6 reasons why you should MEDITATE - #BelieveLife

Good morning, Believe Nation. In today's episode of Believe Life, we're going to be talking about the why and the how of meditation.

My concentration is better, my memory is better, I'm more comfortable in my seat, which I think is life's goal. Meditation has been a great help to me in so many ways. It basically is the core of my existence. That freedom that you get from meditation is the kind of consciousness you want to operate from. I want to be awake during the day, and I don't want the noise to separate me from whatever greatness is in here. I want to be able to operate from that space. Be awake while you work, and you want to have your head on straight, and meditation is the basis from which you can really attract things, but also when you're awake, something's there, you can just go get it. If you have noise in your head, you can't go get it. So you want to be awake. You want to be able to get what you imagine. Imagination is good for you. You imagine something, and you calmly go out and get it. You know, and meditation gives you that. You know, it's almost like magic, you know, when you are awake, things become easier. We want, from a practical standpoint, you know, you just want to be awake, you know, and you want to be able to operate from that state, awakened state, and meditation gives you that.

Over the last 50 years, many studies have been done that show the benefits of meditation, psychological and physiological. So you feel less threatened, you're less reactive, You are more rested, you sleep better, your blood pressure gets lower, your immune function gets a boost. In general, your health improves. Notwithstanding, there are thousands of studies on the health benefits of meditation. But because meditation takes you to a core consciousness, to your core consciousness, it also awakens dormant potentials in you. So you're more open to possibility. You're less a bundle of conditioned reflexes and nerves that's triggered by people and circumstance into very predictable outcomes of behavior and reactivity. You are more creative because you're more unpredictable, and you recognize the power of conscious choice-making and the power of intention.

I meditate every day, and it normally takes— I do it in the mornings, and I do it for about 10 to 15 minutes. And I think it's important because it just sets me up for the rest of the day. You know, it helps me. It's like having an anchor. You know, if I don't do it, I feel like I'm constantly chasing the day. As opposed to being able to be controlled and dictate the day. Not that you're calling the shots on what comes forward, but the fact that I am set and ready for whatever may come my way. You know, I have a calmness about whatever comes my way and a poise, and that comes from starting the morning off with meditation.

I'm a great supporter of Transcendental Meditation. I've been using it for almost 40 years now, and I think it is a great tool for anyone to have and to be able to utilize as a tool for stress. And stress, of course, comes with almost every business, but especially considering the stress that our men and women of the armed forces would go through the anxieties of going either in or coming from combat and stress syndromes of various types. I think it's a great tool. I think there's enough studies out there that show that Transcendental Meditation, or TM as we all call it, is is something that could benefit everybody.

I ran into this guy that I've run into many times on the beach, very, very pleasant man, who told me that he is a teacher in Transcendental Meditation. And I said, well, it's interesting you mention that, because I feel like I should do something, because I feel like, you know, I'm just overly worried and anxieties and all this stuff. And I feel like certain pressures that I've never felt before. And he says, oh, he says, Arnold, it's not uncommon. It's very common. A lot of people go through this. This is why people use meditation, Transcendental Meditation, as one way of dealing with the problem. And he was very good in selling it because he didn't say it's the only answer. He just says it's one of many. And he says, why don't you try it? He says, I'm a teacher there. Up in Westwood. I would not be able to teach you since we have a friend, we have friends and many years. There will be another teacher there that will give you a mantra and blah blah blah and teach you how to do it. And then I can help you after that, he says, because I will be teaching up there. So why don't you come up on Thursday and I will be there. I would introduce you to the folks up there. And so then I went up there, took a class, and I went home after that and then tried it. I said to myself, I got to give it a shot. And I did 20 minutes in the morning, 20 minutes at night. And I would say within 14 days, 3 weeks, I got to the point where I really could disconnect my mind. And as they say, to find this few seconds of disconnection and rejuvenate the mind and also learn how to focus more and to calm down. And I did that for— and I saw the effect right away. That I was much more calm about all of the challenges that were facing me.

Okay, so you sit quietly. If you're sitting on the floor, sit, you know, with either your legs crossed, but be comfortable. If you're sitting in the chair like I'm sitting, then sit with your feet grounded and your lap should be So your hands should be in your lap, okay? Back relatively erect, don't slouch, you're going to sleep otherwise, which you might be needing anyway. But in proper meditation, don't slouch, sit with back relatively erect, be comfortable, be relaxed, close your eyes, and for a minute or so, don't do anything. You'll see thoughts will start to come by themselves. Now as easily as those thoughts come, just think of the mantra. Don't force it. It's there. So there will be thoughts and there will be mantra at the same time. And as you start to think the mantra, even you can have the attitude that you're not reciting the mantra, you're remembering the mantra or you're listening to the mantra. Just an inner attitude. So you're not too focused on it. Because if you're too focused on anything, it's surface. It's mental. So now what happens? Thoughts are coming, mantra is coming, thoughts are coming, mantra is coming. Everything starts to get a little uncertain. You're getting there just by the fact that things are getting uncertain. Thoughts are random, mantra is random. There's a proliferation of uncertainty, thoughts become vague, but also mantra becomes vague. And if we do it long enough, 20-30 minutes, then there are periods where mantra and thought cancel themselves each out, okay? Which means there is no mantra and there is no thought. And when there is no mantra and there is No thought, that's called pure consciousness. That's the field of infinite possibilities. That's the field of pure potentiality. That's the field of intention orchestrating its own fulfillment. That's the field of pure creativity. That's the field of observer effect. Everything that we discussed that morning, that's right in that gap.

Okay?

But you cannot get into the gap by wanting to get into the gap or thinking, "I must get into the gap," because wanting to get into the gap is also a thought. Also, you cannot get rid of your thoughts by saying, "I have to get rid of my thoughts," because that's a thought. Okay? It's a very simple mechanical understanding that you don't force anything. Thoughts, mantra, thoughts, mantra, there you go. Okay, there'll be little dips. And how will you know there are little dips? You won't know where you are. Okay, you will have no sensation, you will experience no sound, and you will have no thought. Because sensation, sound, all this is thought. Okay? Everything is thought. So when you have, you experience nothing. You're non-local. You have, you don't know where you are. You have no location. But as you start to experience this, and we're going to go a little deeper in this, it will not be a nothingness. It will be a wakefulness. And you know, we'll talk about higher states of consciousness. It'll be so wakeful that you will experience it in waking, in dreaming, in sleeping. It'll never leave you.

Here it is in summary. Sit comfortably, have an attitude of surrender, observe your breath. Inflow as 'I,' outflow as 'Am.' When sounds, sensations, thoughts, or emotions come to your awareness, Shift your attention back to the 'I am' and then let God take over, let the universe take over. And whatever happens is what is supposed to happen. If you fall asleep, that was supposed to happen. If you have too many thoughts, that's great. You were releasing stress. If you have lots of emotion and emotions coming up again, you release stress. If you have sensations in your body, you feel restless. Great, you've got an opportunity to release it and you have had the benefits of meditation. And if you once in a while go beyond all of that, you go beyond the sounds, the sensations, the thoughts, the emotions, the 'I am,' the breath, and enter the domain of pure spirit, then you've arrived where you started from.

If you want to learn more about meditation, here are 5 valuable videos that will help you take action. Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because Jose Cruz asked me to, so if there's a topic you want me to cover in the next episode of Believe Life, leave it in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know which of the points points that we discussed meant the most to you, has the most meaning and most impact to you, leave it in the comments and I will join in the discussion. Thank you guys so much for watching. Have an amazing day. Continue to believe, and I'll see you soon.