Meditation: The Balance of Life Essay -- Religion, Buddhism, Hinduism,

All throughout history Buddhist monks and the eastern religion have been performing meditation, but recently anyone has been trying it. Meditation is a practice that someone may train their mind to be in a state of consciousness that benefits their mind and body. Meditation is about paying attention, focusing and being very calm. It sharpens creativity and performance while enhancing relationships. Meditators find when they stop taking things in life so seriously, the self drops away. They are more direct and absorb life easier. (Ellison 3) Meditation has been around for thousands of years. In every religion, the instructions for meditating are the same, only the words differ. There are two major types of meditation that may benefit the user. By meditating the human mind may find peace and enhancement of mental activity and awareness. It's very simple to do, and only takes a small amount of your time a day. (Roach 3) Meditation originated in the eastern religion with Buddhism and Hinduism. Monks have meditated their whole life, through time, helping them become better people. Tibetans and the Dalai Lama have been performing meditation intensely for centuries. These Buddhist followers train using the Tibetan Nyingmapa and Kagyupa traditions for about 10,000 to 50,000 hours over 15-40 years. At one time meditation was part of the basic training for the entire Mozambique military. (Kaufman 2)(Roach 2) Thinking and other mental activity produce short bursts of electrical activity in the brain called gamma waves. In studies monks, who have been training the longest, have higher levels of gamma waves. Gamma waves are some of the highest-frequency brain impulses; they are also the most important electrical brain impulses. G... ... and let your mind be vigilant. If you hear distractions or have thoughts, let them go. Be happy you noticed them; don't feel as if they interrupted your meditation. Continue doing this daily for 10-20 minutes and notice the effects it may have on you. Continue this practice until it gets easier and use whenever needed. Scientific data shows it has its benefits, as I listed most. Most doctor visits are from stress, so by meditating once or twice daily the visits to the doctor will be less. I actually am thinking about trying it out myself. If the benefits sounded as great to you, as they did to me, I hope you'll try it yourself. Meditation can help balance out your life, why not try it? It's fairly simple and fast. In the future, I predict meditation will be a major part of any person’s life to help deal with everyday frustrations a little easier. (Roach 3)