Benefits of meditation in my daily life

Benefits of meditation in my daily life

January 13, 2010 | 9,025 views | Articles | 11 comments


Author

Author: Tapani Jalonen
Tapani Jalonen is a designer/developer in a web development team in a small coastal town of Pargas, spending all his spare time on writing lyrics or putting together new backgrounds for the nujazz/hiphop group Katyayani that he and his wife share. He has lived in way too many places, including but not limited to Houston, Accra, Amsterdam, Hilversum, Visby, Helsinki, Turku and Borgå. He found Sahaja Yoga in the fall of 2000. You can follow him on Twitter



Benefits I get from meditation are a healthy distance to stressful things and trust in forces that shape our everyday life. It can be very demanding from time to time. It’s important to have ways and means to cope with that.

I work in a small company where most employees have several roles in parallel. My roles are in software design and development as well as customer relations. Schedules are hectic from time to time, yet I need to have a level of creativity and dynamism to make it all happen.

Then there is the family life. Supporting my wife and two young daughters, organizing daycare and school-related things, the pressure of loans on the house, student loans, car payments, bills.. all that and more in these financially challenging times.

All that translates to a lot of mental activity, trying to hold together all the pieces in the puzzle. It’s easy to get into a stressful and easily irritated mood thinking about the pressures of work and family life. There is also a risk of losing focus of all the good things: great people to work with, the love I get from my wife, watching my kids grow..

Meditation helps me to just witness the stressful things. It really helps to see them from a distance. I often compare a state of meditation to standing on a train station: trains (of thought) are constantly passing by, however it is you who should have the power to decide which one to board.

There is a special clause that is found in most business contracts. It is called a Force Majeure, or in legal terms an “act of God”. It basically means an extraordinary event (such as an earthquake, flooding or a volcanic eruption) prevents one or both parties from fulfilling their obligations to the contract. In a similar way I understand that my life contains things and events beyond my control. What lawyers seem to forget is that it can also work the other way around, for the better.

I don’t need to develop an ulcer trying to fight the powers of the cosmos, if I can let it work things out instead. Trust is required to live life that way. Developing that trust has been an important part of meditation, because this is what I live and breathe every day.

I need planning and action just as much as I need the desire for things to happen, but I don’t need to be a slave of those things. Meditation helps me to master those skills. And that translates to everything in my daily life.


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  • axinia
    Jan 13, 2010
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    Tapani, thanks for this great article. A really interesting insight into your life and philosphy.
    Could you please give some detalis HOW EXACTLY meditation helps you…I mean why do you think that it is the meditation that is helpful here, and not anything else.
    thanks :)

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  • NILESH
    Jan 13, 2010
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    Wow !! this is great article. Simple and deep words. Thanks for such a good article brother.

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  • Tapani
    Jan 22, 2010
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    good question axinia,

    Sorry for the delay in my reply.

    I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s ONLY meditation that helps. Obviously it’s important to take care of yourself in various ways:

    - make sure you get your vitamins and minerals. Omega-3 is important.
    - get fibers into your system. Carrots are good. If you have access to some proper Rye Bread, that’s very good way to get your bowels working.
    - Try some Oatmeal in the morning.
    - get regular exercise in various ways. An hour twice a week or something like that is fine. Swim, play soccer, go rolleskating, skiing, play badminton, for a walk, prefer stairs over elevators and bicycles over cars where possible.
    - watch a good movie, spend time with your friends and family, remember to have hopes and dreams, carry out the things you enjoy in life every now and then.. those things are important.

    I am absolutely, most definitely not denying the importance of the above things and more. What I’m saying is that meditation *enhances* them.

    The way I can tell meditation is doing that for me, is that I’m able to tell the difference.

    For example, I’ve had a stressful day and meditate in the evening, applying different meditation techniques to relieve my brain from the intellectual hyperdrive caused by the day’s hassle. I am able to go to sleep without rolling in my bed for a few hours.

    If I compare that with going to bed WITHOUT meditating in the evening, there is a clear difference. All kinds of planning and organizing in my head just won’t quiet down in the same way. I’ve tried it of course: playing nintendo Wii until my eyes are bloodshot red, just to get my mind off the hectic day. Not that much success. And honestly, rye bread doesn’t get me to sleep either.

    People take brandy, or green tea, or read a book, or sleeping pills to get to sleep after a long day. For me, meditation’s a better way. It doesn’t cost anything, and is highly addictive :)

    Reply

    Lynn Naibert
    September 10th, 2010

    I’m 74 years old and just discovered serious meditation which I combine with daily prayer. I really enjoyed your article which I have sent to my 40 year-old son whose daily life seems to parallel yours…and mine to a certain extent, even in retirement (with different challenges).

    Many thanks….my son may “tweet” you.

    Lynn

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  • Tapani
    Jan 22, 2010
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    Thanks Nilesh. If it inspires you, then my mission is fulfilled :)

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  • pooyan
    Jan 23, 2010
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    I enjoyed the “Train” example much more than any part, thanks ;)

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  • axinia
    Jan 25, 2010
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    Thanks, Tapani, love your answer!

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  • Lila
    Feb 3, 2010
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    Great article Tapani! Thanks for sharing you experiences!

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  • Julia
    Feb 3, 2010
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    Wow, Tapani, i’m completely impressed! :)
    it’s beatifull…
    passing trains, dreams – suppeeerb

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  • radha
    Feb 17, 2010
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    thats the key~ thanks, awesome ~~~~~~

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  • Christena
    Dec 7, 2010
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    Hi,I just run across your Blog and I wanna say THANX for the FREE info on Meditation and the Music as well.You are really a Blessing! ~PEACE~

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