Meditation in Real Life

By Diana Lang

As we move into the new millennium, we are hearing more and more about meditation. It’s everywhere. Goldie Hawn meditates. Sting meditates. Oprah is talking about it on her show. Richard Gere studies with the Dalai Lama. Our almost-president Al Gore meditates. Even the Beatles meditated!

In America, more than ten million adults have a daily meditation practice, and those are just the ones that participated in the poll. Many more of us are quietly meditating in our homes and offices.

Furthermore, scientific studies are showing, through medical tests of yogis and other mystics, what has been long been known: meditation really works. It strengthens the immune system, lessens the effects of depression, lowers blood pressure, just to name a few benefits. Meditating even improves the way we age.

Meditation is being used in every kind of setting, from hospitals to prisons. It is being used to help alleviate the effects of stress and chronic pain. Schools are using meditation to assist children with hyperactivity and keep them off drugs. Meditation is sweeping the Western world!

So what is meditation?

Most of us imagine someone sitting cross-legged on a mountaintop in India, but for most it is a simple daily practice, done at home sitting on the couch, or at the office on lunch break. We do it to keep our balance, to find our center—even when things are difficult—especially when things are difficult.

Life can be so overwhelming. We can get distracted and confused by the sheer volume of life. We are bombarded with information and stimulation. There’s so much to do. We are trying so hard to make money, raise kids, be a good person; we get over-stimulated, over-amped and finally overwhelmed.

We are desperately looking for meaning and simplicity. We are looking for a way to get back to ourselves—to that part of us that is sacred—and it’s been right there all along.

Meditation helps us make this journey. It’s simple to do and as normal as breathing. When we meditate we begin to feel calm, sure, and guided in every moment.

Life doesn’t have to be hard. Life is a grand adventure, a kind of school, but not necessarily of hard knocks. Our inner guidance constantly is telling us what our next step is. All we have to do is listen to it.

So don’t be surprised if you find out your accountant meditates, or your next door neighbor. Wouldn’t you love to know that the nurse that is caring for you meditates, or your lawyer does? The more conscious we are, the better the world will become. Where there’s consciousness, there’s compassion—there’s love. Meditation is a return to love. It is a return to your deepest inner knowing, the place within yourself you have always been seeking.

Meditation will take you home. It creates a path to real peace and happiness. The place to start is exactly where you are, and the time is now.

Diana Lang is author of the book and CD set, “OPENING TO MEDITATION – A Gentle, Guided Approach.” (New World Library, 2004) She is a spiritual counselor and has been teaching meditation and yoga in Los Angeles for nearly twenty-five years. Visit her website: www.DianaLang.com