If you think meditation is something only Buddhist monks (or people with lives a lot less crazed than yours) can do, think again. Not only can anyone meditate, but there are myriad health and well-being benefits from a simple, daily meditation practice. For starters, meditation can decrease blood pressure as well as cortisol (a stress hormone) and cholesterol; increase creativity; reduce anxiety, and strengthen your immune system. Some researches also showed that those who meditated were calmer and had a more positive emotional state. With this basic guide, meditation has never been so easy to practice. You also learn some lessons: - Regardless of what most people claim, stress is an emotion that you can control.

- The environment and things happening around you do not bring you stress. Rather, the way you react to these things is what causes it.

- The two universal causes for stress are unmet needs and a perceived threat. Every single stress or stressful situation can be categorized as one of those two things.

- When you are not being true to yourself, your mind, body, and spirit will always be at odds. When your life is in balance, you will always find the strength to overcome any kind of stress.

- Through meditation, you are better able to avoid letting your emotions suck you into the melodrama with which they come. This allows you to take a step back and tackle issues in your life in an objective and stress-free manner.