After the death of Robin Williams last week, we have felt worldwide waves of compassion and concern for all those, who are personally struggling with or have family or friends that are touched by depression, substance abuse and/or suicide. How does meditation help with depression?

Why are we anxious, exhausted or depressed?

In 2007, psychotherapist Jose Stevens, PhD observed: “Billions of people on the Earth are feeling anxious, exhausted, and having great difficulty sleeping. Not only that but suicides are way up, as are sudden deaths, and there are crazed outbursts of behavior.” He explained:

• Depression is created by a combination of variables, mostly beginning with some limiting belief or repetitive thought process with the theme of being trapped or helpless to change the situation. Certain drugs and physical exhaustion may also cause it.
• This creates feelings of hopelessness, chemical and hormonal changes in the physical body that reflect the drop in the energy body to an extremely low frequency.

• In the aura, depression is seen as a gray cloud above the head or as dark charcoal gray energy circling the entire person in severe cases, according to Barbara Martin.

In Working through depression – Karla McLaren described “situational depression,” which may be associated with personal (diet, exercise, sleep, self-care), relational (mate, family, friends, etc.) and sociological (finances, job, community, etc.) aspects of life. She gave ideas on how to work through this condition, but asked: why are so many people situationally depressed?

Why are we stressed out?

We used to be proud of our abilities to “multitask.” It’s only recently that we’ve come to understand that time is an illusion. It’s a series of now moments (event spaces) stringed together. The now moment we’re standing on is the only place where we can change things.

• Every time we’re regretting the past or worrying about the future, we’re diffusing our energy, like a flood light that shines on several now moments that we’re not on and can’t do anything about.
• Our goal is to focus or shine a spotlight on the now moment we’re on and figure out why we’re there. What’s in that moment for us to give and receive?

Modern technology adds to our distraction, as reported by BBC News – Smartphone stress: Are you a victim of ‘always on’ culture? Some people have become addicted to their smart phones or the internet that never allow them to switch off, not even on weekends or holidays when they’re supposed to relax and recharge their human batteries for a better work/life balance.

Is there another way to connect?

According to Institute of Heart Math (IHM): “In a way, the spiritual heart is like a smart phone, invisibly connecting us to a large network of information. The invisible energy it emits profoundly connects humans to all living things…including the Earth itself.” How?

Think of yourself as a package made of a car and a driver. The car is your vehicle or the body you have, and the driver is your soul aspect that is energetically embedded into and above that vehicle. To experience the lowest levels of creation, your soul allows another driver, your ego, to come along for the ride! 😉

• The soul knows it’s eternal with a permanent, indestructible energetic link to its Source, which connects it to absolutely everything and everybody in the multiverse.
• The ego is created by separation from everybody else and tries with all its might to be a “somebody” in the one and only life it has.
• The ego thinks it’s running the whole show, but knows it’s a transient mental construct. The ego identifies 100% with the human form and tries to make YOU think that you are your body, and that you will die when your body demises.

The egoic mind is the voice in your head that plays the game of “Survivor” using fear, greed, abandonment, shame, blame and other lower emotions to perpetuate itself, to keep you from connecting with the real you, i.e. the soul aspect or inner authority within.

What happens when we feel “disconnected” from Source?

Wendy Kennedy said that the #1 problem on this planet is lack of self-love, which means lack of connection to Source. That’s the base issue with all illness. Illness is caused by holding a lower frequency in the energetic template that creates our physical body.

• In contrast, self-love looks like radiant health, because it is all about service, connection and awareness that you are part of Source/Oneness and what you do affects all things.
• To play this game on Earth, we created a number of “filters” that distort our thinking. The filters include distorted thoughts, such as I’m not loved, supported, good enough, deserving, whatever we choose to play with. Emotions are a choice, a conditioned response to the filters in our field.

We can stay in sorrow or frustration or anger until we get bored with it, then make a new vibrational selection. By observing (not judging) the filter in place, we can see why and how it served us, then allow it to dissipate, so we can choose a different direction.

“Remember: The soul doesn’t care whether you succeed or not – it’s all about experience. The ego says: I must succeed in order to be loved. The soul says: That was interesting. I saw how that worked out. I’ll try something new now!” – Wendy Kennedy

If you are trying to control, avoid or refuse to release something, you’re in resistance, which is always about being in the mind, not in the heart. Resistance stops the flow of energy, so you feel stuck. Self-love allows you to disconnect from the old story and replace it with new ideas about who you are, according to Kennedy.

What exists within us is a divine spark of Source, our pure soul aspect that is infinite, not limited or distorted. We just need to drop the filters that tell us otherwise, and know that we’re NEVER disconnected.

What is the quickest way to reconnect with Source?

Kennedy suggested: If you feel disconnected from Source, sit down, breathe, and think of something that makes you smile (e.g. baby animals, because we’re hard wired to nurture them). That puts you in your heart center, where you can feel what connection, expansion, safety, and security feels like. Just like this kitten! 🙂

How does meditation help?

Deepak Chopra, MD listed the physical and emotional health benefits of meditation, including:

• Stress reduction, better sleep, lower blood pressure, decreased depression and anxiety, improved cardiovascular function, and strengthened immunity.
• People that meditate on a regular basis also influence the activity of their genes, helping to “turn on” the good genes and “turn off” the bad ones.

Researchers from Columbia University (Spirituality Mind Body Institute) studied people at high risk of depression, based on their family history.

• They found that those that practiced regular meditation or other spiritual or religious practices had a 90 percent risk reduction in major depression!
• They also noted thickening of parts of the brain cortex, that counteracted the thinning that normally occurs with major depression. This is a very compelling reason to start daily meditation.

In “Meditation – The Controlled Psychophysical Self-Regulation Process That Works,” Stephan A. Schwartz wrote:

“There are a lot of things one might say about what is happening to you physiologically during meditation, but this can be summed up by saying, that your brain changes, your blood chemistry changes, your stress level goes down, your muscles relax, your heart beat slows, your blood pressure decreases, and your sense of well-being increases.”

Meditation gives you the ability to focus and mental coherence that seems to bestow spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health on long-time meditators. As Schwartz noted: “Not bad for 20 minutes.” 🙂

How to get started?

Go to: Meditation Experience • Challenge – Deepak Chopra and Oprah have joined forces in a 21-Day Meditation Challenge called “Expanding Your Happiness.” They have made it easy with free daily guided audio meditations via an online, interactive program. There are a zillion different ways to meditate (see below).

Disclaimer: The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. Please consult your health care provider before making any health care decisions about your condition.