Spirituality for Dummies 3: The Intangible Benefits of Meditation

The intangible benefits are the more subtle benefits that I believe manifest in the tangible ways over a greater period of time. In fact, I'm using the word intangible just because for most people, it might not be naturally obvious, although it is still very real.

1.  Clarity of thoughts- As we grow in meditation, we get fewer unnecessary thoughts bombarding the mind. Hence, the mind feels fresh and energetic more often with consistent meditation.
2. Less need to bond over bitching/complaining- regular meditation makes it clearer that wasting too much energy with a Bollywood style "kandha" is actually too draining on the energy levels. We actually feel more tired after complaining. I lost appetite for complaining too much about boss/colleagues/bullies/landlord/maid/Uber/Ola/anyone whose work Durant match my expectations. If things go your way, will and good, if not, keep moving and wait for the right time
3. Less hustle, more work- we often notice that the more hurried people are, the less work gets done. Meditation leads to a state where the mental hustle is in check and more work happens nevertheless. 
4. Multitasking- less hustle means more mental bandwidth gets freed up for other useful purposes, like trying out different hobbies or interests. Not with excitement, but with stability. Things started with just excitement rarely last long. The excitement needs to be tempered by intuition and calmness to transform it into a lasting thing. Meditation does that 
5. Greater appreciation for haves than have nots- i have been through depressing phases in life, so have many of us. When we come out of it, we almost laugh at it. When we are low, even if we have the best of things, we seem to find fault in our lives. Meditation made me realise that there is so much to cherish even when we don't have our next goal at hand. When we deeply cherish the present moment, we take care of it responsibly. We are aware of what may take us up or bring us down- with greater clarity. Hence we are totally aware of actions and potential consequences. This makes our actions more conscious. I have nearly stopped bargaining present moment for any transient distraction. Unlike popular misconception, I have enjoyed life much more than I earlier did. The love for heightened energy levels of such a state of mind are a reason to not take anything for granted. This automatically increases the awareness in the present moment :)
6. Golden Mean- Often we feel a high is a victory in life and a low is a defeat. We are too short sighted to realise that nothing lasts and each action comes with consequences, sooner or later. In life, we rarely are able to practice steadiness in thoughts and actions. We get swayed by good and bad times and often miss the larger picture and action. This creates a vicious circle of sub optimal decisions and acts. Meditation naturally slows down, cools down and calms down the system that reacting to situations becomes less and less relevant and we begin to respond to things. We become less extreme in our attitude and are better able to tread on the tightrope of life. Balance is easier said than done, but meditation makes it hardwired into the being.

More such benefits will be coming in future posts :)

Keep meditating!