On describing why he meditates, AFL Football player Zak Jones recently replied..
“I started very slow, but then it became before every game to clear my head and try not play out the game before it began.
For me it was enjoying this for what it is. There’s going to be highs and lows and if you’re worrying about what’s going to happen you’re not enjoying it.”
This leads to a great point that meditation helps reduce worry. How far ahead are you thinking throughout the day? Your body only needs to deal with this moment right now.
Anything more than this is extra stress that is not necessary. Future worry creates stress on your body that affects the quality of your present moment action right now. It also adds extra stress on your body, (which is responding like it is real.)
So how far ahead are you playing out your day right now in your head, while doing what you need to do in this moment? Bring all your thoughts right back to just this moment right now, reading this. These words right now. Nothing more.
If you manage to bring yourself back to this moment and just reading these words right now, you will find there is more enjoyment, doing just this moment. There is also more peace and quiet in your head because you don’t need to be thinking and worrying about the future right now.
When it’s actually time to plan your day, then that’s when you deliberately do it. Any other time, is just added body stress and wasted energy.
Mindfulness meditation helps to bring your mind and body back operating more from this present moment.