Meditation as a tool for personal growth

What has surprised me during my 10 years of meditation practice is how malleable mind actually is. I have found that the key to developing mental capacities is to see meditation not as a relaxation technique, but as a tool for mental growth. It’s a method for developing strength, resilience and well-being in a similar way as exercise can be used to develop our physical capacities.

In addition to increased mental ’strength’ like improved focus, meditation also helps us become aware of unresolved issues in our unconscious mind.

Different emotions (such as anxiety, fear, anger, insecurity) and unconscious thought patterns can be brought into awareness with the help of meditation. After a while one usually starts to understand how the pattern functions and where it came from. Some of these patterns can then be addressed through continued meditation, whereas others require more active methods such as coaching, psychotherapy, somatic therapy or just a good ol’ cup of tea with a trustworthy friend

Each resolved unconscious emotion and thought pattern brings more mental freedom and joy. Therefore, for meditation practice to be effective it should not be viewed as a way to avoid hard feelings, but as a method for facing them head on and then finding ways to address them. Each mental/behavioral pattern has a story to tell, and the only way to free oneself from one is by first listening to it. This ’listening’ happens by sensing feelings in the body, and by observing thoughts arising.

To use meditation in this way requires courage, acceptance, openness, and curiosity towards whatever is stored in the unconscious mind and in the body. Then, when one learns to face whatever arises and resolve what previously has been left unresolved the natural qualities of mind start to emerge. Through my own experience I have found these qualities to be spontaneity, compassion, fearlessness, joy, and curiosity.

— As you have read the text this far I assume you found this theme interesting If you got inspired, two great meditation apps to explore during the holidays are Waking Up and Headspace. Enjoy!