“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we have become,” proclaimed Buddha, an enlightened individual who is credited with words of wisdom and is known as a symbol of peace and happiness. More importantly, however, he is remembered for his meditation practices and how these have the potential to awaken the mind and promote a healthier lifestyle that creates a positive and relaxing atmosphere for those who choose to use the technique. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Meditation is a technique practiced in many cultures and is the process of relaxing the mind and promoting mindfulness and harmony in one's daily life. It has the ability to expand the mind which can create a state of peace and serenity for a person's well-being and can transform one's attitude into a contented and joyful being. So how could this beneficial technique be used to promote a healthier lifestyle and make people aware of the positive elements it has to offer? Meditation should be implemented first and foremost with those who most need these positive aspects: students attending secondary school. High levels of stress and tension increase moderately as students rush to reach the academic standards set for them and reach their full capacity to achieve success in the future. Alexandra Ossola states, “Getting into college is more competitive than ever, so it is up to students who have the means to apply to the most competitive schools to present the strongest portfolio possible, and their parents and teachers push them to do so.” This type of pressure produces a problematic and unhealthy lifestyle by creating stress and other negative qualities that could have a serious impact on the student's academic and personal future. Tension and anxiety levels continually increase, which further reduces the student's exquisite ability to realize their true potential regarding their education. This then tends to lead students to make poor decisions to cope with the intense burden of meeting the requirements set for them. However, if meditation were incorporated into their daily lives, then the heightened pressure would decrease allowing the student a clearer and more positive atmosphere to perform. That said, if meditation were incorporated into U.S. secondary schools, then the achievement of students containing feelings of stress or pressure would decrease significantly, which would allow for a more efficient and clear path to student education and success. in the future. Meditation has the ability to free the mind, allowing it to accept the struggles of everyday life and then transform it into something positive. When exercised or practiced, it brings a sense of awareness to your well-being and fills your body with serenity allowing all distractions to evaporate. Clive Erricker explains meditation by stating: “The main purpose of basic meditation is to calm and stabilize both the mind and physical body and to inspire. As such it is a practice of reflection, awareness, stillness and well-being." Thanks to the awareness and relaxation it creates, positive aspects are then produced to create a sense of peace and tranquility throughout life. Considering the pressure and strain placed on secondary school students, it is necessary to know the negative tolls that secondary school is allowing on them and how it is affecting them in an intimate and educational way. Due to the high pressure and tension, the students areable to be more susceptible to stress and anxiety. Such pressure would be a cause from trying to achieve good grades, take AP classes, participate in after-school activities, and other encouraged activities in order to achieve the succession of getting into top colleges and pursuing a high-paying career in the future. A psychologist named Mary Alvord describes the pessimistic effects schools have on her students by saying, “In the short term it can cause anxiety; over long periods of time, elevated levels of stress hormones can degrade the immune system, cause heart problems, exacerbate respiratory and gastrointestinal problems, and cause chronic anxiety and depression. This is bad for anyone, but it can be especially bad for high school students." Meditation has been reported to provide numerous positive aspects which are extremely helpful in the case of our secondary school students. Perhaps the most important ability that meditation has is the ability to improve one's health and well-being. Scientists have performed experiments demonstrating how meditation can positively change the brain. In an interview held by Brigid Schulte, a neuroscientist, Sara Lazar, performed an experiment and found through the results that specific areas of the brain were positively affected and improved through meditation. Sara gathered a group of people who had never meditated before and put them on an “eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program.” Four different regions were affected, but perhaps the most important one in this case was the left hippocampus, which “helps with learning, cognition, memory and emotional regulation” and the amygdala which is involved in feelings of anxiety. and stress. The results of these changes in the brain indicate that there can be improved learning and a significant reduction in the anxiety so common in today's students. Dr. Philippe Goldin conducted an experiment similar to Sara Lazar's and the results were essentially the same. It states that participants reported "less anxiety and worry... They humiliated themselves less and their self-esteem improved." One of the most involved anxieties is self-esteem: if a student cannot feel safe and stable in their life, how will their self-esteem and therefore their motivation improve? This becomes one of the main causes of the symptoms that lead to depression and therefore to depression itself. A research took place in two high schools which interviewed 128 students. Many reported experiencing large amounts of stress, but perhaps most devastatingly, 26% reported receiving a clinical diagnosis of depression, a rate that is “more than four times the national average of 6%.” This clearly illustrates that students are negatively affected by the work that secondary schools organize for them. If meditation were available to them throughout the day, their symptoms of depression would decrease due to the calm and relaxation that meditation offers. Considering that meditation can improve one's well-being, it can therefore be established that it can help improve the student's academic performance. Meditation has the ability to help increase attention and concentration. Thanks to the open-mindedness that comes from meditation, the brain can then take in more information and it is more likely to be stored in long-term memory. Clive Erricker discusses the potential of attention by stating, “When the young mind is open and flexible it can more easily absorb new habits such as the power of attention. This attention is not only intended to absorb information, but also todevelop a more protective state of being.” Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist, further elaborates on this benefit by proclaiming that meditation can help you ignore all the distractions which lead to the all-important ability to concentrate. This is due to the activation of specific brain regions responsible for improving attention during meditation. By increasing attention, students are able to concentrate more on their daily lessons and thus improve their academic excellence. There are numerous schools in the United States that have incorporated meditation into their programs and have reported having high success rates as well as a decrease in violent actions among students. In one case, there is a primary school that has replaced detention with meditation and the results of this show that children are less violent. Instead of sending students to detention, they are sent to a meditation room to learn how to control their actions with grace and peace. Andres Gonzalez is the co-founder of this program and talks about the benefits and effects this new idea has on his students by proclaiming: "When you have an intense scenario, whether it's anger, stress or frustration, your heart rate increases, and if you can use your breathing to slow everything down, you're not so impulsive, you're not so reactionary, and you're able to respond to whatever scenario comes your way.” Thanks to this program, the school reported having far fewer behavioral problems. Because they don't have to send students out of class for disturbing others, students are able to use that valuable time to learn the lesson being taught instead of wasting their learning time in detention meditation available to its students proclaims that students are less stressed and therefore more willing to learn. Dr. George Rutherford is the principle of Ideal Academy Public Charter School and reports that the student's ability to learn has increased. He proclaims, “If children are stressed, they are too agitated to learn. If our students are clear and calm, then they are receptive to learning.” One student who attends the academy says he has noticed a difference in his grades and behavior because of the meditation program provided for students. Clearly, meditation has significantly impacted these students in a positive way. In relation to violence, as students' pessimistic behavior can change due to meditation, so can their ability to make bad decisions. More and more students are turning to the side effects of drugs and alcohol to deal with the stress and anxiety they contain. Marya Gwadz, researcher, says: "It's a quick fix to forget about the real problem at hand instead of dealing with it, and it can even lead to long-term addiction." As stated earlier, meditation has the ability to reduce stress and anxiety and therefore can be an alternative to help cope with such disabilities instead of getting involved in substance use that can potentially lead to addiction. Despite all the benefits that meditation has to offer secondary school students, there are still critics who are completely against the idea and criticize how meditation could negatively impact students. Such criticism would be that most people would define meditation as a religious practice based on their religious background and incorporating meditation into the school system would be imposing religion on its students. However, there are many forms of meditation that can be practiced without any.