Meditation is everywhere! Unless youve been living under a rock, youll have noticed that talk of meditation, mindfulness, awareness, and self-knowledge has rocketed in recent years. Today youll find multiple meditation classes, in a variety of different styles, in every town and city across the country. Theres certainly no lack of choice for those looking to explore the mysteries of mindfulness.

Meditation itself was born from very practical roots. For serious practitioners, it is a tool, not a fashion statement. Indeed, when the yoga pants, mala beads, and cultural packaging are stripped away, meditation is little more than a psychological exercise, a means of stilling the mind through focus and repetition; consider it push-ups for the muscles of the mind.

The surge in interest in the topic has led to meditation being investigated through the objective lens of science. Fortunately, unlike many mystic fads born from the cultural revolution of the 1960s, meditation holds up to investigation. Indeed, there is a growing body of scientific evidence to support the physical and psychological benefits of regular meditative training.

From fine-tuning your bedroom prowess to turbocharging your confidence and charisma, meditation, used properly, can be an ancient tool repurposed to fit the needs of an Iconic man.

If you thought meditation was a purely spiritual practice, think again!

1 - A Calm Man is a Confident Man

As with public speaking, day-to-day confidence takes time and practice.

One of the biggest hurdles towards developing confidence is the chatter of the mind, aka overthinking, those critical voices in your mind narrating just how badly youre doing.

Meditation is a fantastic tool for quieting the internal critic. Indeed, this is one of the primary aims of meditation, stilling what the Buddhists call the monkey mind.

With regular practice, meditation will instill in you a calm and relaxed demeanour, youll find yourself less ruffled in day-to-day situations. Of course, this will transfer into all areas of your life, including your relationships.

A man that exhibits a calm demeanour is a far more attractive prospect than his jittery nervous competition!

2 - Mind Control equals Body Control

The body and mind are deeply interconnected, but we often mistakenly think of our thoughts as something separate from our bodiessoftware versus hardware. However, just as psychological worry can raise your blood pressure, the nature and quality of almost all thinking can have a profound impact on your physical performance and well being.

Sex is no different. Its no coincidence that in our stressed and hectic world, the pharmaceutical industry is booming. Erectile dysfunction, or ED, is a growing problem and its one that the chemists are happy to sell you a pricey blue pilled cure. However, ED and many other sexual issues often stem from psychological causes, more often than not the primary issue is stress.

Meditation is a fantastic tool for reducing stress. As a result, those who occasionally experience sexual performance issues can see a rapid improvement.

Even for men not afflicted with such issues, the additional understanding of oneself that meditation brings can offer improvements in your stamina, your sexual empathy, and many other subtle areas of your love life.

3 - Focus is key

Men who can focus can appear almost supernatural.

One of the most common complaints women cite regarding the men in their lives is their inability to notice details.

Youll stand out from the crowd if you notice when shes got a new haircut, that she likes it when you do a certain thing or touch her in a particular place, when shes at the sexual stage of her cycle, or that shes been dropping subtle hints about something she wants to try. Simply by being aware of her changing emotional states, youll instantly be a cut above the rest.

Meditation trains the mind to focus, and as such, you will develop a more keen and discerning eye. The common term for this is mindfulness, but in practical terms this simply equates to thoughtful observance, or put simply, noticing what is going on around you. In short, regular training in meditation will make you more present in the world and this will allow you to be more present with her.

4 - Lucid Dreaming

Long term meditation is also a portal to another fascinating state of mind, namely lucid dreaming. Lucid dreaming is, essentially, natures virtual reality. In a lucid dream, one can dream whatever one wishes, and that includes all kinds of sexual fantasies and experimentation.

While meditation isnt an instant or direct route to lucid dreaming, it is a vital component in its development.

When one masters both lucid dreaming and meditation, it opens up a world of consequence-free sexual exploration. If youre looking to investigate your own fantasies and sexuality in-depth, then lucid dreaming is a safe and accessible tool to do so. Of course, being a form of natural virtual reality, lucid dreaming offers much more than just this and can be used to explore your imagination in all manner of ways.

Needless to say, when you feel more confident in your private sexual needs and identity, this will swiftly translate to an improvement in your relationships.

5 - Slow things down

The modern world is always in such a rush. This fast-paced approach to living has also influenced our love lives. Apps such as Tinder are a prime example of love at lightning speed, creating an almost consumerist attitude towards our love lives.

How we meet, how we date, how we approach intimacy, even how we end relationships, have all taken on a rushed and hectic tone.

Meditation helps us to slow down, to become more in-tune with the natural rhythms of love and sexuality. While this might all sound a little hippy it is based on hard facts and science and it has real-world, practical values.

Learning to approach sex and love in a more relaxed manner will help you stand out from the crowd, it will also allow you to form real bonds rather than being caught in a world of disposable one-night-stands.

An improvement in your love life is only one of a myriad of ways in which meditation can be beneficial.

So, if youve been harbouring a little scepticism and avoiding meditation due to out-dated stereotypes or stigmas, I highly recommend giving it a try.

For as little as an investment of ten-minutes of your time each day, youll soon start to see tangible improvements in many areas of your life.

If nothing else, itll give you some time to unwind and become familiar with the power and intricacy of your own mind. Remember, a healthy love life first starts with a healthy relationship with your own self.

Read more:

Meditation - 5 fascinating ways that meditation can improve your love life - IconicMan Magazine