With regular meditation practice and the improved level of mindfulness that it brings to your daily life, you start to access a deeper wisdom …. one that can only come about through experience. It’s part of an upward spiral caused by practising regularly and taking action based on the ‘ah ha’ moments you get on why you feel the way you feel and why you act like you do. When you know what makes you tired, stressed, angry, frustrated, worried or anxious. When you know what you do with your body that creates aches and pains. Then you can take action to change.
After you meditate, mindfulness is much easier
You will notice these benefits to your health and wellbeing:
- Looking after yourself easily, eating healthily and drinking regularly (I am not talking about wine here!). This means better energy levels and less grumpiness.
- You get up and move rather than sitting down all day, and find that you have fewer aches and pain and feel less tired. HOORAY!
- Easier to get on with your family and work colleagues; you feel less worried, less frustration.
- More ideas, greater creativity. You can make better use of your intuition by accessing your deeper wisdom.
- Have the energy to go and exercise and that makes you feel even better!!!!
Be kind and patient with everyone by accessing your deeper wisdom
After meditation, you need to mindfully monitor your thoughts throughout the day so you notice when they are negative or harmful. This deeper wisdom will encourage these thoughts to be positive or beneficial by being kind and patient with EVERYONE (including yourself). Yes, this does take work and practice to become better at. But the results are amazing!
- Being prepared to listen and hear your boss, your partner, your parents’, your kids’ point of view …. even to ask for their opinion and perspective rather than jumping to the wrong conclusion. This has a massive positive effect on improving communication. It means you understand everyone around you better, and how you can help them. Helping them makes you feel useful, wanted and all round fabulous! Improved understanding means everyone around you can look out for you too and as a result will offer help and support when you need it.
- Checking to see if you are jumping to conclusions about what your partner or your boss is thinking. Give them time and space to explain themselves and they will be grateful for your listening ear.
- Noticing if your thought process is fantasising or imagining negative scenarios about something that hasn’t even happened yet. Stop dragging your energy down by doing this. Just let events unfold and know that whatever happens, you can deal with it.
- Stop trying to do two things at once….(or doing one thing but thinking about another). These are two of my particular ‘favourite’ habits I have to keep an eye on.
- Cultivating a kinder and more patient attitude towards everyone. Who wants to be happy? You do, and so does everyone else. Who wants to not have horrible things happen in their life? You do, and so does everyone else. Who gets tired and irritable? You do, and so does everyone else. Working to be kind and patient to EVERYONE (including yourself) is one of the best mental workouts you can have.
When you do better for others, they are more likely to help you, even if only indirectly. It’s a win-win situation!
Deeper wisdom means you can act from a point of generosity. You want to share and help….without necessarily expecting something back in return. You feel more like doing this because you have a surplus of energy, more time, and an appreciation of what others are going through.
It might not be big things that you do – everything helps. You might give someone an unexpired parking ticket, or nominate a local shop owner for an award. With more resources of time or energy, you might offer to do some shopping or dog walking for an ill or bereaved neighbour. Even more? Help set up a local book club, or exercise class, or support group.
You speak with an awareness of the impact of your words. This means focusing on being kind, assertive or supportive rather than resorting to useless gossip, divisive speech, aggression, lying or slander. As an example, I am working on reducing my frustration with my Mum coming even as I speak. I know it requires vigilance on my part to do this and it may not come naturally but I am at least aware that I need to improve!
Maintaining motivation
Meditation and mindfulness are part of a lifestyle, not a one-off quick fix. So to maintain the benefits does require commitment but having seen those benefits begin to show in your life, you will want to continue.
As you should soon begin to see, with practice your wisdom becomes deeper and then the only way is up!
Further reading about Learning how to meditate
4 steps to using Mindfulness and Meditation as Medicine
Doesn’t Learning Meditation take a lifetime?
Life as a Monk or a Nun? No thanks!
Quick tips to perk up your Meditation
Achieve more calm in your day – Try my Nine Breaths for a Calmer Mind download
