watch As anyone who has spent more than a day with me will tell you, I have been a lifelong proponent of meditation – because I find it enormously beneficial every day of my life.

Quieting our mind from what Thich Nhat Hanh calls “hurry-sickness,” and meditating, go hand in hand. And in today’s fast-paced and demanding workplace, being able to quiet the mind can be invaluable – even essential. And just as important, meditation helps to shape who we are and how we interact with others.

Mistakenly, many believe that whatever we think just happens; we have been trained to believe that thoughts just pop in to our heads. But they don’­t – we choose what we think. And we are what we think and we become what we think. If we think things are going to go wrong, that people are bad or dangerous, that we are small and powerless, then (to us at least) all of those things are true. If we think that we are powerful, intelligent and beautiful and that life is a miracle and the world is filled with loving souls – then (for us at least) all this is just as true. We choose our thoughts, and we become what we think.

One of the benefits of meditation is that it teaches us how to detach from our thoughts. This gives us a great deal of control over how our thoughts affect us. Paradoxically, we control thoughts by observing them and then letting them go. And in some profound way, as we learn to “control” our thoughts, we begin to realize that since thought precedes all action, if we choose our thoughts, then we also have control over what we do as a result of those thoughts. And with time we experience the way in which we are, to a great extent, the creators of our own lives. And this gives us tremendous freedom. It eventually alters our consciousness.

Meditation doesn’­t require a great deal of training- in fact, you have, no doubt, meditated at some time already, whether you realize it or not. Just buy a good book, watch my meditation video, or find a good teacher, and begin a journey that will change your life.