Meditation and Gratitude
Meditation
There have been numerous studies on meditation and how effective it is for people. It is known that people who meditate daily experience reduction in their stress and anxiety levels.
It also enhances a person's self-awareness, where they start understanding their thought processes deeper, and what happens in their mind. A person who meditates regularly notices why specific thoughts come to their attention. Meditation also increases one's attention span, which is interesting.
I am not sure whether it increases my attention span. Like many other surgeons, I feel I already have a very long attention span, especially when it comes to certain skills. A person's attention span is likely to be different for different tasks as well. For example, when I write, my attention span is shorter. So I can certainly improve on that with the help of meditation.
Meditation also generates kindness, improves sleep and interestingly enough; it decreases blood pressure. This is most likely associated with reducing stress levels where blood pressure may rise.
Recently for the first time, I noticed the chirping of birds outside the place I was meditating. It created a wonderful moment. Every time I think about it, I still feel the happiness flowing throughout my body.
A few years ago, a study done by Harvard University showed that meditation changes people's brain structure.
An MRIs was done on a person before they started practising daily meditation, and then the same was done eight weeks later. The cells in the brain or so-called grey (working) matter of the brain increased in size within the hippocampus area. This particular area of our brain is responsible for our emotions, memories and some of our thinking process. If these results were from a short eight weeks' study, can you imagine what results we could see after a year?
Meditation Apps
I have used several easy-to-use meditation apps to help me with my meditation process.
I first used "Headspace" which is a paid application once a two week's trial expires. They also have some courses that can be tried for free.
A monthly subscription for "Headspace" is US$13 or their annual subscription option is US$70. I personally enjoyed this app when I first subscribed and ended up using it for a year. I loved the person's voice on it, which was pleasant to listen to and relaxed me instantly every time.
After a year of using "Headspace" though, I felt I needed more. I progressed and needed to learn more. So this year, I started using the "Waking Up" app, which is a little more expensive. The subscription fees are US$99 per year or US$15 per month. You receive the first five meditation sessions for free. I like that it teaches and explains about meditating on a deeper level. If you've never used a meditation app before though, I suggest trying a few to understand which one suits you best.
Gratitude
Over the last six months, I also started a gratitude journal. Recording your gratitude is a great way to acknowledge positive things in your life. It helps us connect with the broader world and notice and connect with more than we usually do. Being grateful is associated with greater happiness.
A research found that those who acknowledge their gratitude regularly feel more optimistic within themselves and sleep better. Such people will often exercise more and visit doctors fewer times than the rest.
Might doctor visits for some be due to loneliness where they need to talk about not feeling well emotionally or the need to connect with someone? I feel like these days; many people aren't connected with others as much as years ago.
I love writing in my gratitude journal as some days can seem to be just OK where we miss the little things which we can be grateful for which make such days great.
Sometimes writing in my journal makes me realise that today was a beautiful day or that it wasn't the usual windy weather or that I got a "thank you" card from a patient, which is lovely.
I also enjoy going back and reading my notes. I appreciate these little but important gratitude moments as they make me feel positive. They're often little nuggets of positivity we can easily miss if we don't sit down and think about them.
I tend to write in my gratitude journal daily. I'm also trying to transfer this journal onto my iPad to my "Notion" app, instead of paper journaling. I will talk about this app in another blog - it's one of my favourite apps which I believe made me a happier person!
Meditation and Gratitude
I haven't realised how much the combination of two, meditation and gratitude, can help a person. The only way I can describe it is that the benefits are subtle, which you don't notice at the time. However, once you stop doing both, you notice the changes physically and emotionally. You might start drinking more and exercise less or get more stressed, which I see in myself. It almost creeps up on you!
My big realisation was that I am a very happy person when I meditate and write in my gratitude journal, where I acknowledge even little positive things in my life.
I suggest to everyone they should start meditating and create their own gratitude journal. It may not be for everyone, but how would you know if you don't try?
I am pretty sure though that most of us will find some sort of benefit from doing these two things. It can benefit your productivity or your relationships.