Almost everyone knows there are many benefits to meditation. Some of the most commonly known benefits of meditation include stress relief, relaxation, healing, calming, and self awareness. Meditation is immediately relaxing, however most of the benefits of meditation come after months or years of daily usage.

Self awareness is the most powerful outcome of meditation. When your self awareness increases, your happiness depends less on “reality” and more on your own frame of mind. Self-aware people tend to focus on the now, instead of worrying about the past or the future.

After years of meditation, many tend to not care that much what the world does or thinks. Those who meditate are more likely to care about what they do, and their interface to the world. This is usually a happier, more productive way to live.

Almost all meditation requires you to be still, and temporarily avoid the outside world. Many people think it’s kind of weird to tune out the world, and just think (or not think). Often during meditation one’s best thoughts emerge.

To most people, it just looks strange to see someone not moving and acting dead to the world. “Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream.” That line from a Beatles’ song is often what it is like to meditate.

There are several ways to meditate, including controlling your mind, your thoughts, your breathing, listening to relaxing sounds, or listening to binaural beat sounds with headphones. Listening to binaural beats are my choice – it is both easy and effective.

Binaural beats are two different sound frequencies that are sent to two different ears on the same head. Headphones are always required to keep the frequencies separated until they reach your brain. There is a theory that you benefit when your brain works to resolve the difference in the frequencies.

Binaural beats are most often mixed with neutral sounds such as the sea, white noise, forest sounds, music or some other sound. Sometimes, if you request, subliminal messages can be included.

Almost always, there is no need to worry about nefarious purposes in subliminal messages that you specified and ordered. For those worried or motivated, having the right computer hardware and software allows you to record your own subliminal messages.

There are many vendors of binaural beat CDs/MP3s/etc. You can find them cheap on EBay, for moderate prices at many places on the web, and for a premium price, one can choose an expensive meditation system such as Holosync.

Holosync is a series of CDs that cost a lot, but has several advantages including a long-term progressive series, the ability to have your own affirmations recorded “subliminally”, and a professional grade sound.

Some say the company that created and marketss too strongly to their existing customers, but that is a minor annoyance.

I chose Holosync as it seemed the best choice – and when it comes to my brain, I wanted the best. Of course any meditation choice is a good choice.

I have been using Holosync for about 10 years and I am glad I chose it. Holosync takes a full hour a day, but often it is the best part of my day, where I can think about what I want, and what I want to be.

Meditation requires a commitment of time, but the loss of time is compensated by making one more efficient, happier, and rested. The easy way to meditate is with binaural beat sounds and headphones.