can you gain inner strength by meditation?

Answer 1

Meditation can give you inner strength, when combined with intense mind-body exercises, a healthy diet, and not overindulging. Doing tough thing in the outer world is the only true way to test that strength. One can feel like one has inner strength, until one faces some very negative energy. Being able to focus on negative energy, and transform it to positive energy through meditation, takes a lot of training and concentration.

Answer 2

depends on what you are meditating on. If you are meditating on the mercies of God then I can see how that would lend strength to a person.

Answer 3

I believe so, depending on what you meditate upon.

Answer 4

Meditation was designed primarily for spiritual development, rather than mental or physical benefits. However, by nourishing the spiritual self, its benefits are then reflected throughout the human mind and body.


Spiritual benefits: Human beings function on spiritual, mental, emotional and physical levels, with each level impressing the next. Our self impresses our mind and helps us to choose our beliefs about reality. These beliefs then channel our thoughts into patterns which fit into that view of reality. Our thoughts feed into our emotions, and our emotions affect the well-being of our physical form. It makes sense, therefore, to see that the root of the human tree, our spiritual self, is given the best possible nourishment. This however does not mean that we will be rid of all ailments but we get a frame of mind that accepts the situation in a healthy manner.


Through meditation we contact our most real part. This part is the spiritual source which existed before our physical body was formed. Through contact with that reality, the essence of our self, we become more identified with that inner self. Our inner self is who we really are. Then, we begin to realize more of our potential because we are able to identify what that potential is. Our inner self is the fountain of wisdom within us. It has access to all information in the universe because it is consciously connected to the entire universe. The individual self is our personal connection to Infinite. Through contacting our inner self, we become more aware of our greatest inner joy. When we follow that innermost joy, we consciously resonate with our inner self and manifest our true potential in life. This inner resonance enhances our intuition, making us more capable of choosing the best options in life. This increases the synchronicity in our life and we achieve a natural flow which is more in harmony with the universe around us.


Mental benefits: Living in the 'present' is a spiritual practice and a habit which requires mental attention. By focusing on the 'present', we bring inner issues under control. Our belief system says that we cannot change the past, and that we can only change the future by acting in the present. It is therefore the "present" which holds the key to effective action. When past-related regrets or future-related worries are brought into the 'present' they can be experienced, examined for what they are, and then acted upon.


Meditation is well-known for producing increased mental clarity. Thus greater concentration and creativity are produced, and our memory power increases. The expression of creativity is one of the great natural joys in life, one which appears more and more as we follow our true path through life.


Emotional benefits: The more we contact our inner self, the more we understand who we really are. This brings forth a balanced sense of self-esteem, one which relies upon our true self rather than the judgments of others. Inner strength is awakened. This is a calm and self-assured strength, one which helps us face stress and anxiety with renewed energy and poise. With stress under control, our capacity for happiness is naturally expanded.


Physical benefits: Meditation provides a deep form of rest that works wonders for the human nervous system. This increases the human capacity for managing stressful situations and provides a sense of increased energy for handling all aspects of daily living. Meditation brings the body, mind, emotions and spirit into harmony. Disease is a word meaning literally a form of discord which reflects from the emotions onto the physical body. Extensive research projects have produced valid claims for meditation helping control many ailments including hypertension, anxiety and panic attacks. This of course is not the reason why we practice PAM. All these advantages of meditation as prescribed in the system help us to implement the Commandments of the Master more easily. Earnest seekers know that many a time it is our bodily ailment that hinders our practice and therefore these points were covered to note that we are not neglecting our body or mind in any sense of the term when we attend to meditation. It is determination to be healthy and strong that matters not withstanding physical ailment or debility. In a sense this liberation from an obsessive concern for the body is the initial liberation we need. Those who tend to neglect their meditation in the name of attending gyms, morning or evening walks and exercises may think about these facts.


Integrity of Mind Body and Spirit: The word integrity has been used extensively suggesting as though it is a moral strength. Integrity is what we achieve by following the fourth commandment of the Master by being plain and simple. Integrity means wholeness, completeness. A person with wholeness can focus his energies in one direction. A whole person achieves his life's purpose without the dissipation of energies caused by internal conflicts. He gets things done with ease, and then move on to the next activity which further pursues his sense of inner joy.


Many of us suffer from guilt; but until we resolve the issue of guilt we cannot be plain and simple and forthright. Guilt and fear are, of course, part of the tradition that we have inherited from our elders. That tradition is one of separateness. Separation of people into sexes, races, colors, religions and name what you want. Then there is the separation because of cities and States via competing sports teams, the separation of Nations through battles and war. Even consciousness which is integral and unitary has been separated into subconscious, super-conscious and regular waking states. Separation is the opposite of wholeness and is a fiction of the intellect.

Answer 5

not really an answer but is to me :
All the troubles of man come from his not knowing how to sit still -- Pascal

Answer 6

very much so, it is something that has changed my life and outlook on my own possibilities