Deep in the wilds of Maine, Cynthia Bourgeault's cellphone rings.
That someone is calling the sought-after meditation instructor isn't really surprising. That a consecrated Episcopal hermit even has a cellphone is.
But then again, the 60-year-old anchorite, who lives alone in a four-room hermitage with no running water and just five utensils, but enough solar power to run her computer, also represents the thoroughly modern face of the ancient practice of meditation.
Contemporary meditation is about "creating a new kind of consciousness that the planet can survive on," says Bourgeault, who cofounded the Contemplative Society in Victoria in 1997.
Many Canadians seek balance through meditation
And meditation is gaining momentum. Born from the world's great religious traditions, including Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and others, meditation (in many forms) is also practised by more than one half of Canadians who don't attend religious services, says Statistics Canada. And with good reason.
Maliha Chishti, a University of Toronto PhD student in post-conflict aid who practises meditation in the Islamic tradition, says meditation has given her deeper spirituality. "The fundamental change for me was... how I interact with the world," she says. "Meditation brings a focus by asking, 'How does this serve a higher purpose?'"
The self-discipline that meditation requires also means "you begin to live a very moral life," says Brother Brahmananda, a Los Angeles-based ministering monk at the nonprofit Self-Realization Fellowship. "This is the basis on which spiritual living has to rest. In other words, it ain't gonna work unless you lead a moral life."
Healthy mind, healthy body
There's a psychological effect, too. According to a report published by the American Psychological Association, "meditation interventions have a positive, medium-size effect on depression." In addition, a West Virginia University study found that meditation diminishes psychological stress by 54 per cent.
There's even a physiological benefit. Just 20 minutes a day of soothing reflection significantly reduces the risk of heart disease and lowers the risk of stroke by 15 per cent, says a study by the University of California. It can also improve your immune response; a University of Wisconsin-Madison study found that meditation increased antibodies by up to 25 per cent.
"Meditation helps rewire the neural pathways, but its most powerful contribution is to change the way you think," says Bourgeault, who emerges from her solitary existence to teach for part of each year. "It trains you to think from the heart."
If you're not sure of your first step on the path toward physical and spiritual harmony, read on. There is a meditation method for you.
Click here to discover 5 paths to inner peace...
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