Meditation can help you enhance your emotional intelligence, especially your self- awareness, which is the foundation of EI.
Meditation was developed within the framework of religions in the past, but nowadays meditation practices have been taken out of the religious context and their benefits are available to everyone.
So how does meditation work? Ever wondered why learning to quiet the mind could help you feel better?
We live in a culture where more is better. No wonder that it may feel counter-intuitive to think that quieting the mind accomplishes more that keeping it racing. But it does and here is how.
Meditation helps not only to relax and cope with stress, but also trains oneself to relinquish bad mental habits. It is not an end in itself, but rather a tool to investigate your mind and change your worldview. You’re not tuning out so much as tuning up your brain, improving your self-monitoring skills. Meditation is about paying attention.
There are many types of meditation, and they can be used to develop a number of mental skills. Through basic meditation techniques, it’s possible to cultivate a longer attention span, develop emotional stability, understand the feelings of others and release yourself from the constraints you place on your own happiness.
Many studies are substantiating the benefits. One recent study at Massachusetts General Hospital found that 40 minutes of daily meditation appears to thicken parts of the cerebral cortex involved in attention and sensory processing. In a pilot study at the University of California at San Francisco, researchers found that schoolteachers briefly trained in Buddhist techniques who meditated less than 30 minutes a day improved their moods as much as if they had taken antidepressants.
So, next time you feel stressed out or feel that your thoughts are racing in your mind, sit down and take a deep breath while focusing on it, then another focusing on it, repeat for a few minutes. Until you gradually feel the quiet settle in your body and in your mind. Savor the feeling of peacefulness and calm. Just 5 or 10 minutes a day can bring a substantial change to how you feel!
