It is common conversation these days to hear about meditation, the practice takes thousands of different faces, from very intricate guided ways, such as the Buddhist, protected and shared types such as TM, or the good old Vipassana, throw you in screaming and hopefully come back washed with understanding. Its such a vast and interesting subject, I thought I could share some of the findings just on how meditation can add to a true state of health.

A Dr. Sathit has written,

“Rust, which comes from iron, can corrode and destroy that same iron. Human minds are the same. If we have learned how to meditate and have minds which produce positive thoughts then our bodies will become stronger and healthier if our minds produce negative thoughts then, like the rust on the iron, this will inevitably be a danger to us. To take a particular example; if a cancer patient keeps having “negative” thoughts then eventually these thoughts will be like the rust that erodes, allowing death to destroy the patient even quicker…because such thoughts are one of the causes of cancer. From a holistic point of view, cancer grows from both physical and mental causes. If one cannot change one’s mind then it follows that one cannot change one’s body.”

A very interesting thought that can be linked with “we are what we eat”… instead  “we are what we think”. The amazing thing is many of us in this day and age have built an amazing armor against truths as these. Maybe its not convenient time, but when is? Meditation doesn’t stop when you stop sitting, if you really sat in meditation and truly felt yourself relax and breathe then it carries on, because the thoughts are the goggles we see through. Mediation will remove the goggles and one can RELAX in the awareness of the now… Its the suit of armor of thoughts that is so comfortable to wear, heavy & inflexible, that when it starts falling off piece by piece through meditation, the body comes into a beautiful state of health free of the chains of the mind.

Dr. Benson of the Harvard Medical School has researched and tested the effects of meditation on the health and body. In the book called ‘The Relaxation Response’ (1975) which has introduced the concept of meditation to many Americans, he states that meditation can treat diseases such as cancer because it helps the patient to release tension, bring the will power to fight and the consciousness of being in control of the life. He has found that depression, hopelessness, loneliness and despair, psychological conditions very prevalent in westerners, can be alleviated with meditation. Apart from this, meditation can also help heart conditions and high blood pressure….

Bearing all this mind… Now when “chilling out” be happy knowing your doing something good for your self…

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Amanda Ramcharitar is a yogini, animal lover and environmentalist, as well as an artist, writer, ponderer and wanderer.  She seeks to experience life through the expansive awareness of possibility and hope.  Follow Amanda on Twitter or Facebook.