Meditation – An Effective Weapon Against Anxiety and Panic
Meditation is a term that’s used to describe a whole range of methods used to transform our everyday awareness. The goal is to help us learn more about our true nature and in the process we bring more stillness and harmony into our lives. When we feel this harmony, we’re less likely to suffer from pressure or panic. So meditation can help us deal with our stress and anxiety.
Yet meditation often goes unused in the war against panic and anxiety because it’s often considered too mysterious. People become intimidated by the thought of learning how to meditate because they think of it as some difficult thing only attainable by a monastery monk after years of training. But this is a false assumption.
Basically, meditation is extremely simple to begin. You don’t need a lot of time, and you don’t need much more than a quiet place to practice. Then, once you’ve gone through a short session or two, you’ll actually begin feeling the benefits. It’s actually pretty remarkable.
To start out, I think it’s best to try to find some competent instruction somewhere. Look for an organized class. It’s always better to have a teacher who’s “been there” to help you avoid the wrong turns. Local community organizations like community colleges, churches, or organizations like the YMCA are great, low cost places to find some beginning instruction.
If you’re the solitary type, you can try using a book on meditation. You’ll definitely find lots of them in your local library or bookstore. Books can give you a great overview and general understanding of meditation. Their one drawback though is that you don’t get much feedback from a book. But they can get you started very quickly.
DVDs and CDs can also get you started quickly. Most of them have guided sessions so they’re like attending an instructor-led class. This gives you a deeper experience and gives you more of a handle on how meditating “feels.” Also, each time you listen to a session, you tend to learn and experience something more.
Breathing meditations are the usual first meditations learned by beginners. These are easy to learn and they give you a quick understanding of what meditation feels like. Depending on your desire, you can move into more advanced forms of meditating like full-body meditations or conceptual or emotional meditations. The more time you spend in meditation, the more tranquility you feel.
The art of meditation is a deep and wide subject. Meditation has been around for a long time because it delivers real benefits to its practitioners. With a little bit of experimenting, you can find one or more meditations that work for you in your life. I can’t recommend it highly enough as a way to combat the effects of stress and anxiety.