by Tahmina Sattar

Created on: June 26, 2009   Last Updated: June 28, 2009

Life runs on its roller coaster. Time may be a constant factor but in truth for humans its a matter of perception, hence the saying "time flies when you are having fun". Every moment has something that needs to be accomplished - even just sitting around doing nothing. So to taking some time out of your regular schedule and assigning it to prayer and meditation may seem another task that needs accomplishing. Indeed in some religions prayer and meditation is prescribed and not a choice but that is another article.

Prayer and meditation can be seen as way to speak to one's creator, to untangle the days complications and resolve decisions that are pending in our minds. It can help us to remember the things we place importance on, to prioritise our actions for the future, and to reflect on actions that have been carried out. We can measure ourselves against our ideals and renew our principles on any matter. This improves the quality of our lives as our self reflections guide us to better actions, ones which are rationalised, analysed and thoughtful rather than rash and misguided.

Prayer and meditation that involves actions or breathing exercises can be even more beneficial. This is different from the reflective prayer or meditation. Usually this involves chanting or thinking about one particular image which holds meaning to one self, while breathing or exercising. This allows the body to focus on relaxing itself, allowing oxygen and blood to reach every limb and organ with the sole purpose of self rejuvenation. Areas of stress can be attended to. A person can identify weaknesses in parts of their body when they truly relax in this type of meditation and thus take necessary physical actions to rectify that health issue. Often due to the lack of connection between ourselves and our bodies as we go about our daily duties, we often miss important indicators of deficiencies in our immune system.

Prayer and meditation should really be viewed as one's personal grooming. Just as one needs to wash, brush their teeth and hair daily so one needs to groom the metaphysical and spiritual self. Of course some people may go without brushing their teeth but sooner or later the effects become evident. Similarly, ignoring the useful tools of prayer and meditation often leads to mental fatigue, tension, stress related localised pain, communication problems, short temper and a host of other problems. To truly understand the benefits of prayer and meditation is to try out several different techniques.

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