Posted: June 28, 2018

If you look back at your life, there must have been many moments when somebody remarked, "That was very intelligent of you," "Smart thinking!" or "You’re an intelligent person." These moments fill us with pride, self-respect, and confidence. Don't you want this to happen more often? How would you like to approach your day-to-day activities with more dexterity, be a defter person, and be seen as a moon among stars?

We’re all sure that we want this to happen to us. It may surprise many people that the route to this upgrade is indeed a quick and easy one, because the shortcut is to meditate regularly. Regular meditation lubricates your mind to be more efficient and reflective.

1.  A crystal-clear mind

Our mind is a mirror of our past thoughts and experiences, future anticipations, and present interactions. It’s tedious to keep it working effectively at all times. Meditation helps you drop your type A, perfectionistic tendencies. It helps you naturally connect to the source. Meditation is quite simply mental hygiene: clear out the junk, tune your talents, and get in touch with yourself.

As a consequence of regular meditation, you'll feel less burdened and see things with greater perspective. When you gain clarity of mind and become unaffected by your tendencies, it’s much easier to align yourself to situations and be more perceptive of appropriate and needed responses. Meditation helps improve the quality of your thinking.

2.  Focus and concentration

We have all felt at one time or another that there is a powerful source of unlimited energy, a quiet, unmatchable strength within us. The more we experience this inner invincibility, the stronger we become. Meditation establishes this unflinching connection with your source. It helps maintain your inner peace and tranquility, thereby unleashing your mind as a powerful asset.

Practicing regular meditation helps you keep your mind sharp. It endows you with ample focus, keeping your mind relaxed and helping you achieve your tasks better. "The quality of our life depends on the quality of our mind," says Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. We can't control what happens in this world, but we can control the quality of our thinking through meditation.

An independent research study by Sara W. Lazar and team at National Institutes of Health, USA, reveals that meditation aids in increasing cortical thickness, which helps you increase focus. Another study by Eileen Luders concluded that meditation fuels an increase in the growth of grey matter, a key source of thinking ability.

3. The intuitive mind

In some moments of idyllic harmony, there is a voice within us that births unique thoughts, ideas, and opinions. It sparks our perception and blossoms our understanding. It’s elaborate yet natural at the same time. The thoughts come right out of your gut. You feel your gut is doing all the talking. Referred to as "gut feeling,” intuition is regarded as a blessing to the human mind. Research supports the fact that an intuitive mind helps you be more thoughtful, astute, and incisive. Meditation is to intuition what carrots are to Vitamin A. It fuels your ability to think more originally and stay more connected.

4.  Bursts of creative insight

Have you observed when creative bursts of insight occur? While walking by the lake, in the middle of a shower, while hiking, or when you are swinging to your favorite tunes on your iPod -  the trick to creativity actually lies in the loss of control: effortlessness, relaxation, and well-being. "Control is fatiguing, while brain-imaging research shows that relaxation is not only restorative, but actually leads to enhanced memory and facilitated intellectual understanding," says Emma Seppala, a renowned scientist and researcher at Stanford University, CA. The more creative you are, the more unique and indispensable you are at work. Meditation helps you relax and allows great ideas to incubate, in turn making you more creative.

5. The middle path

A well-baked pizza at the shop at the end of your street has the right crust, beautifully cut veggies in the right proportions, delicious melted cheese, and luscious sauce with that tinge of oregano and chili flakes. You enjoy the balance of flavors, textures and temperature. Unique and discerning thoughts are similar, since they also need to be balanced and well used. They have a distinct style all their own.

Meditation helps you find that style and strike that balance in your thinking. It creates a marked balance between the left-hand side and right-hand side of your brain, thereby inducing a balance of emotion, objectivity, logic, and analysis, making you not only think right but also think cool.

"I was introduced to meditation 3 years ago. I’ve meditated regularly since then. I am a designer by occupation, and with the serious competition in our profession, where you need to reinvent yourself every day to keep up with the pace, meditation helps me keep my balance while meeting the expectations of my clients," says Prakash.

By trying some guided meditations and taking the Sahaj Samadhi meditation course, you too can start to meditate regularly and experience all of these improvements in your mind.