The Meditation Effect

Photography by Sara Therese Moore
Sara Therese Photography

The Chopra Center philosophy is that “we don’t judge our meditations, but we look at the impact meditation has on the other 23 hours of the day.”
 
I had one of those days that I am sure you have had where you have a zillion things on your To Do list.  Every time you scratch one off, you remember three more things to do and your list grows longer.  I noticed during my morning meditation practice that I was having lots of thoughts and I was getting antsy.  I finished the meditation and didn’t judge it and went about my day. 
 
Prior to developing a daily meditation routine, on a crazy day like this, I would have been a wreck by 10:00 AM. I would have been racing from one thing to the next getting more frantic by the minute.  But, on this day, I noticed what I call the “Meditation Effect” and that I was not reacting to the pressure of too many things that needed to get done, but moving from one activity to the next with more presence and peace.  When I would become aware that I was getting anxious, I would take a deep breath and come back to the present moment and I would consciously move slower and focus on the task with my full attention.  I took a few minutes between tasks to be appreciative for the accomplishment and get centered for the next task.  At the end of the day, I had accomplished a lot, but I was not the raving lunatic that I used to be after a harried day.
 
It is easy to judge a meditation as good or bad, but that is not the point, nor what you should do.  As Deepak Chopra says, “the only bad meditation is the one you don’t show up for.”  The purpose is to show up daily for the meditation practice and you will see the benefits in how you react to the challenges in life during the rest of your day.  After practicing meditation daily, I am a calmer, more reflective and patient person.
 
Do you have a daily meditation practice?

• If the answer is No, how can you start to carve a few minutes each day to go silent?

• If the answer is Yes, what are the positive impacts that meditation has had on your life?