The word meditation refers to a state of restful awareness.

“Behind the screen of our internal dialogue, there is something entirely different: the silence of a mind that is not imprisoned by the past. That is the silence we want to bring into our awareness through meditation. Why is this important? Because silence is the birthplace of happiness. Silence is where we get our bursts of inspiration, our tender feelings of compassion and empathy, our sense of love. These are all delicate emotions and the chaotic roar of the internal dialogue easily drowns them out. But when you discover the silence in your mind, you no longer have to pay attention to all those random images that trigger worry, anger, pain.” - Deepak Chopra, from his book: Perfect Health

Meditation reduces stress, creates more resistance to stress, lowes instances of illness, strengthens the immune system. It increases levels of relaxation and well being. 

Meditation has been scientifically proven to offer the promise of inner growth and expanded states of mental and spiritual development. It helps you redirect the way you navigate your life by connecting you to the place within where you can hear your intuition and your Higher Self. It helps to create space between an event and your reaction to the event, and allows to you respond rather than react. Meditation gives you control over your thoughts, emotions, decision making patterns, and your overall health. 

With the cultivation of this connection to Self, your self worth increases. You worry less about external validation, you redefine or maybe for the first time ever, understand your own true definition of success. You become less codependent because you start to listen and trust yourself more. 

Meditation is not forcing your mind to be quiet. “Thoughts in meditation are an indication that you are releasing stress.” Meditation is finding the quiet that is already within.  - Sarah McLean. Meditation Teacher

 Meditation is a way to access the mystical - transcendent, or to escape the mundane - it depends on your intention. It can be used solely for stress reduction or as part of a spiritual practice. The fruit is found in the practice. 

As the yoga philosopher Patanjali says in the Yoga Sutras, “We must learn to relax the intensity of our effort and meditate on the endless energy within because this simply never ends. We do the practice for the sake of the practice, not for the fruits of the labor. It’s about finding the joy and the gifts in the doing - the action, and to not be fixated on the outcome of those efforts.”