Who Ever Said Buddhism Doesn't Matter Anymore?

In today’s world it’s pretty easy to get caught up in all manner of modern solutions to your problems. Millions of self help books, talk shows, radio shows, parents with “traditional wisdom” they learned from said books and shows. One thing that doesn’t come up nearly as often as it should is Buddhism and good ole’ fashioned meditation. Now this could be pretty obvious to some people, but in fact even in the self help community a lot of people continue to view Buddhism as a set of esoteric concepts practiced by bald men in the mountains! Reality is far from that notion. Buddhism is not only practiced by monks or people of Asian descent. People like Steve Jobs, Tiger Woods (say what you will about him) and Richard Gere have considered themselves to be practicing Buddhists. It is not a religion (many hesitate to refer to it as such) that requires complete devotion to every word the Buddha ever spoke, meaning that you can consider yourself a Buddhist without the dedication to the monastic life that some choose. This is important in today's ever changing world because many religions have found themselves stuck with beliefs that have fallen far out of favor. What does it really provide to a modern world, though? First, we will cover the major Buddhist beliefs, and then I want to say something extra about meditation. The Buddha taught that all life is suffering, not many people would argue with that! This doesn’t mean that you have to be depressed all the time, just that life is full of things that can cause suffering if you let it. He also taught that there is a way out. Sounds great, right? The dharma is the path out of that suffering and it’s simple, straightforward, and easily applicable to anyone’s life. You know the feeling. A new TV, a new computer, phone, book, house, car, girl, guy or anything imaginable. That wanting for something, that ONE thing that will make you happy. Unfortunately you also know how that joy fades after you actually obtain the object. This is the suffering that Buddhism talks about. Letting go of attachment is of vital importance to our consumer based culture! If everyone in the world let go of wanting physical possessions the world would be a much happier place. Stay with me! This doesn’t mean that you should sell everything you own, but you shouldn’t let the things you own decide who you think you are as a person. Through meditation, introspection, and being present in every moment, as taught by the Buddha, you can liberate yourself from that pain. In a world of anti depressants and advertising that is insanely important! You should place special focus on meditation when you consider Buddhism. You don’t even have to consider yourself a Buddhist to meditate. Consider this, though. There is a way to calm your mind, relax your body, make you more creative, help you sleep better, make you a better communicator, increase your happiness, and change your life completely. You probably guessed that meditation is the answer to all of this, am I right? It can change anyone's life for the better. I even wrote a piece recently on meditation for depression. My own depression was eliminated through meditation and I’ve experienced innumerable other benefits as well! I strongly urge you to consider reading up on basic breathing meditation and give it a shot for a couple of weeks. What do you have to lose other than ten minutes a day? This is only the tip of the iceberg-pardon the cliche. Buddhism can change your whole outlook on life and improve it no matter if you are a hermit in the woods or a stock trader on Wall Street. Take a chance on something new. After all, it’s only proven its worth over the past, oh, several THOUSAND years!