In today’s society, we are surrounded by the idealistic benefits of superpowers or superhuman abilities.

Media portrays both the good and bad aspects, psychologically and physically, of various empowered people, and captivates their audience with fictional characters created specifically to be something we can relate to.

Consequently, through comic books and TV shows like “Heroes” (great show, by the way), we find ourselves pondering how much more easy life would be if we had the superpowers our favorite characters use.

Unfortunately, our understanding of the world and what existence is comprised of leaves much to be desired; if it’s possible to develop super strength and bend the rules of physics, we haven’t figured out how, yet. So, those of us who wish we had powers for getting by in life also have to live with the realization that it is purely fantasy.

However, there is a way we can help ourselves in many aspects of life. There is one thing that people in our world have learned to do, which allows for strengthening our minds and bodies, helping us through the tribulations of life, but in a more limited capacity than the superpowers shown in TV.

The benefits which arise from this practice are much more practical, though, unlike the ability to lift a car with one hand; these benefits will absolutely help us in everyday life. That’s exactly why they are referred to as “Practical Superpowers”.

To get them? Well, as I keep saying, life is all about perception; the way we perceive our circumstances and ourselves mandates our reactions as well as what we feel. To a deeper extent, perception works subconsciously on a very high level and can be directed through meditation.

In this article, I will describe a few practical superpowers and what types of meditation, or focuses, should be applied in order for you to attain your own strengths, to help you redefine yourself as who you know you should be, and to help you make it through those most frustrating circumstances we all face.

While there are an unfathomable amount of abilities we can unlock within ourselves, I will cover those which are most significant to me: Patience, Confidence, and Self-Mindfulness.

Patience is extremely important in life. Being patient will help you to control your temper, stay relaxed with daunting tasks in front of you, and work through slow progress in projects and in your heart. So, how does meditation help you gain patience?

Simply by meditating, the act of ignoring time and sitting still, is a great way to practice patience. Consider, for a moment, what makes you impatient in daily life? What drains your resilience? Your need to be punctual? Or is it the lack of time you have to accommodate every part of your life? Possibly a particularly annoying person who is always there?

It seems to me that all lack of patience is related to a single construct: time. In meditating, you train your mind to ignore the progression of time, and can use your meditation sessions as a reminder that, no matter what is happening or where you have to be in 5 minutes, life will go on, and peace will persist.

Humans are built with the ability to recognize confidence at the drop of a coin. If you walk into a room, you can see who is insecure and who is confident based on posture; once people start talking, it becomes even more obvious. We are typically drawn to more comfortable around and have more respect for those who are confident.

So, how can meditation help you to become confident? When you meditate, no matter what type of meditation it is, the mundane aspects of reality drift aside. We lose our confidence because of people telling us we aren’t good enough, or because media-driven standards are impossible to live up to, or any number of other reasons.

Each of these reasons is irrelevant in the scope of life, and, through the peace of meditation, we will learn that our happiness is more important than any of these irrelevant facets of life. Once we learn that people’s opinion of us, as well as our fear of them and drive to improve our social image is banal, we will learn that being a good person is all that it takes to be confident.

All people should know themselves as well as they possibly can. Psychologists and philosophers have maintained through history that we are not able to truly know ourselves. Various artists, like Maynard from the band Tool, make statements like “I know you better than I know myself“; even Sun Tzu wrote, in the Art of War, “know Thyself, and know thy enemy”.

One of our greatest subconscious defenses against the trials of life is our ability to manifest walls between our real selves and our conscious minds. That which we know of ourselves is typically what others want us to believe, or what we have told ourselves we are; the reality of who we are and what we truly feel is usually hidden to us.

Like the previous two topics I covered, self-mindfulness is able to become much more real with practicing meditation. Not just any meditation will help with this, though; while all meditation will bring you closer to your true self, there is one type which will help the most: Heart Rhythm Meditation. I don’t intend on getting into the details of this style of meditation, but it does focus on your heart, emotions, and the rhythm of life portrayed through your humanity.

So, no, we will likely never be able to fly or become bulletproof, we will likely never be able to fully grasp conscious telekinesis, but we can acquire a variety of practical superpowers.

Besides the ones I have listed here, meditation can also help us to achieve more control over our minds and bodies, including sleep patterns and health.

The best of us know to keep learning and always strive to be a better person; so, I encourage you, good readers, to do some research into various meditations on your own, and find one or five which suit you well. It will help you to strengthen your mind, body, and spirit.


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This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Suzen

    Thanks Nick, practical tips are the best. Science is proving daily the health and wellbeing benefits of meditation. Breathing techniques are also extremely important, and so much a part of mediation. Meditation focusing on the heart allows us to honor the seat of love, and initiates the process of the mind serving the heart versus what goes on in the third dimension, where the mind/ego rule.

  2. Mel

    This was great and I LOVED that you called these qualities “superpowers.” I agree 100%. :thup:

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