The words “meditation” and “medication” sound almost identical. If you switch out the c for a t they’re the same word. Meditation comes from the Latin root, meditatus, which means to think, pay attention to, or contemplate. It is similar to the Latin root (medicina) for Medicine meaning “art of healing.”
Meditation as Medicine
“Not only does it change the way our brain works, it actually is almost like going to the gym – you’re actually building new connections and we can see on a brain scan structural changes after just eight weeks of meditation, and so you see an increase in density in a part of the brain that actually is associated with happiness, that’s associated with being able to make better decisions in our lives... and it also shrinks the part of our brain responsible for the stress response.”
-Jamie Zimmerman
Starting your Meditation Practice
Some things to keep in mind as you begin your own meditation practice are:
Determine your why
Start with baby steps (5-10 minutes a day is better than an hour, once a week)
Choose what kind of meditation style resonates with you (Guided, silent, focusing on your breath, taking a journey with images and music)
Make the Commitment
Join a group or start your own
“I think when we really quiet our minds we start to hear our hearts.”
-Jamie Zimmerman
“The longest journey you will ever take is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.”
—Andrew Bennett
“Each moment of our lives is like a grain of sand, part of a finite supply. Each moment is unspeakably precious.” – Jamie Zimmerman
In Memory of:
Jamie Zimmerman, MD 1983-2015
Photo by Simon Rae
Pilgrimage Studio 