I have tried meditation at various times throughout my life. Good friends of mine have been telling me about it for years. Only since May of 2009 have I made meditation a part of my daily spiritual routine.

My workout is my meditation. ~ Kyle MacLachlan

I am glad I finally listened to all those wise folks. The way I perceive and react to the world has undergone a real shift. I deal with adversity, or at least the appearance of it, much better than I used to. By no means am I some sort of guru or spiritual giant. I’m just a guy who meditates.

What is meditation?

Meditation is “used as a broad term for practices done by a sole practitioner without much, if any, external aid, often for the purpose of self-transformation. Often, though not at all necessarily, meditation is done as part of a religious tradition.” [source]

I am not into organized religion at all. In fact any temple, church or mosque I walk into is pretty sure to instantly either crumble to dust, explode into a million splinters or burst into flames. So it’s best I stay away and make my practice a personal affair. It’s better for everyone that way.

You don’t have to be religious or even spiritual at all to obtain benefits from meditation. It’s great for stress relief and helps with a variety conditions. Some of them are:

• chronic pain
• anxiety and panic
• sleep disturbance & insomnia
• gastrointestinal distress
• fatigue
• headaches
• job or family stress
• skin disorders
• high blood pressure
• stress factors in heart disease

[source]

When I had shingles this summer, rather than take any of the super-strong painkillers prescribed by the doctors, I used meditation for pain relief. It worked like a hot damn.

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