As the Indian mystic Osho said: “Silence is the space in which one awakens and the noisy mind is a space in which one remains asleep. If your mind continues chattering, you are asleep.”

Mediation is a practice of resting our attention on our breath instead of getting wrapped up in the ongoing of our thoughts. As soon as our thoughts are quietened, our mind rids itself of the stress which stands in the way of clear thought.

This is not only a question of intuition. There is evidence that through meditation we can re-programme ourselves in order to work more effectively. Research studies demonstrate that the brain produces more gamma waves in people who meditate regularly. Gamma waves relate to clear thinking.

Meditation also has an influence in slowing the ageing process. Brain scans in people who meditate regularly show less wearing of the frontal lobe than is usually the case.

In the short term, mediation is beneficial if we need to draw new sources of energy. Research at the University of Wisconsin studied a group of people before and after 40 minutes of sleep, reading, speaking and meditation. It was shown that meditation is one of the activities which leads to immediate improvement of performance.