3 Wonderful Side-Effects of Regular Meditation That I Didn’t See Coming

A few weeks of regular meditation, and I’m a believer.

Do I need stress relief, anxiety management, and improved focus? Yes. How about hormonal balance, better sleep, and a greater capacity to love? Yes please! 

I went in expecting all of the above research-backed benefits of meditation. What I didn’t see coming was the numerous ways in which meditation changes a person, both on the macro and micro levels.

Here are some unexpected benefits that I’ve experienced from a sustained meditation practice.

Meditation has made me more patient (and patience is a superpower in my book)

Breathe in. Breathe out.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Breathe in. Breathe out.

Repetition leads to monotony. Monotony kills enthusiasm.

But with meditation, when you are doing it the right way with the correct posture and a sincere intention, you begin to realise that the key to keep it going is patience.

The exertion of will power will bring limited results. It may even be counterproductive.

When we force ourselves to do something, we begin to resent it. It seems imposed, which it is. There’s something about impositions, no one likes them.

Now imagine that we choose to see this resistance with compassion and patience instead. Okay, so breathing in and out isn’t the most exciting thing in the world (except that is what sustains us) but who meditates for excitement? If anything, meditation is training the mind to stay in the present without any stimulus.

This shift in perception produces instant results. You begin to feel the resistance drop. Continue to be patient with yourself as you watch the breath.

Each time the mind wants to revolt, patience comes to rescue. You watch the mind as an elderly person would an excited child. You know it will eventually calm down (and then agitate again and then calm down again; instead of getting sucked into the drama watch the process with amusement and begin to understand its nature).

As a result your practice improves and you learn a very important skill – patience.

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent.

Issac Newton

With meditation we observe the resistance but do not let it win. Resistance is just another feeling, and feelings come and go. Patience overrides resistance.

My energies are more sorted (and settled)

I’m not reacting much. I don’t feel the need to judge others. I don’t really have to complain about the miserable humid weather all the time.

But most importantly, I’m just not reacting much. (You, of course, have no idea how much of a big deal that is for me.) To be at peace with the disturbing energies around you, that is what ultimately settles your own energies down.

Dare I say, I’ve developed a capacity for wisdom

What is wisdom, really? It’s listening to that voice within ourselves which knows better. And each one of us has that voice. Without fail.

I’ve always known that walking is a great mental and physical activity. But have I always acted upon it? No, I haven’t. But what if I did? What if I listened to every noble guiding thought that my mind has produced? What if there were no such thing as resistance, laziness, or apathy?

With regular meditation I’ve found that my mind and body come to an understanding of sorts. And without me having to intervene, a good habit starts to take shape. Is this the ‘good sense’ in me running the show?

This applies to all areas of life. With meditation you wake up to your inner wisdom or a sense of knowledge of what’s fundamentally the right thing to do.

To sum up

Meditation makes you patient, calm, and wise.

Wisdom is knowing what you ought to do and patience is what you deploy in making that happen. This wonderful combination leads to wonderful results.

Memorize this equation:

(Wisdom + Patience) > Will Power