Where do our problems come from? Traditions that emphasize meditation for spiritual development usually recognize that "spirituality" is nothing other than understanding the mind and how our minds actually work. And our problems in life come from our mind. Outside circumstances in our lives vary constantly, and are unpredictable. They are not the source of our suffering. The source is the 6 inches between our ears...
If we are to look for control somewhere, working with our minds, looking inward, would be a good place to start. Its in how we perceive our world and circumstances that we have control. So we meditate to work with our minds, with our perceptions, because we recognize that our perceptions make us happy or sad, frustrated, angry, joyous etc. And perceptions are a choice, we have control over them if we practice having control. This is very good news!
Somewhat ironically, our basic meditation technique is a process of letting go of thoughts and feelings and control, letting thoughts be, letting them float away as they do naturally, or simply not holding onto them with a death grip. This process, over time, changes how we handle life, how we deal with everything that comes up in life. Isn't this what we want? To have a comfortable mind regardless of outer turmoil? "Stress" does not exist until we bring it into existence, artificially and contrived, in our mind. Meditation helps short-circuit this process. And the result is relaxation.
