Forum, 2019 2:00). Based on this comprehension, meditation enables the mind to react to its environment instead of just responding to it. According to Dr Fadel Zeidan, preliminary research indicates that mindfulness meditation influences specific brain functions. Through brain activation and deactivation, mindfulness meditation can directly reduce stress, depression, and anxiety (University of California Television, 2020, 6:20). Spending a few minutes in meditation can help people focus throughout the day and control their straying thoughts.
For the meditation practice, I considered a 10-minute experience. I was unfamiliar with the practice before, but now that I have tried it, it was an incredible experience. Like everyone else, I have trouble thinking negatively. I felt that those who were too busy to read a book or were monks with gongs and masters who collected healing crystals were the ones who should be sitting quietly. Thanks to the ten-minute film, I could teach my subconscious how to focus; for a beginner, it would ultimately take ten minutes to establish the repercussions of meditation. My breathing was among the sounds that grew louder during the experience. I started to become more aware. I would not need to open my eyes to concentrate on everything around me. I could manage my emotions by focusing entirely on the good things in life and letting my mind unwind and develop therapeutic solutions. In light of this, I want to create a habit of doing this. Ten minutes is a cheap amount of time to get such significant advantages.
Spending ten minutes a day on meditation can profoundly impact one’s general well-being and overall state of wellness. One aspect that can be most beneficial to me about meditation is improving focus and attention. My anxiousness and attention can be enhanced, significantly affecting my academic life and performance. I always feel fully rejuvenated after meditating. After meditation, doing homework assignments and schoolwork will be more straightforward. Through meditation, I can be aware of my writing speed and confidence. In many ways, meditation can change my life. My everyday routines significantly benefit from my capacity for calm thought.
It might be worthwhile to attempt mindfulness meditation for at least a week, based on my readings and personal experience. Every day, ideally in the morning, I consider the ten minutes of meditation to be a clear goal and dedication. I suggest doing ten minutes of meditation before breakfast and getting ready for the day. My goal is to try to fit meditation into my everyday routine and practice it when I wake up. To help me stop my thoughts from straying, I will, for example, switch off the radio or listen to slow or classical music while driving. In addition, I will combine meditation with my usual yoga poses, stretches, and breathing exercises.
In mindfulness meditation, a person concentrates on paying close attention to their senses and emotions in the present moment without giving them any meaning or passing judgment. Mindfulness practice includes meditation, deep breathing, and other techniques to calm the body and mind and lessen stress. For my part, I had no notion of what meditation entailed. I always assumed that was something that monks and religious people did because I did not care about the practice as an ordinary person.
In conclusion, beginning a mindfulness meditation practice can be scary, but it is essential to remember that even a short daily session can be helpful. I now feel a profound sense of oneness to life and an unwavering calm unaffected by what is happening. I now know that material possessions cannot bring me happiness. I possess it. Whenever my mental state is in equilibrium, it is how I naturally feel.
References
A Joyful Mind (Dec 9, 2019). Meditation’s Impact on the Brain | Documentary Clip. [Video File]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3neFV38TJQ
University of California Television (UCTV) (Apr 4, 2020). The Neuroscience of Meditation, Mindfulness, and Compassion. [Video File]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca0uLyRTrQ0
World Economic Forum (Feb 26, 2019). The Science Behind Mindfulness As A Tool For Happiness | Hedy Kober. [Video File]. YouTube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOIE5xFuWL4
https://canlab.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Meditation%20Instruction%2010%20minute%20meditation.mp3 (meditation 10 minutes).
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