“Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation… tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. His anxiety subsides His inhuman void spreads monstrously like a gray vegetation.” -Jean Arp
If the above quotation doesn’t resonate with you, then I suspect you’re one of the lucky ones who have escaped the spiraling madness of most modern lives. For the rest of us the “monstrously gray vegetation” is what we see outside the window of our offices and passing us as we drive down the roads of our modern landscape and its noise fills our ears.
If like me, you’re not okay with this ever encroaching bedlam, this sonic infection that’s attacking the flesh of our lives. I invite you to consider the practice of meditation.
Meditation is rocket fuel for lifestyle design.
Lifestyle design and meditation is a match made in heaven. Lifestyle design focuses on shaping your own path in life, rejecting the road more traveled and making conscious decisions about the life you choose to lead. Meditation teaches us to focus inward and become more in tune with our bodies and minds.
Lifestyle design looks inward at the life we’re living and helps us break outdated assumptions so that we’re able to get from our lives what we are most passionate about.
Meditation does exactly the same but looking at our inner lives. Internally, the biggest outdated assumption we have is that we’re our thoughts.
Our thoughts tend to run on auto pilot and we make decisions based on what we’ve experienced before and what we want to experience in the future. The problem with this is we end up trapped in repeating “safe” patterns. We avoid the tough decision and continue merrily on the path to mediocrity.
Meditation tunes out our chattering ever-thinking internal voice, that voice that keeps telling us what we can’t do. The one that has an opinion on everything. Meditation allows us to pause, reboot and return to our lives free of the baggage of the past or fear of the future.
We often find external factors influencing our behavior and moods. Meditation can become the route to our deep inner self that breaks us free from our patterns of reaction to everyday life. When we meditate we tune in on our body.
Meditation clears our mind and puts us in touch with our feelings. Meditation increases our self-awareness and puts us in touch with our goals and the burning “Yes” within each of us, which has the power to subdue the negatives we face each day.
Ultimately, meditation is what clears our mental workbench and reminds us why we chose the path of lifestyle design and personal development in the first place. When we’re able to tap into that power often, we become very formidable foes of the monstrous gray vegetation.
“You can hear the footsteps of God when silence reigns in the mind.” -Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Meditation brings silence to our minds.
I’ve been practicing meditation for three years now, and I’m often surprised by how many people who have an interest in meditation are scared by the mysticism modern culture attributes to it. It was much the same for me when I began my study of meditation.
Meditation as you’re told over and over again, is the path to spiritual enlightenment, astral projection even conversing with deities; or at least that’s what Hollywood would have you believe. Mystical music and chanting fills the air as thin wisps of smoke from burning incense waft round, in a dimly lit room and a wise old man sits still in flowing robes contemplating the universe.
Wow! No wonder we poor average Joe’s and Jane’s steer well clear of this kind of thing. All that spiritual stuff is best left to the experts.
All of these wizened old masters of meditation started many years ago with the simple exercise of learning the discipline to quiet their minds. All we do when we meditate is stop thinking. We focus inward and allow our bodies to guide our thoughts rather than letting our thoughts guide our bodies.
You’ve probably been in states of meditation before without even noticing it. Moments at work where you are so focused on your task your thoughts fled your mind, as you become completely present in the moment. Moments with your loved one where your thoughts receded and you experienced only your shared love. Anytime in your life you let go of thoughts was time spent in meditation.
“Silence is as deep as eternity; speech, shallow as time.” -Thomas Carlyle
The many benefits of meditation:
- Meditation helps the body regulate its breathing.
- Meditation reduces anxiety attacks as it lowers the levels of blood lactate.
- Meditation makes you more aware of your body and well being.
- Meditation builds self-confidence.
- Meditation gives your conscious mind a rest.
- Meditation increases serotonin which influences moods and behavior. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, headaches and insomnia.
- Meditation enhances energy, strength and vigor.
- Meditation increases your mind’s capacity for creativity and problem solving.
- Meditation helps keep blood pressure normal.
- Meditation reduces stress and tension.
- Meditation creates a state of deep relaxation and general feeling of well being.
- Meditation helps with P.M.T.
- Meditation increases concentration and strengthens the mind.
- Meditation helps to reduce heart disease.
- Meditation helps with weight loss.
”We must have reasons for speech but we need none for silence”. -Proverb
Let us know what your experience with meditation has been below. Have you used meditation to fuel your lifestyle design and personal development? Do you have any other tips you’d like to share?
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G'day! I'm Gordie, founder and editor-in-chief of Lifestyle Design For You. I want to welcome you to the center of the universe when it comes to lifestyle design and personal development blogs. We're a team of ten writers providing you with articles to help nourish your mind and improve your life. Lifestyle design is about designing your life so you can do what you want when you want. 
{ 43 comments… read them below or add one }
One of the things I want to do this year is making the habit of meditating every day. I’m starting with 10 minutes now, just to get things started.
Oscar – freestyle mind´s last blog ..The Law of Attraction
Hi Oscar,
The same goes for me. I think it has so many benefits, that I’d be a mug not to do it.
