Can Meditation Save Us From This Overstimulating Social Media World? | Mind
The answer is: it depends. Meditation is certainly key to a more balanced life and mental health; however, other measures must be taken along with it in order to conquer the overwhelmingness social media and the internet has brought into our lives. Measures such as creating boundaries for our usage of social media; making more conscious decisions about who we follow and who we don't; learning our worth in the world in spite of what the internet dictates; learning a healthier usage of social media and turning it into our ally instead of our foe. Meditation is crucial to this conversation because it is the way to all of those measures we are talking about. I have been trained to practice TM— Transcendental Meditation, at the David Lynch Foundation and, after the past two years of practice, I'd like to share some of the knowledge I have gained during this time.
To silence the noises of the outside world. The last time we talked, we chatted about how listening to our hearts is crucial to figuring out choices in life. When we silence the voices of the world, such as memories, thoughts, deadlines, etc, we gain the opportunity to listen to our own. Although meditation doesn't silence completely all the noises at first, the more I meditate, the more fluid and less noisy my meditation is. It is not easy to let go of our daily preoccupations and concerns, but meditating has helped me to better manage them.
To comprehend our pain. Meditation helps to connect body and mind. I found myself in situations where I could manage my thoughts and actions, but not my feelings. After the first months into meditation, this connection between mind and body got closer.
To reduce stress. Anxiety is the disease of our century, it is the main cause of several mental illnesses as we discussed a few articles ago. The world is filled with so much new information that our brains are not capable of processing not even half of the amount we are exposed to. The news; new applications; new ways of communicating socially; new ways of engaging professionally; etc, that we find ourselves in the midst of an endless cycle of stimulation and zero time to recalibrate, much less to rest. Therefore, meditation plays an important role in this dynamic because it is proved to, not only reduce stress, but to also strengthen our ability to filter what is good or bad for us in the middle of all of this. With time, our brains get better at anticipating unnecessary or harmful stimulation and not getting as overwhelmed as it would before.
To connect with ourselves and others. You probably have heard about mindfulness— the state of being conscious or aware of something, right? I won't dig too deeply into it because this is a more practical article but, I will tell you this: meditation has kept me in the present moment. How do I know that? Because the more I meditate, the quieter my mind gets. Consequently, there is less interference between my mind and body and when such a connection happens, the awareness of my surroundings is effortlessly organic.
Improve focus. In almost two years, meditation has rewired my brain. The more I meditate, the faster my brain accesses a state of full relaxation. With time, it made me feel less anxious and more happy. I also noticed that I have been applying my meditation techniques in life. For instance, in TM— Transcendental Meditation, I was told to not fight random thoughts while meditating. Instead, I would let them come and go fluidly. That way, I would direct my energy and concentration into meditation. Therefore, the random thoughts would quickly go away. In my daily life, especially when I'm working, I feel more present in the moment and distractions such as the tempting feeling of reaching out for my phone all day long, slightly went away.
Meditation is a mental portable spa. I can meditate from everywhere in the world and still access the part of the brain that silences outside noises. There are no tools or equipment required, only a place where we feel it is safe and quiet enough for us to dive into the marvelousness of stimulating our brain and body to work together through meditation.
Ultimately, meditation is an organic way to connect to others and with nature. In a world where everything we experience happens behind a screen, meditation brings us back to our inner self, brings us back to the present moment. That is what they call mindfulness, the state of being conscious or aware of something. I myself like to call it lifefulness, a state of choosing to be exactly where we are in life. At the end, meditation might not save us from this overstimulating social media world, but it will surely guide us to get through it in a healthier and more positive way.