Everyone is familiar with the word meditation. But what is it? In literature (modern and classical, religious and secular) one can find different approaches to understanding meditation.
Meditation for Beginners
Meditation for beginners refers to a wide range of practices that include techniques designed to promote relaxation, cultivate inner energy and life force (chi, prana, etc.), develop compassion and love, patience, generosity and forgiveness. And all of the above benefits are indeed a pleasant “side” effect of meditation practice. There are dozens of specific styles of meditation practice and many different ones types of meditation , descriptions of many of them you will find on our resource.
Meditation is:- a relaxed state of awareness;
- a technique involving the mind’s exploration of its foundations in order to achieve certain goals;
- a practice aimed at making the mind aware of its contents without identifying itself with the contents being explored.
What is the right way to meditate?
If you are wondering “how to meditate properly”, but have not yet started practicing, then perhaps you are overcome by doubts, why to do it, how much time it takes, whether special skills are required, where to start, how to how to meditate at home? In this article we will try to collect and consider the most popular questions of beginners, as well as misconceptions that prevent you from starting to meditate.
What is the point?
For centuries, people have indulged in meditation in search of peace, happiness, transformation, or control of their own consciousness. If a person truly feels satisfied with what they have and who they are, more often than not they do not think about the need for self-knowledge. But in most cases people come to yoga and meditation when they feel an inner hunger - a feeling that there is something light inside, something vast and divine, but one does not have access to it. This inner hunger comes from spiritual need. The purpose of meditation is to learn to control the most valuable tool of every human being - the mind, attention. After all, the state of mind is a determining factor in feeling happiness and achieving success in all spheres of life. A person can have all the benefits and still feel unhappy, or, on the contrary, can have very little, but feel in harmony with himself and the world around him. Look around, observe yourself and your close people, media persons in sports, politics, show business - no amount of material wealth, physical skills and resources will not help a person to become happy and peaceful if negative and unconstructive way of thinking. Meditation will not solve your problems at home, at work, in society. But it will give you much more - the potency to cope with any events (good and negative) occurring in your life, will give you strength and teach you to let go of unnecessary emotions, feelings, thoughts. Meditation helps to master your own mind, affecting one of its key aspects: attention. After all, everything we pay attention to exists for us. By mastering the ability to fix your attention only on what you need, you will be able to filter out and not miss negative things, as well as all that is not useful for you. Thus, meditation for beginners is a powerful tool for working with the mind that will ultimately empower you to create and receive what you want.
Relaxation or self-hypnosis?
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Actually, relaxation is only one of the main effects of meditation. On the other hand, it is one of the conditions for successful meditation.
If you are focused on the practice and not tense - it will help you achieve deep realizations and allow you to work with the mind. Therefore, when it comes to “guided meditation” (yoga nidra, scanning the body in order to relax it, etc.) - it is not meditation.
and so on) is not meditation in the proper sense of the word.
Of course, these practices are good because they are relaxing and stress-relieving. But meditation is a deeper practice, working with the mind first and foremost.
Meditation is also not hypnosis (or self-hypnosis), during which there is a verbal suggestion to see and feel certain things. For this purpose, the creative capacity of the brain is engaged - imagination is used,
visualization.
Meditation also does not usually involve imagination or the cultivation of emotions (except for some practices, such as Loving-Kindness meditation).
How do I learn to meditate?
In modern sources you can find such a huge number of types of meditations and techniques, with descriptions of the process, effects and other things, that it is not necessary at all to look for a guru for this. There are very serious techniques that have a great impact on the state of mind and even on physical well-being, so it is better to practice them in special centers or under the supervision of an experienced practitioner. But most types of meditation are also suitable for beginners, which you can start practicing on your own - at home, in nature, even at work. All you need is a little time and a comfortable place. You don’t need to follow any strict rituals or wear special clothes to meditate. Some people prefer to prepare a place and space for meditation (using singing bowls, mantras and music, incense, images of deities and holy persons) because they see this as necessary and helpful in preparing the mind for meditation, but none of these actions are essential to the practice. Of course, meditation was originally practiced to achieve spiritual enlightenment and was used in Eastern religious rituals, which have certain attributes, observance of strict rules. But like most techniques that came from the East to the West, meditation today may have essentially nothing religious about it. You can practice meditation as a simple exercise, for the sake of health and well-being. By the way, believers of absolutely any religion can practice without any conflict with their faith. In addition, there are many techniques and types of meditation today, many of which were developed not by religious apologists, but, for example, scientists, philosophers (some of these types of meditation are considered by us in separate articles).
“No time” to meditate?
!" Start meditating and you’ll have more free time . We strongly recommend that you observe your daily routine: for one week, pay attention to all the time you spend in front of a screen (TV, phone, computer). Record each day the time spent. Now set aside 20% of that time for meditation. Do you now have some time? And it’s probably at least 10 minutes a day? In today’s pace of life, watching TV, reading social media feeds is a way for most of the active population to distract themselves from everyday problems. But just try changing the way you relax a little. We’re confident of the the result. You’ll definitely feel better after your meditation sessions - you’ll become more relaxed, more centered, more rested. And it’s free! It’s all worth a few minutes of your time. Many people notice that after they start meditating, they have even more free time. And all because the attention begins to be focused only on the really necessary! Suddenly and completely organically you will find that you have been spending a lot of time on activities, experiences, events that are not useful to you at all.
