How Daily Meditation can help you to feel less overwhelmed, so you can get more done
– Quick Overview –
Modern life can be overwhelming
We have all experienced situations similar to this before:
You have 10 minutes to quickly finish a presentation, but no matter how hard you try, you just can’t focus on the task at hand.
Alarming ‘if only’ and ‘what if’ scenarios keep interrupting your thoughts.
If only I had finished the presentation before lunch, instead of spending an embarrassing amount of time falling down the YouTube black hole.
Or what if the boss doesn’t like my proposal, or I get very nervous and embarrass myself in front of the whole team.
Although we are aware of the futility of these thoughts and that they are generating unnecessary regret or worry, often it seems to be impossible to find the off-button the to the mental chatter and focus on the task at hand.
What’s happening here is that instead of the pre-frontal cortex peacefully going about it’s job of conducting the neurological orchestra, it get’s inhibited by the amygdala.
The amygdala is the alarm centre of the brain, that whenever triggered by daily stresses and frustrations, activates the flooding of the body with stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones decrease our capability for judgment, critical thinking and problem-solving.
But it’s not only in situations of high pressure, that we find ourselves unable to order our thoughts, come up with a mode of action and then commit to it by giving it our fullest attention.
In today’s hyperactive environment our attention is a highly valuable good.
Everything in our life seems to be competing for it – our kids, our partner, our boss, politicians, advertising and social media.
With constant notifications, e-mails, messages, flashing lights, beeping nosies calling for our attention it is increasingly hard to keep a clear head and decide for ourselves what is worthy of our attention and mental space.
And and then not let ourselves get distracted from it.
With meditation to a quieter and more mangeable mental space
Whether in regards to inner stimuli – in forms of thoughts and emotions – or outside stimuli, Daily Meditation can be very valuable tool, that empowers us to regain control over of our attention and improve our capability to focus.
By bringing back equilibrium to our over-excited nervous system, meditation creates a neurological environment that is quieter and more manageable, making it easier for us to concentrate on what is essential.
EEG research of the brain during meditation reportedly shows, that brainwaves, which during waking conciousness are usually complex, scattered and disorderly tend to become much more rhythmic and orderly during meditation practice.
Brainwaves from many different regions of the brain fall into “sync” with each other leading to brainwave coherence.
Higher coherence, as measured in a number of scientific studies, is known to be associated with more integrated and effective thinking and behaviour, including greater intelligence, creativity, concentration ability, emotional stability, ethical and moral reasoning, self-confidence and reduced anxiety.
All these amazing benefits are possible outcomes from a meditation, but not a guarantee.
Nevertheless, we can assert, that many of our students have experienced great improvement in their ability to concentrate and think more clearly just a few weeks after their course.