"So, Is Mindful Meditation Really Good for You?"

Meditation has been around probably for at least 5 millennia and, nowadays, it is said to be practised by millions if not billions of people around the the globe's 4 corners. Why's that? I can only respond to this question through my own experience, of course... and for you to get an idea I'm going to tell you a bit of my story:

Although I was, nearly always, putting a smile on my face - perhaps to disguise my inner conflicts(?) - and trying to get on with my life the best I could, I was neither happy and in peace nor at ease in my own skin... Professionally when at work - I worked greeting people in a large and crowded London art gallery and also as an art psychotherapist - I did my job the best I could and enjoyed it very much. However, during those muddy, clouded and difficult days when I used to wake up feeling isolated, miserable and mentally unwell, the last thing I wanted to do was to get off my bed. Sometimes, to go to work and smile as if nothing was going on inside my head was a huge and difficult task. Loads of times, I couldn't even pick up the phone to call in sick as I had no energy... I felt so shuttered inside my own negative and dark bubble which seemed to be on the cusp of exploding and throwing me away from this world. I was given the "happy" drugs to "control" my anxiety and depression. I saw many professionals in the field. I did everything I was told to do in order to help myself: to exercise, eat healthy food, walk... I had some relief out of my own misery making art and seeing a psychotherapist, which did help an awful lot. However, it still seemed not to be enough though.

Until I started (by curiosity or whatever - I don't quite know why, really) getting to know meditation by reading and researching it, talking to people who had some experience on it, going to meditation events. I then started to practise it every now and again. I did not know whether I was doing it rightly or wrongly, I just did it - perhaps this is a good thing about meditation - it is like doing art: there is no right or wrong, just do it without letting the negative judgemental self get in the way. I started feeling much better, slowly, day by day and before I knew it I was not taking the "happy pills" any longer... no need for outside influences to boost my mood any more. The happiness was inside myself. I came to realise that, the balance, the more comfortable and that at ease feeling I was so much looking for was not out there but was right here, inside myself!

So, my life has changed significantly for the better ever since I began meditating on a daily basis and here's the benefits which I have noticed so far:

• My negative thoughts are not that powerful and relevant any longer.

• The feeling of well-being is much greater.

• My senses are much more present.

• That negative 'judgemental me' is realising that I am not its enemy and have not much time for it either so I treat it with love & kindness.

• I have much more energy and feel that I am part of this world, I mean, this beautiful world.

• I listen to and respect my body and treat it as a beautiful & cosy home.

• I cope with my frustrations in a more balanced and compassionate manner.

• I see myself and others from a non-judgemental and positive angle - with compassion.

• I give a chance to myself and others to express their feelings and emotions.

• I watch my feelings and emotions and I respect and treat them with compassion.

• I naturally avoid getting wrapped up in negative brain waves.

• I listen to others in a more compassionate manner.

• I am much kinder to what I and others feel.

• I wish myself and others well.

• I thank myself and others for their achievements and have joy in doing so.

• I feel the joy of looking at a flower.

• I feel the joy in seeing someone giving me a simple smile.

• I feel the joy of looking at a bird singing, at the moon, at the stars, at the sky, at the rivers and sea, at hugging a friend that moment I am hugging him or her.

• I see "thoughts" as thoughts only, not as truth.

• I feel life as it is in the present moment, as it is happening in the here & now.

• I smile more often and naturally without pretending that I am doing it.

• I see myself, others, animals & things, everything and anything as part of Oneness.

This is what mindful meditation has brought into my life: the joy of living here and now in a non-judgemental fashion.

* What others say about their mindful meditation experience:

"In meditation, I can let go of everything. I’m not Hugh Jackman. I’m not a dad. I’m not a husband. I’m just dipping into that powerful source that creates everything. I take a little bath in it."

Kristen Bell told Shape Magazine, "Do meditative yoga for 10 minutes every morning. When you have a problem - whether it's road rage, your guy, or work - meditation allows everything to unfold the way it's supposed to."

Sir Paul McCartney said, "In moments of madness, meditation has helped me find moments of serenity - and I would like to think that it would help provide young people a quiet haven in a not-so-quiet world. It was a great gift that Maharishi gave us."

"Now that I’m in a ’meditation cycle,’ it feels good… Let’s listen to silence. The more you understand silence, that’s where the balance comes." Rick Rubin.

Oprah Winfrey told Dr. Oz that encouraging everyone at her office to meditate has benefited her company immensely. "People who used to have migraines, don’t. People are sleeping better. People have better relationships. People interact with other people better. It’s been fantastic," she said.

In 2014, Jane Fonda told Express her secrets to aging gracefully. "I meditate... and I also have a very strong social network," she said

Director Martin Scorsese told the David Lynch Foundation, "For the last few years, I’ve been practicing meditation. It’s difficult to describe the effect it has had on my life. I can only mention maybe a few words: calm, clarity, a balance, and at times - a recognition. It’s made a difference.”

"The energy that I’ve found doing meditation... I could access it only during good days when everything was going well. With meditation I find that it could well be pouring down rain, it is still the same amount." John Lennon ('Frost Programme').

Apple founder Steve Jobs discussed meditation in his biography saying, "If you just sit and observe, you will see how restless your mind is. If you try to calm it, it only makes it worse, but over time it does calm, and when it does, there's room to hear more subtle things - that's when your intuition starts to blossom and you start to see things more clearly and be in the present more. Your mind just slows down, and you see a tremendous expanse in the moment. You see so much more than you could see before. It's a discipline; you have to practice it."

Paula Abdul told Star Magazine, "I incorporate meditation before or after I work out. Even if it’s just sitting quietly with my eyes closed and listening to the beat of my own heart, it reenergizes me."

"[Meditation] has made it possible for me to weather certain challenges and storms and public moments that I didn’t ever imagine would be in my life. It gathers me up for the day and makes me feel organized and happy and capable of facing the challenges of the world, both internal and external.” Lena Dunham.

George Harrison described the effects of mediate to the Frost Programme. "You don’t feel like you have more knowledge or anything. You might, but it doesn’t feel that way exactly. You just feel more energetic. You just come out of it and it’s been refreshing."

Blue Velvet director David Lynch says he " became interested in meditation because I heard a phrase, 'True happiness is not out there. True happiness lies within.' And this phrase had a ring of truth to me, but the phrase doesn’t tell you where the within is, nor how to get there. One day it hit me that meditation would be the way to go within."

David Lynch (film director) - "Things like traumatic stress and anxiety and tension and sorrow and depression and hate and bitter, selfish anger and fear start to lift away. And that’s a huge sense of freedom when that heavy weight of negativity begins to lift. So it’s like gold flowing in from within and garbage going out. The things in life that used to almost kill you, stress you, depress you, make you sad, make you afraid — they have less and less power. ...You’re starting to glow with this from within"

*Quotes extracted from: www.ranker.com and www.retreats-tuscany.com