Paul Bennett, a meditation teacher (and second cousin of former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr), believes meditation can combat stress. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

Stress has caught up with the Maltese, who increasingly seem to have less time for each other, according to a meditation teacher who shuttles between Liverpool and Mosta.

Paul Bennett, whose second cousin is former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, also practises mantra meditation and has seen Malta change over the decades.

Born in the UK in 1950 to a Maltese mother and English father, Mr Bennett’s family moved to Malta briefly in the 1950s. However, he has been shuttling between the two islands since 1972.

“I’m concerned about health issues resulting from stress, diet and exercise that are on the increase. Adverts of a peaceful Malta in the early 1990s are not so accurate anymore because most people are leading stressful and busy lives and do not even have time for others,” Mr Bennett told Times of Malta.

Part of the solution is meditation, he added, something he took up over 40 years ago. “It has been scientifically proven that meditation relieves the stress people absorb from the day-to-day, fast-paced living. When we get overloaded with many things to do and get stressed out, our adrenaline and cortisol levels increase and these can be reduced by pausing and meditating.

“Everyone and anyone can meditate because it has got nothing to do with lifestyle or culture. Meditation promotes deep rest, which allows you to see your situation clearly and reflect on your actions to take sound decisions. This means people who meditate will probably take a look at their diet and exercise habits,” he added.

Mr Bennett’s comments follow a Lancet study showing that mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, which includes meditation, may be as good as pills to treat recurrent depression. For a couple of years now, the UK’s national health service has been recognising mindfulness meditation as being good for depression and has rolled out secular meditation courses.

Adverts of a peaceful Malta are not so accurate anymore because most people are leading stressful and busy lives and do not even have time for others

This therapy encourages people to pay more attention to the present moment. Although the meditation that Mr Bennett teaches, known as mantra, is different, he insists the benefits are also free from the side effects that result from taking medicine.

“Look at me, I’m 65 but feel 18,” he chuckles, adding: “I seriously feel younger than most people and look forward to life.”

A Beatles fan, he started meditating when he came across an article about the English pop band taking up meditation and then going on a retreat in India in 1968. He was later trained to teach meditation by Walter Bellin and has been practising it ever since, even now that he is a pensioner.

“Meditation is picking up and it’s also being taught at schools, something I would not have imagined possible 10 years ago. Ultimately, it’s something anyone can do. It takes a Joe Borg and a nuclear physicist the same effort to practise it.”

For more information, please visit http://wirralmeditationcentre.com/ .