To most people in today’s day and age, it can be hard to survive in the hectic lifestyle of business and social engagements and still have a chance to stop and smell the roses. But when we are making so many demands on our time and on ourselves, it can make it impossible for us to find the inner peace and balance that is essential to our well-being in order to find happiness.
The stress of everyday life can often feel insurmountable. When we have to surrender so much of our time and energy to tasks that may not necessarily serve us, it can make it difficult to make the time we need to allow ourselves to process what is going on in our lives and provide ourselves with comfort, peace, and a sense of loyalty to our own needs and desires. When we are disconnected from our own needs and desires, that can pose a serious problem. If we aren’t honoring ourselves in every way possible, that can make it difficult to move forward in the direction that we choose; making it difficult to serve our goals and work toward achieving our purpose. Fortunately, there are many ways that we can allow ourselves to surpass the barriers that we construct during our daily lives so that we can begin to get in touch with who we truly are and the things that we really want and need in order to be the best versions of ourselves possible. Meditation has been utilized for thousands of years as a way to help us to get in touch with our inner selves and with the unshakeable truths that we lock deep inside our unconscious minds.
Being able to tap into those things may seem divine to some, and practical to others. However you choose to view meditation, there are many benefits to it that surpass any bias you may have about it. Most people may be afraid to attempt meditation, thinking you have to contort yourself into an uncomfortable pretzel and try to listen to silence and stillness that seems impossible to maintain. Most people have a very difficult time being able to sit still for long enough for meditation to make a difference. Our culture is generally discouraging of time to oneself, considering it selfish or unnecessary or antisocial. However, spending time on reflecting on one’s life and circumstances may actually be one of the most necessary things one can do in order to master their destiny.
Meditation is actually easier than you might think. It can be easy to believe that there simply is no time to allow yourself to process, though this can sometimes result in insomnia as all the thoughts of the day that had been forced into repression begin to surface just as you are allowing your mind to relax and drift into a sleep. What most people don’t realize is that during meditation, it is actually okay and natural to experience your thoughts and feelings. The trick is in simply allowing them to exist and to experience them fully so that they are able to move on. We quiet our bodies and minds so that what we are dealing with can be experienced in a more genuine and pure form, so that these impressions and thoughts will not contribute to us staying stuck. When we are able to confront and face our thoughts and feelings, they no longer have as much power over us. And when we are able to truly begin to use meditation as a tool for self-exploration, it can provide us with insights that we may never have thought possible.
Meditation comes in many shapes and forms, and for people who have a hard time initiating meditation for themselves, it can be useful to seek out resources that can teach you more about how to use meditation. Many websites offer videos and tutorials that will help to guide you in empowering meditation strategies. There are also books and CDs out there that can be useful in undergoing meditation for beginners who may not feel confident undertaking it on their own.
The first thing you need to do for meditation to work for you is to put down all of your pre-existing biases about it. Meditation isn’t just something that weird hippies do in order to feel like everything is groovy. It is a useful tool that has helped to keep the mind and body aligned in the process of taking power over your actions and future. So get that thought out of your head if it is there. You should also know that meditation is not hard. In fact, it’s the total opposite of difficult. All you really have to do is to make sure that you are comfortable and relaxed, preferably in a quiet space where you can focus on your breathing and allow your thoughts to come and pass as they naturally would. When you are in a relaxed state of mind, it is easier to see these thoughts and feelings in an objective way, and being objective to your own sensory input can provide you with deep insights about your body and your life.
For a beginner, meditation should be kept simple and comfortable. Get a cushion or a pillow that is very comfortable for you to sit on. You could even lie back if that suits you better. Once you are sufficiently comfortable, you should close your eyes and allow yourself to get relaxed. This is similar to getting ready for sleep as you allow your breathing to happen naturally and effortlessly. Don’t get too caught up in not letting yourself have thoughts or emotions; the beginner’s meditation should be kept simple.
Once you are comfortable with the practice of relaxing and clearing your mind, allowing your breathing to come as an organic process and not something that you are too fixated on, then you may begin to feel more comfortable delving into other types of meditation techniques. Meditation comes in many varieties, and if you are hoping to delve deeper into the meditation practice, then there are a few different directions that you could go in to do so.
Mindfulness meditation is one of the most popular forms of meditation, as mindfulness can be very helpful to anybody who is hoping to improve their life and feel more at peace. To undertake a mindfulness meditation, begin with the first steps outlined above. Get comfortable and relaxed. Next, allow yourself to become aware of your chest rising and falling as it breathes, and the feelings at the tip of your fingers and toes as you sit there. Contemplate the present moment and simply experience its wonder. The way your fan may be humming, or the sound of the birds chirping outside, or the soft feeling of the surface you’re sitting on. Allow yourself to take in all of the little things about the moment that you are in right at that moment. This is how you succeed at mindfulness meditation.
This type of meditation can be utilized for people who have a difficult time staying grounded, and has actually been found to be helpful for people who have experienced certain types of trauma as well. It is a great way to help you to develop your mind and body connection if you find that it is something that you need to work on. You have to be fully aware of yourself before you can step into your dream vision. As mentioned before, nothing sabotages us quite as skillfully as we sabotage ourselves!
Another type of meditation is known commonly as concentration meditation. To perform concentration meditations, you focus your full attention on one single thing whether that thing is a specific area in the room, or something physical like the way that you are breathing. This type of meditation is very useful in problem solving or in helping you to get your mind off of the things that are getting you down. When you focus on a specific thought or problem for too long, it can cause a lot of strain on the mind. By directing your thoughts and attention elsewhere, you are giving your mind a chance to interrupt negative thought patterns and anxiety to allow yourself a chance to recharge. If you are a beginner, don’t be too discouraged if it is hard for you to maintain your focus on the point that you have chosen for a long time. It takes a lot of practice to build up to maintaining your focus on a specific thing for a long period of time. Go ahead and go easy on yourself at first, starting in three-minute increments and gradually increasing that amount over time.
Concentration meditations help you to stay focused on one object or action so that it becomes easier for you to allow your thoughts to pass by you. It may help to imagine your thinking as a wave that should be allowed to wash over you and pass by without sweeping you away in it. They will come and go just like the tide, and when you are ready to return to them, you can. Until then, concentration meditations can provide you with a vantage point from which to view your thoughts objectively and gain insight into yourself and your life, providing you with a sense of empowerment that will truly grant you agency over your life and mastery over your dreams!
Goal: Take time out every day, starting with a simple three to five minutes, to meditate. Find a quiet, calm place in your home where you can allow yourself to close your eyes and get comfortable. Begin by simply closing your eyes and allowing yourself to feel confident in creating a safe and comforting space for yourself. Once you are pleased with this arrangement, you can begin trying more advanced types of meditation. Begin with a simple concentration meditation, where you close your eyes and focus on your breathing and your breathing alone. Thoughts may come to the surface, and that is okay. Simply acknowledge that they are there, and allow them to go on their way without trying to cling onto them. Do this with all your thoughts for about three minutes, until you can open your eyes, take a deep breath, and feel refreshed. You can alternate between mindfulness meditations and concentration meditations as well, by closing your eyes, or even keeping them open, and focusing on the present moment and all of the things you are feeling and experiencing at any given time. Mindfulness meditations can be done anywhere at any time, so feel free to use them if you aren’t feeling grounded!
My Happy Ohm 