Thought: Importance of Self-Reflection and Meditation

I had dinner with a friend today who is having trouble acting like "she thinks she should." She feels that she is actually this amazing, smart, deep person (and she is) but she is having trouble portraying herself as such through her actions, and in fact she feels that what she is able to portray herself as is not really her. Interesting conundrum.

I think we all, well, at least those of us that are self-aware, come to this realization regularly in our lives. When you get into a rut, or a cycle of doing the same thing and acting the same way over and over, and you think you should be getting more out of life. Eventually you feel that there is a whole lot more to you than people recognize and are giving you credit for.

In all cultures that exist today, religious or otherwise, there is a certain level of self-reflection and meditation involved. I can't think of one off-hand that doesn't put at least some value on these or dispels them completely. So cultures and religions that have evolved over hundreds, or even perhaps thousands of years, all have an element of "tuning" yourself. I think that shows that there is some value to this practice. Religiously, meditation is done to realize more how to glorify God.

So my suggestion? If you feel like you're not quite in sync with yourself, explore the power of prayer, meditation and self-reflection. It helps bring your life back into perspective.