Overcome Depression through Meditation

By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj

We think everyone else is happy and that we’re the only ones with problems and troubles. We bemoan our fate and sometimes sink into a depression thinking we’re the only ones suffering while others are joyously happy.

What we fail to realize is that everyone has his or her own problems.

We think others have better jobs, better health, or better relationships than we have. We spend time looking at others and wishing we could have what they have.

Few realize that each one carries around his or her own bundle of troubles. Many are suffering from depression, anxiety, and hopelessness. When we look at the lives of others, we find that they may even have more difficulty than we have. If asked to trade our own problems with theirs, we find many would rather keep their own.

Each of us has our share of good things in our lives, and each has times of trouble. No one alive can escape that reality. We should not feel that someone else is having an easier time in life than we have. All people go through their own suffering.

Instead of spending time thinking about how depressed we are and how happy others are, we should think about the blessings that we have been given.

Just as we spend time sorting out all our complaints, we should also list all the blessings we have been given. Think of all the days that our health is good. Reflect on the times we had enough money for a roof over our head, food on our table, and clothing on our back. Count our blessings for all the family members and loved ones that we have.

Think about the spiritual blessings we have received from God. We are fortunate that we can learn to meditate using a simple spiritual practice that can give us a firsthand inner spiritual experience of the inner Light and Sound. We can explore wondrous vistas within us. By doing a spiritual meditation where we focus our attention within, we can discover spiritual wonders.

Many people search for a solution for their depression. Doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and therapists are there to help us. The latest findings by mental health professionals is that we can supplement their treatment by adding meditation to our lives.

How Meditation Can Be a Supplementary Treatment for Depression?

How does meditation help us as a supplementary treatment for depression?

When we meditate, we become calm. Our thoughts are stilled, so for the time that we are meditating we can get relief from the obsessive and painful thoughts that fuel our depression.

Meditation also puts us in touch with a place of joy and peace within us. It is like being bathed by a stream of happiness. This itself will bring relief to depression. We will feel joy from within that lifts our spirits.

When we meditate on the inner Light, we come in contact with a loving Light that can fill us with the emotional support we seek.

Many people experience depression because they feel isolated, lonely, or unloved. If we had a traumatic childhood experience and grew up feeling unloved, this may trigger our depression. When we come in contact with a divine love or godly love from within by meditating on inner Light, it fills the hole within us with the love we always sought. That inner Light fills us with a love that is often described by those who experience it as more love, bliss, and joy than they ever had in their lives. This experience stays with us even after meditation and it supplements our treatment for depression.

Enjoy Relief from Depression in Meditation

One way to overcome depression is to spend time in meditation to enjoy the inner bliss. Instead of focusing on those thoughts that trigger our depression, along with any professional treatment we receive we can focus on the good things that happen to us and be grateful for them. We can learn to accept that times of trouble are a part of life and realize that everyone else is goes through them as well.

If we learn to meditate and experience the joy and calm within, we can supplement treatment for depression. Meditation can help us overcome our own tendencies to get sad, depressed, or disheartened about our life and instead develop a more contented attitude toward life, thereby learning the secret to happiness.

Related Article: Benefits of Meditation