If I have any advice for anyone wanting to start, I’d simply say, just start. Don’t wait till next week or next month. There are tons of great places to get you started on the internet. Or even just contact me via my site and I’ll point you in the right direction. Regardless of how you start just remember meditation is the most natural state for your body, you’re not learning anything, you’re just unlearning a lot of unnatural behaviours which are putting stress on your body and mind.
Ten minutes is actually a great place too start, I am typically very analytical and found it very hard to get started with meditation, my mind just seemed to be stuck in gear. I actually ended up starting with 5 minutes, and just trying to clear my mind as I tried to sleep. Luckily much like a muscle the more you exercise it the easier it becomes and the more benefits you will get.
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
Fantastic! To me, meditation is all about building mindfulness towards what is happening in front of me each moment. So even when I am not sitting on the cushion, I can apply that mindful awareness to other activities I am doing throughout the day. It really is the “rocket fuel for lifestyle design” – become it makes us more conscious beings – and that awareness allows us to see opportunity where most people may be blind to it. Great post!
Steven | The Emotion Machine´s last blog ..Everyone Needs A Creative Endeavor
Hi Steven,
I think if we can all awaken our mind through meditation and get the health benefits of it too, that’s cool. I think the reason more people don’t do it is because they’re confused about how to do it. Like Michael said in the article, it’s been portrayed in Hollywood in a way that makes it look to freaky for many people.
I love that word, mindfulness, when we clear our minds of thoughts there is so much more space for everything else we want in our lives. The modern lie that is multi tasking is as too much to blame as anything. Meditation can happen all day long if you are able to achieve and keep that state of “mindful awareness”
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
As a Christian I regard Prayer as an effective and integral part of my life. While I do not practice meditation, I often find a lot of similarities in the points mentioned in prayer.
Robert Bravery´s last blog ..The Ultimate Checklist for an Awesome Killer Blog Post
Hi Robert,
I remember seeing somewhere where prayer and meditation offer the same benefits.
Prayer and meditation are very similar in the effect it has on one’s body. I read a great quote the other day which I connected with strongly “Prayer is when you talk to God; meditation is when you listen to God.” ~Author Unknown
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
Wow, what an enlightening post Michael.
You have hit so many thought provoking points. I have never really practiced any meditation but your list of benefits says that everyone should give it a try. I am currently one week into a new diet designed to cleanse my body of those processed foods and chemicals I had been consuming. This would be an ideal time to cleanse the mind as well.
Lifestyle design, as you know, is really about reconditioning our way of thinking and making a real change.
Enjoyed the read.
Jimi Jones´s last blog ..Purging My Clutter – Can you help me with my Email?
Thanks Jimi,
Ultimately my firm belief is that meditation is all about taking back the peace that should naturally be in our minds. Everyone should be practicing meditation in one form or another. Whether it is during the 2 hours spent writing a blog post when the world ceases to exist and words are poured onto the page or if it’s sitting in a room enjoying the silence. Any moment where we can break free from thought is time spent in meditation. These meditation exercises merely give us a starting point to start training ourselves to more easily clear our minds.
Good luck with the diet, if you want anymore information feel free to contact me via my site I’d love to hear about your experience starting with meditation.
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
Hey Jimi,
I hope you’re coping with the detox diet okay. They can be pretty hard going. Next you can try some meditation too.
I’ve just been saying on Henri’s blog The Wake Up Cloud that I wanted to get back in to meditation after trying it out but not developing the habit a few years back.
I do a lot of martial arts and we do a lot of things to do with clearing your mind in class so I see the habit of meditating that I want to develop as an extension of that
Ben Lumley´s last blog ..The Keys to Unlocking Success: Part 1 – Focus
I studied a bit of Karate when I was much younger. This was my first experience of meditation. Since I’ve started mediation I’ve actually started missing that feeling of peace in action, so I am actually taking my first Wing Tsun class in 14 hours or so, and I’m really psyched.
I agree fully the one is an extension of the other. If my blog posting becomes erratic in 15 hours time I probably got murdered in class.
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
Hi Ben,
Meditation out of the martial arts class would be great too. Even just at home if you have ten minutes spare, you can sit calmly on the floor and practice meditation.
Ever since I was a teenager I have tried to meditate but just have not managed it.I looked at transcendental meditation, spent a week in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery (in Scotland) been given a mantra by a Hindu monk … the list goes on. For some reason I cannot do it.
Having a stressful 10 hour day job, running my blog and keeping a family and social life together – maybe I shall give it another go.
Kevin Tea´s last blog ..Google’s GDrive Launched, er, But It’s Not GDrive!
You’re not the only one, I struggled a lot at the beginning. I’m actually working on a product to help us poor folk afflicted with chattery minds. I’m a bit behind with it but I’ll look you up when I start testing, it if you’re interested.
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
I for one am looking forward to that product, Michael. It will be the first meditation product I buy.
Good stuff. In my experience I”ve struggled with meditation. But, for me the ocean and my connection to it has been the ultimate meditation. It’ s made me present, healthier, happier, and wiser.
