Treasures Found on the Edge of the Road Part 2

With meditation you learn easily and naturally to reduce the usual or excessive tension. When meditating, one is often deeply relaxed, which is, in fact, an unequivocal signal that one meditates well. When that happens, the body can experience amazing changes that are achieved more effectively and quickly through meditation than through the relaxation that occurs when we lean on the chair and let our attention go.

For example, let it be shown that the amount of lactic acid in the blood (which increases rapidly when you have stress or anxiety) is reduced earlier with meditation than with sleep or ordinary relaxation. Many people are surprised that such simple mental exercises can have a significant and measurable physiological effect. Meditation also positively influences other physiological indicators of tension, such as heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen that is inspired. In addition, some stress-related disorders, especially high blood pressure or headaches caused by stress, can be alleviated, or even eliminated, by regular meditation.

These physiological effects would justify the practice of meditation on their own. The disorders related to tension are, by far, the most common diseases of our society. These conditions can become chronic or recurrent and often barely respond to the usual medical treatments.

When we practice with perseverance we not only relax extraordinarily during meditation, but also gradually change our reactions to the tense or stressful situations of everyday life. After a certain time we reacted with more tranquility, relaxation and probably with a more constructive attitude.

We all know that when we are exhausted or tense we have more propensity to contract contagious diseases than when we are relaxed. And if we get sick, the meditation and its subsequent relaxation make the natural recovery systems of the body work more effectively. If we are in a state of tension or stress we absorb energy, whereas if we use that energy to heal ourselves, we naturally accelerate the healing process.

One of the most difficult and important things that are learned practicing meditation with continuity is the ability to really listen, to be silent with our mind, and to hear how we probably do not do it since childhood. This type of listening can be directed both inwards and outwards. The practice of meditation implies a relaxation and a greater capacity for concentration, but learning to listen well requires an additional effort.

From experience, everyone is aware that often one does not really listen to what others are saying. During a conversation, while a person is speaking, the interlocutor usually ºº listens ºº, evaluates what is being said and formulates an answer, all simultaneously. We can not hear clearly because, at the same time we listen to the person speaking, we talk to ourselves and we tend to pay more attention to the voice we have inside our heads.

All too often the listener barely really hears the reasoning of the other person. It merely assumes that the speaker will say certain things, and his evaluation and response are based on that assumption, rather than on what he actually says. That may be enough for many casual dialogues, but deeper and more important conversations deserve to be heard better. This principle also applies to what we hear from within, from which we learn from ourselves and clarify our needs and feelings. Our plain of reflections needs to be heard, calm and attentive.

Few are really aware of what the body tells us. We do not always see warning signs, such as excessive tiredness, irritability, slight depression, decreased physical, psychological, and / or psychic energy, discomfort and pain, increased tension, etc. They are signals that occur before the dysfunction or interruption of a physical or mental process. Any change in our physical or emotional health is preceded by those notices, but we are often too distracted or too unconscious to notice them. We usually go through life so dazzled by the outside world that we only remember the inner world when it is seriously affected.

With meditation we learn to grasp these signals, we acquire practice to direct the subtle changes that occur to us, not only in the physical aspect, but also mentally, emotionally and energetically. As we get to know each other more, we start to relate different physical and emotional states, and to recognize how feelings affect us physically and mentally. Many people, when asked how they feel, respond to what they think, unable to give a clear answer to their feelings. When we meditate we become more conscious and sensitive about our feelings and body. We not only learn to relax, but also to recognize before when we need to free ourselves.

When we start practicing meditation, we first feel subtle physical, mental and emotional changes, and then we begin to perceive those energies in others. We become more aware of those states, whether they come from our physical body or our unconscious mind, or from the body and mind of our neighbor. We could say that sensitivity extends to areas of the mind that were previously unconscious.

One of the main functions of the exercises of meditation is to learn to calm the verbal and analytical part of the mind to perceive with more frequency and clarity the subtlest non-verbal signals. If we accept to improve the personal notices of stress and fatigue, we increase our sensitivity towards it and we know better our needs and those of others, we also develop a sense of what is correct ºº or ºº incorrect. ºº in situations that require a choice. The hunches and the intuitions become clearer and more accurate.