The word meditation has many meanings for many people.
How many times have we heard, "I can't meditate," for such and such a reason. Maybe you have a hard time sitting still or get bored easily. Maybe you think that you need to put your body in a pretzel before you start. I had fallen prey to all of these fallacies over the years myself, until I read a simple quote which helped me realize that I've been looking at the whole thing incorrectly. Because of this, meditation had been made unnecessarily complicated and difficult for me, when it's quite literally the simplest thing in the whole world!
So, what is meditation really? And how do we meditate? I'll let the meditator Osho, the man who put it all into focus for me, tell you..
“When people come to me and they ask, ‘How to meditate?’ I tell them, ‘There is no need to ask how to meditate, just ask how to remain unoccupied. Meditation happens spontaneously. Just ask how to remain unoccupied, that’s all. That’s the whole trick of meditation – how to remain unoccupied. Then you cannot do anything. The meditation will flower.”
"Don't do anything – no repetition of mantra, no repetition of the name of god – just watch whatever the mind is doing. Don't disturb it, don't prevent it, don't repress it; don't do anything at all on your part. You just be a watcher, and the miracle of watching is meditation. As you watch, slowly mind becomes empty of thoughts; but you are not falling asleep, you are becoming more alert, more aware."
"As the mind becomes completely empty, your whole energy becomes aflame of awakening. This flame is the result of meditation. So you can say meditation is another name of watching, witnessing, observing – without any judgment, without any evaluation. Just by watching, you immediately get out of the mind."(http://www.osho.com/meditate/what-is-meditation/witnessing)
Do you see how it is truly the most simple thing a person can "do." Simply by calmly observing ourself while seated, standing, laying down or walking, by observing our thoughts, feelings and sensations we become meditators. All the other practices that people add to "meditating" can easily distract and take away from this important and profound process of self observation and connection. If you enjoy the mantras, breath work or visualizations (as I do) please continue enjoying them. But never again do you need to get frustrated or distracted by any of these things when you wish to meditate. It's as simple as finding a few quiet moments everyday to be with yourself in calm "unoccupation." Trust me, the rest will take care of itself.
Look here for some of the many benefits of meditation
A list of over 30 studies and 20 good reasons to meditate from Psychology Today
Thanks for reading! 💓
Graeme
