Perhaps you have heard that a meditation practice bestows the benefits of a more relaxed, alert mind and body, and a sense of well-being and self-awareness. Yet we still have fears and misconceptions about personal meditation that inhibit our efforts to establish a consistent practice. There are several common fears of new meditators:

1. Meditation takes too much time. Actually, regular meditators report that 10-15 minutes of meditation every morning can result in better mental alertness, and a more productive day.
2. It’s Hard to Concentrate. We observe our scattered minds and feel too stressed to meditate, and worry that our difficulty concentrating during meditation will prevent of ability to achieve the state of silent mind and experience the benefits of meditating. In our busy day to day living, our modern world causes an over-stimulated mind. During meditation we let our minds move from one thought to another and gift the mind the freedom to experience what it’s searching for – the place of inner quietness and completeness.
3. It will make me avoid real life. Meditation is not a retreat from life, but it rather prepares us to approach our lives with energy, mental clarity, and creative problem solving. We meditate for many reasons – all can be beneficial to our well-being.