“If we can make just 1% of the population meditative, this world will be a different place.” Sadhguru
“The soul loves to meditate, for in contact with the spirit lies its greatest joy.” Paramhamsa Yogananda.
The ladder to utopia is a long one and is not easy to climb.
People who tell us that happiness is easily achievable, lie not only to us but themselves.
The foundational step in reaching atop this ladder is to find happiness within oneself and that happiness is achieved by meditation.
So, let’s talk about some easy to follow tips to get the practice started:
- Find and free guided meditation sessions.
When I first started meditating I was not sure regarding how to go about things.
What helped me was a lot were YouTube videos on guided meditation.
My favorites are Deepak Chopra and Eric Ho. Also, you can download the Headspace app on your mobile devices and meditate whenever you get time to do so.
Meditation involves a lot of different techniques like visualization, mindfulness and body scan meditation. I would recommend dabbling in different sessions and see what feels best for you.
After going for a couple minutes everyday you should try adding more time to each session and increasing gradually.
- Find your why.
The thing that I found the most useful was finding a why.
My why was something that kept me anchored to the practice.
For example, my why was that If I meditate and become more steady and calm as a human being it will affect the lives of the people around me.
There is no problem with your why being for yourself but what I realized over the course of the past one and a half year was that whenever our purpose is bigger than ourselves we tend to do follow-through on our commitments.
When your why is big enough, you will find a how. Les Brown.
Don’t believe what I say, just listen to Les Brown.
If your why is big enough you will cut through the BS and the excuses to find the way whenever no one else thought you could.
- There is no right or wrong way.
I might get criticism, but in the beginning it is always helpful to not worry about if you are doing it right or not.
The best thing about meditation on a daily basis is that just the fact one is trying, it makes them better than 99% of the people in this world.
So, instead of stressing about if your spine is erect or if your legs are in the right position or not, just go with the flow.
The main idea here is to develop the habit of meditating and to get to a point where it is not a burden but an activity that you look forward to.
The only way that can happen is by being patient and giving the practice enough time and consideration.
Although, what I would say is refrain from it while lying down.
It is preferred that you do it while you are sitting because it is a very relaxing state and often people pass out while laying down.
- Meditate before eating.
This is something I can say from experience.
The goal of meditation is to be in a state of stillness.
It is a well-known fact that body temperature rises after eating.
Also, the blood flows to help our body digest the food we consumed.
I have experienced that this disrupts the mind from focusing and sometimes makes me feel really lethargic.
Ideally, meditating first thing in the morning has worked the best for me and especially on days when I don’t feel good after waking up as it turns me into a completely different person.
If you are planning to meditate before you sleep try to have as much time as you can between when you sleep and when you consume supper.
I would like to emphasis again that life happens and if you are unable to meditate before eating, don’t forgo the idea of meditating altogether.
You will still benefit from the practice but I wanted to say it anyway for what it’s worth.
- Start again once you are done.
Yea, you read that right.
Sometimes are brain acts like a monkey and no matter how hard we try we are not able to let go of things and focus on our breath.
That is just the reality of things and once the 5 minutes are done we feel like we didn’t accomplish anything.
This can be very discouraging. So, the best way to deal with this is once the timer is up, start again for a minute or so.
In this way, even if the actual session didn’t go well and the shorter session did you will tend to believe that you have accomplished something and even if that doesn’t go well, don’t stress it will come with time.
- Find a meditation buddy.
If, you are an individual who has problems sticking with a habit this is a great tip to follow.
Meditation is like bicep curls, but for your brain.
So if it is like going to the gym, why not find a buddy that keeps you honest and accountable.
Meditation is all about creating good energy around you so if more people around you meditate the better the energies around you will be and the better the energies around you will be the better you will feel.
This whole spiral into everyone feeling happy and healthy.
As mentioned earlier if 1% of the world meditates the world will be a different place altogether.
- Don’t Judge Yourself.
Perhaps, the most important tip is to not judge yourself when you are meditating or after you are done.
The very act of judging is the biggest disservice you can do to yourself and your meditative practice.
The goal of meditation is to let go of emotions and thoughts and witness them from a third person point of view.
What meditation teaches us is that when we are feeling angry, or happy, or judgmental we should notice the feeling and let go of it.
This probably doesn’t make sense but it will once you start meditating.
The reality is that everyday is different and our experience with meditation is not going to be the same some days it’s going to be very easy and on others really hard but it is imperative to stick with it and make it as important as brushing your teeth is for you.
According to Hinduism, life is hell and what makes life hell is our continuous battle with our thoughts.
Remember the times when you are thinking about a situation or a person and there is a funny feeling in your stomach you can’t concentrate and it’s all a mush. This is what meditation helps to tackle with.
After meditating for a while we are more in tune with our emotions and are able to view them from a wide-lens. We are able to witness these thoughts and let go off them.
An example will be you got into a fight with your spouse and want to say something that will make them feel bad. You will witness this thought in your mind and won’t say it because you will be aware of the repercussions.
I know guys it is tough to stay still but so was learning how to read and write and believe me meditation has keys to doors you never thought could open.
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Thank you for reading and happy mindfulness.
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