When the world around you is ensconced in madness, and you can’t quite seem to find a moment of peace in the storm of the day, it’s time to step back and remember those blissful moments as a child where we merely lost ourselves in the world. World Meditation Day is a call to the world to take time to participate in this millennia-old practice and clear our minds, remembering that we are people first, and workers second.

The word “meditation” is from the Proto-Indo European root “*med-,” meaning “take appropriate measures.”

Wall art in the Indus Valley dating from 3,500 BC depicts one of the earliest records of meditation. The images show figures sitting in classic yoga poses, with crossed legs, hands resting on knees, and slightly closed eyes.

Meditation can help relieve lower back pain more effectively than other standard treatments, such as over-the-counter or prescription medications, hot and cold compresses, and, in some cases, surgery.

In 1968, the Beatles wrote most of the White Album while studying meditation with the controversial guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India.

Compared to the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking® program, mindful meditation helped people quit smoking permanently at a much higher rate.

The Walt Disney Company was one of the first companies to incorporate meditation into its workplace. The company noticed a dramatic increase in creativity after employees mediated on certain projects and ideas.

Google offers over a dozen meditation courses for its employees to help teach emotional intelligence, improve mental focus, and sharpen listening skills. They have also built a labyrinth for mindful walking meditations.

One of the most common and sacred symbols in the meditation tradition is the Om or Aum. Om represents the consciousness of the universe condensed into sound.

The History of World Meditation Day can be traced through the History of Meditation itself. Meditation has been an integral part of many religions and was first found spoken of in written form in about 1500 BCE in India.

It plays a prominent role in many religions throughout the world, especially Buddhism and other Eastern faiths, but is also practiced by those who are neither spiritual nor religious as a way of easing stress and clearing their mind.

Meditation can improve your memory. Mindful meditation has long been used by various populations around the world who claim that it can lead to improved memory. As it turns out, several studies have confirmed this is so.

Meditation can slow down, or even prevent, some neurodegenerative diseases.

Meditation as a painkiller works by calming the somatosensory cortex in the brain, while inciting activity in other parts of the brain’s. Research done by Wake Forest Baptist University found that meditation has the power to decrease the intensity of pain by 40% and the general unpleasantness of pain by a whopping 57%.

The brain isn’t the only part of the body that improves with consistent meditation. A study published in the November 2012 edition of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes found that meditation can play a large part in improving heart health.

Stress reduction is perhaps the best known, and most widely accepted, benefit of meditation. Science has repeatedly proven that this benefit is indeed based in scientific fact, as opposed to being merely “mental.”

There’s a good reason so many teachers are implementing methods of meditation into the classroom: meditation can lengthen attention spans! In one study, a group of human resource workers who consistently practiced meditation were able to stay focused and on task for longer periods of time than those who did not practice meditation.

In an article by Scientific American on How to Be a Better Driver, the editors suggested taking up meditation, as it increases the brain’s ability to multitask.

Forget expensive face creams. If you’re looking for a free yet effective anti-aging ‘miracle’ look no other than meditation! Consider it the new anti-aging therapy! Harvard psychiatrist and researcher Dr. Elizabeth Hoge showed in her study that people who meditated daily for at least four years had longer telomeres. Telomeres are protective caps on the ends of chromosomes, and short telomeres are thought to be markers of accelerated aging.

People who meditate generally lead happier lives than those who don’t. Meditation is known to enhance the flow of constructive thoughts and positive emotions.

The numerous health benefits that result from meditation are another great reason to adopt the practice. Certain benefits can start making themselves felt very quickly after people start sitting. A sense of calmness and peace of mind are common experiences, even if this feeling is fleeting and subtle. In an article published in Forbes online, attorney Jeena Cho lists six scientifically proven benefits that you may not have been expecting, including a reduction in implicit race and age bias.

Sources:

Days of the Year

Online Psychology Degree

Book Meditation Retreats

Mind Works

Fact Retriever