Meditation

Meditation is one of those things that some people feel is strange and they are not really sure if it works or not. It seems that people who actively meditate are firm believers in its effects and denounce those who claim otherwise. On the other hand, people who do not meditate tend to dismiss it as a time waster, a hoax, and unproven. 

While I neither meditate, nor do I have a strong opinion on it, I feel that credit is deserved. It turns out, that a recent study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience has conclusively shown a positive correlation between brain health and meditation. A series of individuals participated in MRI's to look for strengths and weakness in their brains. Of the participants, roughly half were active mediators who had been practicing the craft for 20 years while the other half did not practice meditation. It turns out, that the group of people who meditated had an increased mental activity and a visible strengthening of the brain in those areas of the brain that control emotions, awareness, and self-regulation. What does that all mean? It means they were overall happier and more at peace with their lives. And let's face it, who wants to complain about having a stronger brain?


After all those years debating about the effects of meditation, we now have scientific proof. It also lends to the old saying, "Don't knock it until you try it."


TB


I write, or used to write, to explain to myself situations I couldn't otherwise solve or understand. Meditation comes very naturally to me.
-Anne Stevenson