~ Abstracted from the work of Ed & Deb Shapiro, award-winning authors and featured bloggers at Oprah.com and HuffingtonPost.com. See their latest award-winning book: “Be The Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World”.

… But meditation can save our life? This notion may sound farfetched, but meditation is a direct way to cut through the discursive mind we are so often plagued with living in this 21^st century of over-activity- and with constantly making excuses and supporting our unhealthy neurosis… always doing, with so little time and attention for any form of contemplation practice, or even any meaningful self-reflection. Here are seven ways meditation may save your life…

1. Chill Out– It is known that stress is responsible for 70-90 percent of illnesses, and that quiet time is the most effective remedy for a busy and overworked mind. In a stressed state, it is easy to lose touch with inner peace, compassion and kindness; in a relaxed state, the mind clears and we connect with a deeper sense of purpose and altruism. Your breath is your best friend. Anytime you feel stress rising, heart closing, mind going into overwhelm, just focus on your breathing and quietly repeat: Breathing in, I calm the body and mind; breathing out, I smile…

2. Release Anger and Fear– Anger can lead to hatred and violence. If we do not accept our negative feelings we are likely to repress or disown them, and when denied they can cause shame, depression and rage. Meditation enables us to see how selfishness, aversion and ignorance create endless dramas and fears. It may not be a cure-all, it’s not going to make all our difficulties go away or suddenly transform our weaknesses into strengths, but it does enable us to release self-centered and angry attitudes and generate a deep inner happiness. This quality of mind can be very liberating.

3. Generate Appreciation- A lack of appreciation easily leads to abuse and exploitation. So, start by taking a moment just to appreciate the chair you are sitting on. Consider how the chair was made: the wood, cotton, wool, or other fibers, the trees and plants that were used, the earth that grew the trees, the sun and rain, the animals that maybe gave their lives, the people who prepared the materials, the factory where the chair was built, the designer and carpenter and seamstress, the shop that sold it — all this just so you could be sitting here, now. Then extend that appreciation to every part of yourself, then to everyone and everything in your life. For this I am grateful.

4. Develop Kindness and Compassion– Every time you see or feel suffering, whether in yourself or in another, every time you make a mistake or say something stupid and are just about to put yourself down, every time you think of someone you are having a hard time with, every time you see someone struggling, upset or irritated, just stop and bring loving kindness and compassion. Breathing gently, silently repeat: May you be well, may you be happy, may you be filled with loving kindness. There is a reservoir of basic goodness in all beings but we often lose touch with this natural expression of caring and friendship. In meditation, we go from seeing our essentially selfish and ego-bound nature to recognizing that we are an integral part of a far greater whole, and as the heart opens we can bring compassion to our fallibility and humanness. Meditation is, therefore, the most compassionate gift we can give to ourselves.

5. Practice Harmlessness– Simply through the intent to cause less pain we can bring greater dignity to our world, so that harm is replaced with harmlessness and disrespect with respect. Ignoring someone’s feelings, affirming our hopelessness, disliking our appearance, or seeing ourselves as incompetent or unworthy are all causes of personal harm. How much resentment, guilt, or shame are we holding on to, thus perpetuating such harmfulness? Meditation enables us to transform this through recognizing our essential goodness as well as the preciousness of all life.

6. Share and Care– Without sharing and caring we live in an isolated, disconnected and lonely world. We take meditation “off the cushion” and put it into action as we become more deeply aware of our connectedness with all beings. From being self-centered, we become other-centered, concerned about the welfare of all. Then, reaching out beyond ourselves becomes a spontaneous expression of genuine generosity seen in our capacity to let go of conflicts or forgive mistakes, or in our desire to help those in need. We are not alone here, we all walk the same earth and breathe the same air; the more we participate, the more we are connected and fulfilled.

7. Be With What Is– The very nature of life includes change and unfulfilled desire and a longing for things to be different from how they are, all of which brings discontent and dissatisfaction. Almost everything we do is to achieve something: if we do this, then we will get that; if we do that, then this will happen. But in meditation we do it just to do it. There is no ulterior purpose other than to be here, in the present moment, without trying to get anywhere or achieve anything. No judgment, no right or wrong, simply being aware.

Cultivating a regular meditation practice enables us to see clearly, to witness our thoughts and behavior- and to reduce our tendencies for self-indulgence & self-absorption. It is through our commitment to a contemplative practice where we begin to gain a greater & deeper understanding of who and what we are- and how our patterns & qualities of mind impact the health and well-being of “self” and of all our fellow “brothers” and “sisters”.

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