Dr. Joseph Mercola's in The London Times March 14, 2008 comments: “Before you brush off meditation as something only for Buddhist monks or hippies, it would serve you well to find out what you may be missing. Meditation is the equivalent of giving your mind an escape valve to blow off steam”.

There is growing evidence to show that meditation can help everyday people experience less stress, feel healthier and be more happy and content with their lives.

Stress is a natural part of modern day life and many people naturally engage in meditative-like activities whenever they feel stressed -- listening to music, playing sport, engaging in hobbies, soaking in a bath. All of these help promote a state of calm and focus the mind in the present moment, free of incessant chatter - a fleeting but rejuvenating respite from life's demands and stresses.

But we can't stay in the bath all our lives, or listen to music 24/7, so what's the alternative? What can we do to experience that peace and contentment on a more permanent basis? Meditate?

About 10 million people meditate every day in the West, and many more in other parts of the world.   

At its most basic level, meditation helps you take a break from incessant thinking, a break from all those 'parrots' on your shoulder constantly telling you what to do, telling you you're not good enough, you're not worthy enough... Some people use it to promote spiritual growth or find inner peace, while others use it as a relaxation and stress-reduction tool.

Throughout our lives, we develop many beliefs and judgments about ourselves and others. These are usually based on past experiences and affect how we live our lives now. They lead to stress and anxiety, feelings of unworthiness of love, mistrust and separation.

Throughout our lives, these beliefs and judgments replay over and over in the form of repetitive thoughts, or "chatter".  Did you know that the average person has up to 100,000 thoughts constantly running through their mind every day? We are not even aware of most of them but they have an influence on how we feel and what we achieve. These thoughts are the main source of stress in our lives.

Thoughts about the past can induce sadness, regret, procrastination and even anger. Thoughts about the future can induce fear, anxiety and hopelessness. When you think about it, all we really have is right now, this exact moment in time. The past is gone and the future will never unfold as we think it will.

Thoughts are a natural aspect of our existence and they will always keep flowing naturally. Meditation can allow us to develop a different relationship with those thoughts. The thoughts will continue to come but we become less and less identified with them. To disengage the mind from thinking about the past or the future, and focus on what is right here, right now.

Clearly, meditation ranks right up there with exercising and eating right when it comes to improving your health. And it's something that just about everyone can carve out the time to do.  If you have a desire in your heart to experience something more than you're experiencing right now, then it's worth a try.