Is Peace Practical?

Just finished my quiet time and wondered if having a good life is so much simpler than I ever thought. Like when I am feeling gratitude, it might be a reset button for my whole body. Or laughing at a joke, saying hi to a friend is the most spiritual of activities. Eckhart Tolle is pretty adamant about staying in the moment being the answer to our ills. I'm starting to be convinced.

Yesterday I got really rattled about something, checked in with myself and handed it off to my 'special assistant' who takes care of everything difficult. Getting back to a peaceful state of mind suddenly showed me all the possible solutions. Instead of wasting the day on fretting, I was off on a fantastic and productive day. It was a Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde moment for sure. One minute, my brain is in the blender, my face would probably inspire someone to turn and run, the sky is dark and no relief in sight. Next moment, the sun is out, I can breath freely and and I have not a care in the world. Wow! It sure is fun being me.So is peace the answer to all my problems? A peaceful state of mind... The research on meditation is, of course, staggering in its implications for our well being. The research on the Maharishi Effect has been around for 40 years but I am always surprised how few people know about it. That 1% of a population practicing (transcendental) meditation can reduce crime rates in a given region by upwards of 20% on any given night, everytime, is a fact worth exploring.

For the individual though, informal quiet time, or mindfulness meditation, has "produced lasting positive changes in both the brain and the function of the immune system" according to an article explaining this preliminary study at University of Wisconsin. In another study, violent or sociopathic behaviors previously assumed to be caused by character defects, bad parenting, or bad genes, may actually be caused by abnormally high or low activity, in specific parts of the brain. If this is true, there may be a simple solution to the most baffling of human behaviors.

The Maharishi Effect has implications that affect every sphere of life from how corporate decisions are made to improving the quality of family life, to averting mental and physical illness. That is cause for celebration. Next time, I'd like to look at how everyday people find that peaceful place. I don't know about you, but the word meditation has always seemed like a closed door to me, rather than an invitation. Then, when I ask everyone I know, they each have a completely different definition for what meditating is for them. So this might be fun to look at.