The following blog is from our "Best Of" Series. Original Publication Date: June 15, 2015
Meditating and ‘going within’ reveals that there is so much more going on than just our daily to-do’s and relationships. We are so much more than who we think we are. There is so much more happening within and around us and Meditation opens the doors for us to explore and expand through. And then all of the benefits are simply that- benefits! a bonus! As a regular meditator I walk through life with more calm and peace in my heart and in my head. Things don’t upset me easily or quickly and when they DO, I have learned to look at it without judgment. I watch my Self to see what I am thinking, how I am feeling. I have gotten so used to observing in my meditations, that I now naturally do it in my waking life. It has become my nature. It may sound taxing and exhausting to some because it’s true, I do in fact, analyze much of what I do. The difference is that I have no judgements nor do I place any expectations. I can just BE with what is showing up and that is not taxing at all. For me it is wisdom; it is built in guidance. I have learned to trust myself and have developed a stronger sense of security and confidence. Many of us are confident in our jobs or roles we find ourselves in- the confidence I refer to is bigger. The confidence I have gained through meditation lets me live a life with less worry, make decisions without much vacillation and it allows me to soften the voice and urgings of my Ego. The security I enjoy is the security of knowing who I really am, beyond the Ego. Our egos are about identities IN the world and OF the world. Egos are concerned with being identified by how we look and what we do, what roles we play and how well we play them. I am able to live my life without this filter on now, most of the time at least. The ego is a part of me, all of us, so it can not be permanently silenced, nor would you want it to be; however, when you truly know yourself, you know when you are coming from the Ego or from your true Self, your heart-centered awareness. This is security. Security is Knowing who you really are and BE-ing good with that. I can honestly say that I love myself. I love me in all of my humanness! I can see many aspects within me and I love them all. I love my Playful Child. I love my Perfectionist. I love my Resistor, my Receiver. I love my Enthusiast, my Optimist and my Responsible. I love my Free Spirit and my Risk Taker. I love my Organizer and my Ordinary. I love my Teacher and I love my Student. I love my Princess and my Doer. I love my Visionary and my Vulnerable Child. I love my Seeker and my Inner Critic. I love my Ego and my Spiritualist. And as I continue with my meditation practice, I am certain that I will grow to love even more about myself. We are so beautifully faceted with so many different aspects, it will take a lifetime, if not several, to really experience all of who we are. This brings me to one of the greatest benefits of Meditation- we learn to love others as they are, with no expectations or judgments. “What we do for ourselves we do for another.” As I have learned the many parts of me and beyond, I am able to see the same in others and because I can accept myself, I can accept others. This is, I think, one of the greatest benefits of a healthy meditation practice. We see the divine within us, thus we see it in others.