Meditation is one of many ways of becoming quiet.  While it requires discipline and dedication to master the act of deliberately sitting down to do nothing, it is surely one of the fastest and most effective ways of becoming quiet.

But why bother in the first place to become quiet? 

Human motivation in any context always involves the factors on the following continuum:

MOTIVATION
"Away From" pain & suffering	"Towards" pleasure & reward

This means that whenever we decide to do something or NOT to do something, our decision is either motivated by our desire to move away from something that is painful and negative, OR to move towards something that is pleasurable and positive, OR a combination of both.

"My Healing" Oil on Canvas, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the context of meditation, the "Away From" motivation includes experiences like

• Stress
• Fear / Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Unhappiness
• Illness
• Dissatisfaction: having what you don't want,
  or wanting what you don't have

In other words, the "Away From" reason to meditate is to
escape for a while from all these negative experiences.

The "Toward" motivation includes our yearning for experiences like

• Peace of mind
• Energy and vitality
• Health and a sense of well-being
• Compassion
• Balance
• Equanimity: feeling able to face our challenges
• A sense of meaning and purpose
• Happiness and Joy
• Spiritual growth and union with God

Among the "Towards" reasons we are obviously interested in some real, valuable benefits / rewards. There is an impressive list of potential benefits from meditation:   Picture from www.nurturingart.com   Physical benefits Enhanced performance in sport or work Improved health Accelerated healing after trauma or illness Lower blood pressure Lower cholesterol Help to overcome addictions Mental / Emotional benefits Reduced tension, anxiety, stress Clearer thinking Enhanced ability to focus and concentrate Less emotional turmoil Improved creativity Experience of more love, joy and spontaneity Improved connection with friends and family Self-acceptance Self-understanding Spiritual benefits A stronger sense of meaning and purpose Experience of union with God Glimpses of a spiritual dimension of being Experiences of Enlightenment / Awakening / Liberation / Freedom / An encounter with the SOURCE of all love, wisdom, happiness and joy

HOWEVER, THERE IS A CATCH!!!
While it is very important to have clear INTENTIONS when one decides to settle into regular meditation practice, it simply does not work to have clear EXPECTATIONS of what, when and how you want to benefit from it.

For example: 
It makes good sense to have the intention to meditate in order to experience union with God.  But to sit down with the expectation "I will have an experience of union with God by having a warm feeling in my heart NOW" just does not work.  When we enter the realm of quietness, we enter the realm of wordless mystery and complexity.  The gifts we receive from our times of quietness are often very subtle.  Also, the benefits or moments of awakening and enlightenment do not necessarily come WHILE you are meditating – these moments can creep up on you at ANY time!

This makes meditation different from the way we conduct our lives otherwise.  Normally, we set goals to achieve something specific.  When we meditate, the "goal" is to DO NOTHING for a while and to simply be receptive. 

The universe is a giant lucky packet of awareness.  You never know what you are going to become aware of    when you dip your fingers into the lucky packet, so, go ahead and find out!

Also see Checklist of Reasons to Meditate