More than ever before, mental health has become of growing concern in society and the workplace. There is stress from all sorts of pressures and we build a whole culture around hiding from it, pretending it is not there, and distracting ourselves with goals, projects and concerns about status.
We get stuck in the ‘if only’ syndrome. If I had more money, then I would be happy. If only I could find someone who really loved me; if only I could lose 20 kilos and on and on forever. What meditation helps to discover is that we are already happy and we just need to slow down to realise it. Traditional psychotherapy and prescription pills are one of the best known recourses for people to resort to.
A quick fix prescribed by medical doctors and pharmacists or a long process of therapy. More and more, natural therapies and alternative medicines are being sought after. Meditation is one of these and has been proven to work over millennia.
According to many, meditation is the best self-development thing you can do. It is very simple, though not necessarily easy. It takes time and it takes energy. It also takes grit, determination and discipline. It requires a host of personal qualities that we normally regard as unpleasant and like to avoid whenever possible.