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Meditation is a holistic discipline by which the practitioner attem pts to get beyondthe reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of awareness. Different meditativedisciplines e ncompass a w ide range of spiritual and non-spiritual goals; achieving a higherstate of consciousness or enlightenment, developing and increasing compassion andloving kindness, receiving spiritual inspiration or guidance from God, achieving greaterfocus, creativity or self-awareness, or simply cultivating a more relaxed and peacefulframe of mind.

Psychological BenefitsIncreased brain wave coherence. Harmony of brain wave activity in different parts of the brain is associated withgreater creativity, improved moral reasoning, and higher IQ.

Decreased anxiety.

Decreased depression.

Decreased irritability and moodiness.

Improved learning ability and memory.

Increased self-actualization.

Increased feelings of vitality and rejuvenation.

Increased happiness.

Increased emotional s tability.Meditation can help most people feel less anxious and more in control. The awareness that meditation brings canalso be a source of personal insight and self-understanding.Handling Repressed Memories and Enjoying Life:Dr. Borysenko notes that "meditation may lead to a breakdown of screen memories so that early childhood abuseepisodes and other traumas suddenly flood the mind, making the patient temporarily more anxious until t hesetraumas are healed. Many so-called meditation exercises are actually forms of imagery and visualization that areextraordinarily useful in healing old traumas, confronting death anxieties, finishing 'old business', learning to forgive,and enhancing self-esteem.""Meditation frees persons from tenacious preoccupation with the past and future and allows them to fully experiencelife's precious moments", says Daeja Napier, founder of the Insight Meditation Center and lay dharma teacher ofinsight meditation in suburban Boston.

"Many men and women tend to live in a state of perpetual motion and expectation that prevents them fromappreciating the gifts that each moment gives us," says Napier. "W e live life in a state of insufficiency, waiting for amother to love us, for a father to be kind to us, for the perfect job or home, for Prince Charming to come along or tobecome a perfect person. It's a mythology that keeps us from being whole."Meditation is a humble process that gently returns us to the now of our lives and allows us to wake up and re-evaluate the way that we live our lives," says Napier. "We realize that the only thing missing is mindfulness, andthat's what we practice."Depression:Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and isolation are hallmarks of depression - the nation's most prevalentmental health problem. Meditation increases self-confidence and feelings of connection to others. Many studies haveshown that depressed people feel much better after eliciting the relaxation response.Panic attacks:Sometimes anxiety becomes paralysing and people feel (wrongly) that they are about to suffer some horrible fate.Panic attacks are often treated with drugs, but studies by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., associate professor of medicine atthe University of Massachusetts Medical Centre in Worcester and director of the medical centre's Stress Reduction

Clinic, show that if people who are prone to panic attacks begin focused, meditative breathing the instant they feelthe first signs of an episode, they are much less likely t o have a full-blown panic attack.

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