In everyone's life, there will always be a certain amount of stress. Though it's desirable to avoid stressful situations, that isn't always possible. Not learning to deal with stress has many undesirable side-effects. It can cause illness, insomnia, mental health problems, and a general sour outlook on life. Mankind have devised many methods of dealing with stress. One method, which appears to have promising results, is relaxation meditation.

The power of meditation has been known for millennia. It's been incorporated into some Eastern religions as a way to enhance one's understanding of reality, and to cultivate wisdom and compassion. Meditation, the Eastern practitioners say, can unlock the full capabilities of a person's conscious and unconscious mind.

In spite of this, serious scientific study of meditation's benefits only started about 30 years ago. Reports from India told of their yogis' unimaginable feats of both bodily control and altered states of consciousness. It took the relatively recent advancement of scientific instrumentation to verify their claims.

Other claimed benefits of meditation include a sense of heightened creativity, heightened problem solving skills, more restful sleep, and reduced levels of stress. And, of course, with reduced stress comes a better outlook on life and better health.

Nowadays, even here in the West, it's not hard to find information about the benefits of meditating. It's not only on the Internet, but also in print magazines. (That's especially true in the pop-psychology magazines.) In both places, you'll see stories about how someone has benefited from the technique, and how best to perform it.

The general procedure, on which most websites and magazine articles seem to agree, is to find a quiet spot where you can sit comfortably. With your eyes not focused on any particular object, clear your mind and concentrate on one particular word or phrase. Most sources say to do this for about ten to fifteen minutes at a time.

You'll also see websites belonging to vendors who sell courses that teach these methods. There are also vendors that sell aids to help with the process. Mostly, these aids are in the form of an audio CD with some type of relaxing sounds. It may be either New Age Music, or sounds of nature.

Without their products, the vendors say, a person would have to meditate for hours per day, for several years, or even decades, before achieving optimum results. These products, they say, can accelerate the process.

If you need to learn more about relaxation meditation, you can search on the web or visit your nearest magazine stand.