In life, when we find an activity or a hobby or even a career or calling in which we are engaged, we feel energized whenever we partake in it.

The emotion we feel that engagement, that joy, that enjoyment is a byproduct of what we have

intentionally tried and been successful at finding what we enjoy doing.

Meditation is similar in that we don't meditate to relax, even though in our modern world,

that is how it is often set up to inspire us to practice the skill. But actually, and if you've been meditating

with this series for a while, you know, meditating is about understanding our mind better.

And as a result of learning how not to become swept up in our thoughts, we gain ease, peace, calm, and thus feel more relaxed

when we meditate. In this way, relaxation is the byproduct of meditating. But the purpose to meditate is to understand our mind. When we give

ourselves this key of how to manage our mind constructively, something that for many of us may have

felt completely out of our control until we realized the opposite through the learned skill of meditation,

we discover how to bring about the peace we have sought.

When we understand our mind, we begin to make better decisions in all areas of our lives

for ourselves, for our relationships, for our work,

literally for everything. And as we make better, more nourishing decisions, our life becomes more

at ease. Relaxation is no longer a moment that we need because our lives are so chaotic and

feeling out of control. No, no, no, no, no.

We now experience relaxation interwoven throughout our days, each one. When we live a life of

contentment, we are living a life that is grounded in daily peace, a life in which we feel at ease living each day, no matter

what is swirling around us immediately or in the world at large. By choosing to learn the

skills meditation teaches, we give ourselves a power we've always had the capability of applying to our lives

and specifically our minds. With the skills of mindfulness, we choose how we design our lives and how we

engage with the world. And through our choices, when guided by being mindful, relax,

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