QUESTION: How long before I can expect to see some results of meditation?
AZIM: Meditation is putting a stop to all effort, both mental and physical. It is essentially the act of non-doing or relaxation. Tying up expectations to meditation does not work because expectations create tension, and tension runs contrary to the very concept of meditation.
As long as you keep expecting, you can never meditate. So enter into meditation like you enter into relaxation, joyously. Once you begin to practice meditation for the sake of meditation, things start to happen. Initially you might feel more calm and centered. Gradually your awareness of the self starts to become more solidified. You feel more present, alive and alert to life. Instead of being consumed by the endless chain of thoughts, you begin to notice them like a third person. You begin to understand that you are not your thoughts. This distance between you and your thoughts allows you to choose your response to the situation instead of reacting to everything.
The effects of meditation build with time. The longer and more consistent your practice, the greater the intensity of your experience. Plus now there is conclusive scientific data to back the effects of meditation. Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have found that participating in an eight-week mindfulness meditation program appears to make measurable changes in brain regions associated with memory, sense of self, empathy, and stress. While another interesting study carried out at Yale University found that meditation decreases activity in the default mode network (DMN), the brain network responsible for mind-wandering and self-referential thoughts – a.k.a., “monkey mind.” Since mind-wandering is particularly associated with being less happy, and worrying about the past and future, it’s a goal for many people to tone it down.
To conclude, I would suggest not to worry about results. Just keep at your daily practice of meditation and watch the changes unfold.