Meditation for Busy People

We do what we want to do. If you are having difficulty finding time to meditate, it isn’t yet a high enough priority for you. Remind yourself why meditation is so essential by recalling the times when it has transformed your life. Even a few minutes a day can have a tremendous impact. A married couple once told me that before they started meditating, their evenings were somewhat negative, because they were in the habit of coming home from work and complaining about their day. Now, with meditation, their evenings were radically different. Even their 5-minute pre-dinner meditations were enough to dramatically shift their energy, out of problem-consciousness, to a more positive and loving approach to life. They said their evenings were now a joy.

Yogananda said that the more we meditate, the more we’ll want to meditate. Often we just have to get ourselves started, and in a flow. If it is late at night, and your regular meditation routine seems like too much to do, select something from your practice you want to do, and say to yourself, “I’ll just do this.” Then do it! You’ll often find, however, that once you begin, you’ll want to do more. Our quality of life depends on the quality of our awareness, because our outer lives are a reflection of our consciousness. The more we realize this, the more we will make time for meditation.

Paramhansa Yogananda said that most people do everything only halfheartedly and use only one-tenth of their concentration. To be successful in anything in life, work or meditation, it is essential that we concentrate with our full attention, otherwise our efforts will be mechanical, diffused, and lack power.

One tip to be more productive in anything in life is to make it a point to put your full concentration on whatever you are doing. Don’t let anything distract you. A meditation practice will help you develop your concentration, therefore improving your overall work life balance.

Unhealthy levels of stress usually come from trying to control the uncontrollable. The “fight or flight” response biologically programs us to respond to challenge with some level of stress. But, not all stress is unhealthy, and in fact, some degree of pressure is vital to our well-being. Without it we become bored and look for stimulation. We watch TV and movies, or play games, sports and engage in activities that have no purpose other to excite the mind. Recent studies show that stimulation for the brain is almost as important to our well-being as food and water. In real life, however, we don’t have the same level of detachment as we do while being entertained. At work, or with our health, or finances, excessive change is threatening, and we experience stress. Chronic stress can cause serious health problems such as high blood pressure, elevated heart rate, and a weakening of the immune system. It even causes physical problems such as back pain.

To deal with stress successfully, we must learn relaxation and non-attachment. Physical relaxation helps release muscular tension. Physical tension, through mind-body feedback, also adds to our mental tension, and the most dangerous tension is in the mind. To relax the mind we need to develop attitudes of acceptance and contentment. Most important of all is that you get more in touch with your spiritual nature. This course will help you tune into your deeper essence, the joy and peace that lie within you. Daily meditation is the way to find these deeper states. Especially important is a practice of meditating every morning and evening. In the morning it prepares you to face the day from a state of inner calmness and joy. At night is helps you to release everything and offer all your attachments back into the divine light.