Srinivas Rao´s last blog ..Interviews with up and coming bloggers: Jared@Under30 CEO
lol indeed sometimes the presence finds you instead of the other way round
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
Hi Srinivas,
I was thinking that surfing for you may indeed be a kind of meditation. You’re out there with nature stripped down to your bathing suit and you’re not thinking about other things.
Awesome post Michael, I’m a big believer in happy mind happy body. I also live my life by the law of attraction.
Meditation can be done anywhere at any time and really does make a difference.
Fantastic
TheInfoPreneur´s last blog ..Don’t Be Afraid To Change Your Plan
Thanks a lot James,
Yeah the idea that body and mind are seperate is a neat idea that the medical fraternity want us to believe, that way they can flog a doctor on us for every body part. Treat one and not the other and our results are never permanent.
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
More doctors should be trained in healing and helping the mind. Mind you that may bankrupt the pharmaceutical industry.
Hi Michael.
There are so many benefits listed there. It’s like as long as a list of the amount of benefits of eating dark green vegetables like spinach and cilantro. I sure like dark green vegetables sometimes.
A lot of those benefits you listed sure are ones that promote health. Improving self-confidence leads to more opportunities being seized, so it is interesting that being calm by oneself can lead to some real victories.
Good point about giving the mind a rest. Sometimes we think we do this, but usually we barely do this for a second, when a few minutes would make more of a difference.
We sure don’t need a reason for silence, which is nifty.
Armen Shirvanian´s last blog ..An Interview With Chris Guillebeau
Spinach good – Cilantro bad. You will have no idea how little your mind rests until you try and rest it… It’s so used to being “on” all the time it you’ll involuntarily start thinking, then thinking about thinking, then thinking about stopping thinking about thinking oh no now I’ve gone cross-eyed.
Thanks for the entertaining comment Armen
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
I remember when the Beatles were talking about starting meditation. Paul McCartney was saying that he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering at first. Especially, with their busy schedule. I think you’re right when you say that the mind is always on when we’re awake.
Hi Michael,
Where I live in Mexico, there are still places where modernity is far away. I don’t practice meditation, but I do like to go to these places frequently, and spend some time in silence and enjoying the nature. That really helps me to slow down from the fast life I have.
Isaac – Life is simpler´s last blog ..Steps to financial freedom – First steps
Living in a bustling city is really draining. Being from South Africa we have a lot of nature as well, and I only recently started enjoying it. I make a point of just going for a long drive and enjoying nature at least once a month. This is probably one of the most energizing meditations I undertake.
Michael @ Monetize your Life´s last blog ..Goal and Objective tracking in Evernote Pt. 2 – Capture
I’ve been far away from nature for 8 years. When I move back to New Zealand this year, I’m going to go for a walk in the hills around the city I’ll live in. It’s green and peaceful while still convenient to get there.
I like to go jogging or take the bike to the mountain. I do some exercise and when I find a nice place I like to stop, sit down and stay there for a while. I try to do that every weekend.
Isaac – Life is simpler´s last blog ..Steps to financial freedom – First steps
Sounds like a plan. I will do the same in the warmer months.
I’ve said before that I have to try meditation but my mind is always running at a 1000 miles an hour. It’s like I’m doing something and my mind races off on a tangent.
I reckon it would be great to just sit quietly and think about nothing but I’m not sure I can do it.
Sire´s last blog ..The Honest Truth About Blogging For Money
I think it would possibly take at least a month for meditation newbies to be able to calm their minds enough to do it properly. So, we’d better get cracking.
I don’t know, I think I need someone standing over me saying, Have you emptied your mind yet?
Sire´s last blog ..The Honest Truth About Blogging For Money
That would be interesting.
I’m happy to announce that I just did my first meditation after reading this post and am now going to share my experience with you.
It was great. I was happy and relaxed and my mind actually wondered to when I was younger living out in the country where I spent my entire life growing up.
I saw things I used to do and just experience joy.
Not sure if this is what’s suppose to happen but it’s what happened for me and I’m more free in my mind now.
Eric´s last blog ..The Way I Blog With Ease
Hey Eric,
Look for it next week.
I have specifically asked Michael to write a how to meditate post for newbies next. It should be a big help to guys like us who have no idea.
Great article Michael – I’m fortunate to have the benefit of meditation in my life for quite a while now.
You touched on a lot of great points in the article, but I just wanted to say – I personally believe it should be the starting point for anyone who really wants to make a change.
Meditation opens up the door to using your mind in a different way. With a good meditation practice you will be able to get beyond reflexive and habitual thinking which may not have worked for you in the past.
Many also believe in the spiritual benefits of this practice.
Thanks again, dig the blog
Lloyd´s last blog ..Metta meditation
Does sleeping count as meditation?
No, not really, sleep is a natural necessity, without it our brain then our body will fail. Meditation is an act of free will. The reason meditation is so powerful and empowering, is that it teaches us to start harnessing the power already within our mind.
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