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The life’s one of the main purposes is to experience the diversity of the creation and learn from it the deepest lessons. Learning begins right from the time a child is born and continues till the last breath. It is said that success is a bad teacher, while failure brings to the surface the most essential wisdom in a moment.
Life is full of surprises and the journey itself is fraught with challenges. When one problem is solved, another awaits impatiently. An individual moves from one stage to another with enhanced skills and knowledge, possible only after having gone through a barrage of challenges at every step.
Science would not have progressed so much had the scientific community turned a blind eye to deficiencies and inadequacies of human life. Only with open mind and full acceptance to challenges and problems that the great scientists from the past could discover or invent solutions that were unimaginable at the time.
Some of the best stories, paintings, and music pieces have all come into existence when the artists had hit rock bottom in their lives. One such example is Vincent Van Gogh for his paintings (created between 1881 and 1890) have touched the hearts of millions worldwide since his death. He died a mysterious death and for some unknown reasons.
In a letter to his brother Theo, Van Gogh, besides mentioning his financial difficulties, writes, “...painting and everything connected with it is quite hard work in physical terms. Leaving aside the mental exertion, the hard thought, it demands considerable physical effort, and that day after day.”
(Read more on Van Gogh: https://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/)
Similarly, there are great musicians, such as German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, American musician Ray Charles and British musician Ian Dury, who composed great music pieces despite having physical disabilities. (Link: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/30412/11-musicians-who-overcame-disabilities)
Whether it is science or arts or any other field, there are challenges and problems and therefore, a need for solutions. The people who have the ability to tackle difficult situations in different areas of life, with calm mind tend to come up with better solutions and thus have higher chances of success.
Top reasons to solve problems through meditation
Meditation can help a great deal in solving life’s challenges and problems. Let’s look at some of the important reasons why meditation helps in finding solutions:
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Helps in releasing stress and anxiety
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Helps in easing psychological stresses like depression and pain
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Calms body and mind
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Helps in bringing emotional balance
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Helps in developing concentration
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Promotes insightful problem-solving
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Improves alertness and mindfulness
A post published by Harvard Medical School on their publishing website says that people with anxiety have problems dealing with distracting thoughts and cannot distinguish between a problem-solving thought and a nagging worry. It goes on to suggest that mindfulness mediation can help in treating anxiety. What it means is that through mediation, an individual can get better at solving problems and challenges. (Link: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/mindfulness-meditation-may-ease-anxiety-mental-stress-201401086967)
An evidence based research report, “Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being – A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis” by JAMA Internal Medicine suggests that meditation programs can reduce the negative dimensions of psychological stress. It also suggests that meditation programs could help reduce anxiety, depression, and pain. (Link: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1809754)
What one can infer from these reports is that mediation helps in improving mental health by reducing stress, anxiety, depression, psychological pain, etc. This could result in mental and physical calmness, thus enabling an individual to think deeply and logically to arrive at an optimum solution.
Does meditation also help in getting better insight into different problem areas? Various experts from China worked in collaboration and published a research paper, “Meditation promotes insightful problem-solving by keeping people in a mindful and alert conscious state,” which suggests that participants who engaged in meditation solved more previously unsolved problems compared to participants in the control condition, thereby providing direct evidence for the role of meditation in promoting insight. (Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/51752718_Meditation_promotes_insightful_problem-solving_by_keeping_people_in_a_mindful_and_alert_conscious_state/link/0c960522a8757ba737000000/download)
It is quite clear that mediation does have a positive impact on our mental health and ability to solve problems. The cut-throat competitive world that we live in, life is under constant pressure and mental stress. Therefore, it is a great idea and quintessential to practice meditation to stave off stress, anxiety and depression and get better at problem-solving.
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