I’d like to quote you some comments that the students on my most recent online meditation course have made.
After you read these comments, you might want to read more about what stress is and how meditation can help.
“Meditation influenced me and affected me in ways that I did not know were possible. I have noticed myself being much more calm and relaxed. I use to get very tense and overly concern myself with certain issues or things that I had to do that day. Lately, I have noticed that my stress has decreased and I am more prone to accepting different things and dealing with issues in a calm manner. I feel so much less tense than I did before. ”
Michelle
“I have been less of a reactive person as a result of my practice. This ties in with the awareness of choice. I feel more creative, at times, when dealing with difficult situations and customers at work.”
Brian
“I have noticed a lot of personal change in my life. I am very surprised because school usually makes me too nervous to notice anything. I have noticed that I have been dealing with school in a more mindful way because I usually get really nervous about it and I have been very much laid back about it.”
Kim
“Also I feel like a more loving, kind person. The metta within me grows by the week, this is probably due to the fact I use this form more than any other. I do feel more at peace with myself and the world I live in. I don’t get mad, instead I stop and have a mini meditation. My girlfriend has definitely noticed that I have more patience, and that I express myself more clearly. So in that respect meditation has helped my relationship with her. ”
Ross
“I feel the most valuable thing that I will be taking away from this class is that I can change almost any situation and my feelings about how I react. I have learned greater patience (even though I still have a long ways to go) and I take in so much more of every event, and I find myself being so much more understanding in almost every life situation.”
Ginny
“I believe this class has definitely had a significant impact on my life. It has been more of a personal journey actually, than anything else. Looking back on my life, and my journal entries, I can see that meditation has added much depth to my experience of life. It has enabled me to look at things in a much different light. I feel more at peace with myself and the things that I experience. It has helped me a lot in my relationships with other people.
“In a sense I feel a lot more free than I did before. And I can step back and take a look at certain situations that I have placed myself in, either by choice or subconsciously, and see them for what they are. I am a lot less ruled by my emotions…which is kinda nice. I am also more able to let go of things.”
Cheri
“Physically, I have become able to meditate for nearly an hour without serious discomfort or restlessness. More importantly however, is the mental growth I have experienced. Patience has been instilled in me that my normally rash personality never allowed. I am more relaxed and rational about events that used to bother me.”
Tim
“I feel that as a result of this class I have an increased capacity for reflection and uncluttered thought. This has been a real challenge in the past few months as I am the kind of person whose mind travels at a million miles per hour all of the time. Especially when confronted with something like graduating, my mind tends to run circles around me. Slowing down this process has allowed me to make better decisions about what I will do in the future and what I want out of my life. I feel much less scared than I did before about what I will do with myself. ”
Jack
“This meditation class has been an excellent experience for me and I have learned a lot about myself, other people and how to relate to them, and about Buddhism itself. This class was available to me at a time when it may have been most needed and therefore I think I have benefited greatly from the readings and the practice itself. Some personal changes that I have noticed as a result of practicing meditation are very valuable to me. I am able to relax more easily during my practice and to reach greater states of contentment and concentration. As I have become better at the meditation practices I have been more apt to focus my daily life on developing certain characteristics such as compassion, understanding, patience within myself especially.”
Trish
2 Comments. Leave new
In my daily life, I don’t suffer unduly from stress anymore. This may be because things are going well for me. But I have suffered from anxiety all of my adult life. While the anxiety is very much under control now, I have some very strong fears, even phobias, of flying in airplanes and being in very tall buildings. Now, being a (former) pilot, this is rather ironic. But there it is. Can my meditation practice reach deeply enough to help defuse these very strong visceral and seemingly physical reactions? Thanks for listening.
Hi Bardo,
Meditation can definitely help. The reactions you describe do have physical manifestations, but they arise from unconscious habits in the mind. Meditating can help to calm down the arousal circuits in the brain and allow us to feel more relaxed and calm. It takes practice of course, but often we can see progress in small ways quite early on.