Starting a meditation practice brings about profound inner changes—calmness, silence, purpose, equanimity—but many of these take place quietly over a period of time.

2. 6 Benefits and Signs of
Progress in Meditation

4. Starting a meditation practice brings about profound
inner changes—calmness, silence, purpose,
equanimity—but many of these take place quietly
over a period of time. So how do you measure
progress in meditation? Here are six unexpected but
tangible signs you are on the right path:

5. 1. Sleep improves
Meditation stills the fluctuating thought waves. As
a result, the mind is less scattered and distracted
and switches off quickly. Dreams—which are an
offshoot of a restless, active mind—also reduce.
You sleep deeper and longer. Before I began
meditating, I would

6. have trouble falling asleep on nights before big
events eg, an important presentation at work or a
book launch. I’d also have trouble falling back to
sleep if I awoke in the middle. Now, I have a deep,
dreamless, restful sleep almost always–even with
a two month old baby girl! I wake up when she
cries in the middle of the night, feed her, and fall
back to sleep immediately as if completely
uninterrupted.

7. 2. Music tastes change With thoughts becoming
less agitated, violent, agitating music feels more
jarring. For instance, I find it difficult to listen to
Eminem now even though I enjoyed his lyrics just
a couple of years ago. Same with movies and
other entertainment that are too harsh or violent. -

8. 3. Beautiful sights lose their pull. As one gets
more and more joy in just sitting still and focusing
within, the frenzied urge to see more and do more
quietens. The next time you go on a business trip
to Paris, you won’t feel the urge to rush and see
every cathedral, every museum in the guidebook.
Strolling quietly through the streets, meditating in
a church or even in a hotel room feels more
pleasant than climbing up a hill to see yet another
architectural wonder.

9. 4. Concentration Improves. You may notice it in
subtle but tangible ways. For instance, my ability
to calculate numbers in my head became faster
than ever at work. I also began paying more
attention to my colleagues versus dismissing them
quickly to attack the next item in my mental To-do
list. Needless to say, being more present changes
your life in wonderful ways. The quality of one’s
work improves, relationships deepen and more
positive coincidences occur.

10. 5. Worldly talk feels more hollow. Talk of
houses being bought, goods being sold, the usual
“did you try X or Y restaurant?”, “are you following
Oscar Pistorius’s trial?” etc. feels gratingly
superficial. Meditation stirs something deep within
giving a glimpse of an infinite truth. The finite,
repetitive concerns of the world feel increasingly
shallow. It’s all for the good though. One spends
time more thoughtfully as a result.

11. 6. You become more “holistic” Not quite a tree-
hugging hippie yet but suddenly, you can
understand what all the fuss about recycling,
sustainability and vegetarian food was all about.
And if that wasn’t enough, words like
“consciousness” and “mind-body connection”
enter your lexicon.

12. You didn’t sign up for these, did you? Next you
know, you’ll be going for a spiritual retreat in an
ashram. Oh wait, you didn’t just do that, did you? -

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