How to start meditating at home
- Start small: practice 1-3 minutes a day. Gradually increase the time by a couple minutes. Eventually you will be able to devote the right amount of time according to the type of meditation you have chosen.
- Create a habit of meditating for yourself. Every morning first thing after waking up, take that couple minutes to meditate. You can also practice in the evenings. Set a reminder in your phone and don’t slack off - even if you are tired, sleepy, lazy or have other excuses - just start.
- Don’t evaluate yourself How successfully you do it, whether you are doing it right/sitting/thinking/not thinking. The very fact of regular practice strengthens your willpower, gradually develops your inner mastery, and, of course, positively affects your psychophysical well-being.
In the section “meditation” on our resource you can learn about the wide range of possibilities and effects that have been discovered by people as a result of meditation practice, including scientifically confirmed, as well as get an answer to the question of how to how to meditate correctly. 4. Do you notice that the mind wanders? Don’t get annoyed, but smile and just gently return to your breathing. For those trying to learn to meditate on their own, it’s often hard at first because of the mindset of fighting any thoughts that arise. But for the practice. there should be no fighting no suppression!
Fighting the thoughts will just strengthen them in the long run. The only thing to do in meditation is to consciously divert your attention away from the inner dialog by focusing on something else (depending on your goals and the chosen technique). In doing so, the mind will slowly but surely calm down.
For example, when you are concentrating on your work and suddenly loud music starts playing nearby, the more you try to “not hear” the music, the more you will pay attention to it and get annoyed. But if you make an effort and concentrate on your work, in a few moments you will stop hearing the music. So don’t try to purposely empty and calm your mind. Just follow the instructions within the chosen meditation technique. 5. Tune in to the practice and don’t expect incredible results right away. Meditation is a process. And this process not only brings its own rewards and positive results, but is valuable in itself. Have fun with the process ! Refuse to compare and expect, don’t criticize yourself if you haven’t felt anything yet as a result of the practice. Then meditation will not be difficult and will simply become a pleasant and healthy ritual for you. Studies show that meditation brings tremendous physical and mental benefits after just 8 weeks of daily practice. And that’s not such a long time. Sure, hermit monks who meditate around the clock achieve greater results and deeper realizations in less time than someone who started practicing 10 minutes a day a month ago. But this small step of yours will be one of the most important contributions to your life and future - at a minimum, it’s better health, more peace in your soul and harmony in your life. Most people can begin to get this in just a few weeks after they start practicing.
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Remember, the hardest step in any endeavor is to go from theory to practice.
Just start practicing with any type of meditation. At first you will need to spend time learning how to learn how to meditate in a particular technique, you will begin to gain experience that will accumulate and translate
to all the other untried meditation techniques.
Over time you will develop your taste, you will begin to understand many techniques, and you will become more familiar with this wonderful world of possibilities of the human mind and consciousness that is absolutely available to each of us.
Anna
Good day. The article is very interesting, but it does not say how long to chant the mantra. I mean the duration in days minimally, to feel the effect - the habit has changed. During the day it is clear that you can do it for 1-3 minutes or 2.5 hours...but in days it is not clear.
Natalia
I have been meditating for 10 months to improve my health, but asthma attacks became more frequent. I started meditating to improve my health, but it turned out the other way around. I meditate 20 minutes after waking up and 20 minutes before going to bed every day.
Sergei
Good, good article. I wrote my diploma on this topic, so what you write is close to me. I will add it to my bookmarks)
ANastasia
It is a pity that very few people really realize the benefits and harmony of meditation. I like meditating very much, you go into yourself, you begin to realize all your pains and problems that torment you. And the most interesting thing is that you don't even realize what may be tormenting you from inside. And when you enter meditation, you find those problems, some far forgotten mental disorders, offenses. Out of nowhere and suddenly pictures pop up that you can't remember, but ... Somewhere in the depths of the soul remain problems that we do not guess, and when relaxing, going deep inside ourselves, remind us that they are, they have not disappeared anywhere, and the fact that they should not be buried and hidden, they must be solved!!!!! Marina 13.04.2018 at 15:17 Anastasia, thank you for sharing your experience. Indeed, in a meditative state can overcome fears that people try to hide deeper in themselves. And you are correct - it is more correct to work through problems and fears rather than run away from them. We wish you success!
Marina
Anastasia, thank you for sharing your experience. Indeed, in a meditative state, fears that people try to hide deep inside themselves can be overcome. And you are right - it is better to work through problems and fears rather than run away from them. We wish you success!
Svetlana
I recently started meditating with my husband after a trip to India. We brought incense from the trip, which makes it easier to relax and reach nirvana. Listen to yourself, learn to listen to your body.
Alena Sergeyevna
I had panic attacks after a stressful experience. I found a way to relax, meditation and yoga. Now I meditate every day for half an hour to the sound of singing bowls. You know, I am much calmer, panic attacks are almost gone. There were still problems with some chakras, almost didn't work and these problems are going away. You can do it at home, there are lessons for beginners on this site, where everything is described in detail.