Ah, the wonderful land of meditation. It’s perhaps the epitome of mindfulness and an incredible way to level up your mind, body, and spirit. Let’s talk about how to meditate and how you can reap the rewards today!
I’m going to break down the topic of meditation into three parts. I’ll describe what it is, why you should give it a serious try, and how you can implement it effectively.
What is meditation?
Answering the question of how to meditate starts with an understanding of the foundations of the practice. Meditation is a way to use awareness to direct the mind toward a particular intention. Though a primarily mental activity, it is a total-body effort.
The thought that probably comes to mind when you think of meditation is somebody sitting atop a hillside, deeply entranced in their practice. However, this is not the only way. Meditation can be a simple practice you do while lying in bed, sitting in a chair, or even going about your daily activities.
Meditation is about presence and mindfulness and returning to center amid distractions. You can do this in silence with your eyes closed, but it’s not limited to that. So long as you use mindfulness to tune in and center on your intention, anything you do can become meditative.
Why meditate?
I could go on for 19,863 words about why meditation is a good idea for anybody. But let’s keep it to three reasons for now.
Peace
First and foremost, meditation can be the most reliable creator of peace you’ll ever find. It allows you to move beyond stressors, use your breath to calm down, and protect or re-establish your peace.
No matter what goes on, you can count on meditation to be there for you. Through breathwork, you can break out of stressful mental loops and calm both the body and mind via meditation.
Check out the science-backed benefits meditation has for your overall health!
Clarity
Thoughts are all over the place in everybody’s heads and lives. Looking at a jumbled mess of thoughts is overwhelming. Likewise, being at the mercy of intense feelings can be a lot to take in.
You know how when you look at something super close, it gets all blurry? But if you pull back a bit, you can see with crystal clarity.
That’s what I’m talking about here… just on the mental side rather than the physical. Meditation enables you to put space between yourself and your thoughts or emotions.
Complexity lies in ambiguity and blurriness. Your experience changes when you can act as an observer rather than a participant. Mediation creates the space for clarity to come rushing in.
Control
Once you spend just a bit of time meditating, you’ll be hit with a startling realization. “All these thoughts are in my head, but I can control which of them I entertain and give power to.”
Reaching this point is like coming up for air after seeing how long you could hold your breath in the pool.
Thoughts flow and flow and flow, but you don’t have to be swept away by the current. Meditation allows you to pull yourself out of the rushing river of thoughts, sit on the bank, enjoy the fresh air, and pick and choose where to place your attention.
When you experience the benefits firsthand, meditation’s power cannot be overstated.
How to meditate
The most common reason people give for not meditating is that they’re unable to quiet their minds for long enough.
Meditation is not about pure freedom from thought. It’s about setting an intention, observing your mind, and returning to that intention each time your mind inevitably slips away. It’s a skill, so it needs time to develop. If you feel like meditation is not for you because you can’t quiet your mind, all you need is practice!
What separates a master of meditation from a beginner is their ability to pull the mind back to center each time it slips away. The difference is not that the master’s mind does not wander!
Directions
- Set up: Find a comfortable position, either lying down or sitting upright. Set a timer for 5 minutes, and close your eyes.
- Choose an intention: Your meditative intention is simply what you will be focusing on. To begin, focus on your breath. Feel the air pass in and out. Sense the rise and fall of your abdomen. The breath is a vehicle for presence. All you’re doing here is noticing.
- Center your attention: Your mind will slip to other thoughts. It’s natural. Each time it does, bring it back to your intention. Do this without judgment or yourself or the thought. Re-centering without engaging is the key to meditation. Your awareness and ability to catch your thoughts will improve, and the frequency with which your attention drifts will decrease.
- Challenge yourself: As you gain skills, go deeper. Add time, try a new intention (e.g. a specific thought or the sensations of your environment), and bring meditative states into daily activities beyond formal meditation. Figuring out how to meditate in a way that expands your skills makes it fun!
Remember that meditation is a practice. You can get better, and you can also get rusty. Invest with consistency in your meditation! Once you learn how to meditate, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything that returns more benefit to every facet of your life!
Thank you so much for reading! Please share with others who may benefit! 🙂
