Most people form their impressions of meditation from friends, family or something they read or saw on TV. If people are asked what meditation is, many answers will be given. After some research, it will become clear that there are only two absolute truths about meditation: 1) each person has their own unique experience from it; and 2) each person is successful with meditation in their own way.
Why Do Meditation?
Sometimes people meditate to “get away” or “detach ourselves.” According to health and spiritual guru Deepak Chopra, meditation is a way to connect with things or “get in touch.” Perhaps one wants to get in touch with a particular thought or feeling. Meditation brings about focus. Our minds are filled with thoughts looking for a place to land. Focus is about choosing the thoughts we give energy to and momentarily ignoring the rest.
Spiritual teachers tell us that there is a space between our thoughts and that if we connect with that space in meditation, we are actually connected with everything. How this space is experienced is different for each person who goes there. Some people state that they feel relaxed and peaceful, with less stress, when meditating. Others feel energized and more focused.
Whatever the experience, people say that it feels good and is a healthy thing for them to do. The goal, then, is to discover what benefits meditation has for you.
How Often Should One Meditate?
As with most things in life, the answer to this question is: It depends. For some people it becomes a regular, formal practice. For others, it’s used on an “as needed” basis. Once an individual discovers the techniques that work for their needs, one will have a sense for how often to meditate. Meditation is a tool and how often the tool is used depends on how often it is needed.
One can also learn the different techniques for meditating. Different methods might be used at different times. For instance, one technique could be used every night before falling asleep. Another technique might be used before going into meetings at work. A third method might be one to do every Wednesday evening in the park across the street. Meditation is individualized and different for everyone.
How to Begin?
Unfortunately, many people who try meditating do it once or twice, then stop. Some people start out with the wrong assumptions and expectations and a continued practice is discouraged.
There are a few simple things to know to get the most from one’s first meditation experience. As each experience is unique, some of these tips may work, while others do not. Don’t worry about the ones that don’t. Again, meditation is an individual experience.
Todd Goldfarb, of We The Change and social entrepreneur, says that meditation is about focusing 100% on one area. To do that, one needs to work on removing other distractions from both inside and outside of one’s environment.
1. Find a quiet place. Yes, meditation instructions always start this way. When one becomes an experienced meditator, one will be able to meditate surrounded by children screaming and cars roaring past. For the first few times, find a space that is relatively quiet. Turn off cell phones, alarm clocks, TVs and anything else that could be a distraction.
2. Get comfortable, but not too comfortable that the temptation to dose off might arise. Sitting up is a good way to start. Make oneself comfortable with pillows or a blanket, whatever feels good. If it’s relaxing to have background music, play something mellow. It might also help to drown out other surrounding noise.
3. Now, relax. It’s interesting how some instructions just stop at that, as if we all know how to relax on command. So, try this. Close your eyes and become aware of your breathing. Breathe slowly and steady. Become aware of your breath and breathing. Now, think about your head. Ask, “how does my head feel?” Keep thinking about your breath as you ask. Whatever first pops into your mind is OK. Acknowledge and move on. Bring your awareness to your neck and ask “how does my neck feel?” Accept the answer and move on down your body this way. Inventory all the way to your toes.
4. Once you’ve gone through your entire body this way, take a few deep breaths and think, “I am all here. My whole body is here. I am present.” Take a moment to focus on that thought, “I am present” and as you do, you will become even more present for this meditation.
5. Now you can focus. Pick one thing in your life and think “Now I want to become more aware of this.” Choose something that is light weight such as ”why can’t I grow flowers? Which gym should I join? What is making me anxious about taking the written driving test?” etc. Once you’ve mastered your own meditation technique, then you can dive into the deeper end of the pool with harder questions.
6. Once you have asked your question, the focusing begins. Put your attention to the white space between your thoughts. The time between your breaths. The empty space is where the answers are. Our mind is busy trying to fill up the empty space. We look where the mind isn’t to find our answers.
7. Finally, accept whatever happens. Sometimes you will feel like “wow! That makes sense!” Other times you will want to say “huh? What’s that about?” Don’t worry, it’s all good and right. Just because you don’t understand it right now doesn’t make it any less so. Ask the question in a little different way the next time you meditate.
What To Do Next?
Like all techniques, practice is key. Keep trying. Tweak the steps a little until finding a perfect fit. Maybe going through the body in detail will help to relax. (e.g. How does my left ear feel? My right ear? My nose? My lips?) Or assessing oneself in a more general manner may work better. (e.g. How does my body feel right now?) Don’t be afraid to try different techniques. Eventually one will find what consistently works
Sources:
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-491/Meditation-Techniques-for-Beginners-Demonstrated-by-Deepak-Chopra-Video.html
http://zenhabitats.net/meditation-for-beginners-20-practical-tips-for-quieting-the-mind
