Using Meditation to Find Peace During an Ulcerative Colitis Flare

After I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in August of 2001 I was told that my disease was something that could be controlled with medication. Unfortunately this was not the case. I became very sick, very quickly. Because conventional medicine was not working for me I decided to try more natural methods. One thing I kept hearing from everyone I consulted was reducing my stress level. Although ulcerative colitis is not caused by stress, increased levels of stress have been shown to contribute to "flare-ups" or active periods of inflammation.

One of the first things I tried was exercise, walking being my main focus. Getting into an exercise routine when you have a disease like ulcerative colitis can be difficult and usually has to be monitored by a doctor. I was told by my doctors that one of the best things I could do, to add to my exercise routine, was to practice yoga and learn to meditate. Physical exercise helped reduce my stress levels but only to a certain extent. Learning to quiet my mind went further than I ever thought it could.

Meditating sounds like something that anyone could do and fairly easy to learn. This is not the case. I had a very difficult time learning to quiet my mind. When you sit down to meditate you're not really doing anything, physically at least. So it's natural for your mind to wander and for you to think about your other daily habits, such as work or school. Trying to push these thoughts away only makes it more difficult.

One of the things I tried was chanting a mantra. Mantras are energy-based sounds that produce actual physical vibrations. They are widely practiced in Eastern religions including Hinduism and Buddhism. One of the most popular sounds associated with meditation is "Om." Om is said to be the all-pervasive sound. Hindus believe Om to represent Brahman, the creator of all manifest existence. Being a Hindu myself, I found this concept to make sense and decided to incorporate this sound into my daily life. By learning to meditate and quiet my mind I not only reduced the stress in my life but also increased the joy I felt. When you let your negative thoughts, or thoughts based on material things and vanity, disappear you realize the true importance of life. You learn why it is so important that we have our health.

Ulcerative colitis controls many patients' lives after their diagnosis, but this is only because we allow it to control us. Meditation has allowed me to give up my attachment to this disease and find the real meaning of why I manifested this disease physically. It has benefited all aspects of my life and can benefit anyone with any disease in many ways.