Back to Basics: Why Meditation Changes Lives
The easiest way to explain why I started meditating when I was 15 years old was explained by a modern day monk, “imagine you are trying to take a picture of somebody but your hand is shaking, so the image comes out blurry… this is what happens when we don’t meditate, but when we make the time to do so, our hand becomes steady, thus our image turns out clear and focused.”
In my own personal experience, if I don’t take the time to make room once a day for some meditation my vision becomes blurry and my hands become shaky. I live in a world, where I react to my environment instead of respond to it.
Meditation has two aspects really; the first is slowing down the mind. Notice how I said slowing the mind, and not silencing the mind? A big misconception that I am frequently acquainted with is meditation has something to do with having “no thoughts.” Well, if you are a human being with a brain, let me just say that this is close to impossible, but we do have the possibility to slow down enough that we can begin to find the space between the one who thinks the thoughts, and the thoughts themselves.
This begins by breathing. Deep, conscious and full breathes.
Think of a time in your life you were super stressed or when you had a big scare.. something as simple as one of your siblings jumping out at you unexpectedly. Can you remember what your breath was like? Most likely short and shallow.
These moments are perfectly okay when we need to get out a stressful situation such as if we were experiencing an encounter with a wild animal, but it doesn’t do much for us in our day to day lives but allow our body to go into a state of shock and most importantly set our minds on a race. When our mind is racing, most likely we are not deep breathing.
Deep breathes allow us to calm our mind, which calms our body and brings us to the second part, being present.
There is a saying that if you can be completely present with the task you are in; meaning if you are washing the dishes, you are 100% washing the dishes, if you are listening to your friend, you are 100% listening to your friend or if you are walking, you are 100% focused on the steps you are taking, well guess what? You are meditating.
Meditation is about being 100% present with the moment you are in. No thoughts of past or present, just participating in the Now. Far harder than humans can imagine. Trust me.
When I was 15 years old I started meditating because my mind would never switch off, but over the years meditation has done different things for me. It has narrowed my focused, given me space to figure out why I even think the thoughts that I do and it has always brought me back to the void when I close my eyes.. the place where I came from, and the place where everything is possible but nothing can hurt me. Why you will meditate, will be for different reasons, but for most of us, it starts with the search for some peace.
Let me tell you. there are about as many forms of meditation in this world as there are people but I will share some of the things that helped and continue to help me.
Some simple methods are simple as sitting down in a comfortable spot, whether that be in your room or outside in a nature spot and closing your eyes. (Not everyone is comfortable sitting, so if you want to lie down, you can do that too.. just make sure you aren’t too tired or you might fall asleep.) Start breathing. Make sure your breaths reach all the way to the bottom of your spine and fill up all of your belly, hold the breath for a couple of seconds, and release. How long you do these breaths doesn’t particularly matter, but do remember it will be easier for you if you count equal breaths. Start to pay attention to what you hear around you. Is it the birds chirping? Maybe some faint TV on in the background? Focus on all of it, one at a time. You may have thoughts begin to come up trying to make stories out of what it is you hear, just let them go. You can tell them to leave inside your head, or breathe and imagine them like clouds swishing away. When you are ready, begin to focus inside, do you feel any tension in your body? Alright good, breathe into here. Allow your breathe to release anything there that no longer serves you. Just keep breathing, and observing what happens in your body and around you, any time a thought comes up, greet it, but let it pass. If at any moment you engage with it, do not worry, either allow it to pass by coming back to the moment you are in by refocusing onto something in your surroundings, but sometimes do not underestimate the fact we need to follow the journey, because the thought could want tell you something.
Another way to meditate in a way that allows your mind to clear is by counting from 1 to 10. Keep breathing, count as slowly or as fast as you want, when you reach 10, start the count again. Do that as long as you need.
You might also like to meditate by starting a visualization in your heart. Find a small spark, a little light, as you breathe, watch it get bigger. Let it cover your body, then your surroundings, extending to your neighborhood and even the whole planet if you want. When you are ready, allow the light to grow smaller, and you are ready to go.
One of my favorite ways that I’ve recently found that can be done anywhere and has a physical touch point is by a spiritual teacher named, Gabrielle Bernstien. It starts with the 4 simple words, Peace. Begins. With. Me. On the word Peace, touch your index finger with your thumb, next comes Begins, where you touch your middle finger with your thumb, then With corresponding to your ring finger with your thumb and finally touch your thumb to your little finger on the word Me. Keep doing that as slow or as quickly as you want, inside your head or aloud. The great thing about this method is that it can be done in your school classes, in line in a shop or even in the middle of an argument.
Still having a hard time?
Remember meditation music can be a kickass way to focus our energy.
Celtic Meditation music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiqlZZddZEo&t=1s
Zen Meditation music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyBBZGfUnMs&t=827s
Heart of Angelic Reiki - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmZhmIt_pYo&t=2353s
Meditation music and meditation on your own can be easy for some, especially when you have been meditating for a long time, but don’t worry if it still is not working for you, there is a plethora of Guided Meditations on the interwebs with lovely people to guide you through a meditation journey (remember, YouTube is your friend!):
Gratitude visualization meditation (this is one of my favorites, I do it every morning to envision my day) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBa3QQpQbbA
Guided Meditation for Healing, Heath & Enlightenment by The Honest Guys - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOVGPID8F7M
Flower of Life Meditation by AskAngels - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZdCzvs16Hk
There are millions of meditation creators online that bring all kinds of flavors to the spiritual community so don’t be afraid to search around if none of what I have shared is to your taste.
Last, but not least, while most us do our meditations in stillness, this is not the only way. There are walking meditations for example, or if you find your stillness in Tai Chi or Yoga, this is amazing as well. Remember the point of meditation is slowing down our mind, so that we can find the space between the eternalness of who we truly are and the thoughts our mind generates. They are not one and the same. Then, presence. Aligning to our present day to day moments, may be the biggest part of taking up the meditation journey, because it is in this very present moment that life has given us a platform to make our choices. Not in the past, not in the future, but right here and right now.
Your meditation journey awaits you. Go explore, get still and most importantly, have fun!
P.S Please note I am aware not everyone interprets meditation in the same way, this is just from my own experience and the tips I have to share.
romaincrisis
gummygunk
jacobvanloon
kaledo-art
dededos
janainaart
discoholicmusic