Meditation
When I am asked to articulate my ?why? I tend to give an answer along the following lines
?To grow my capacity to make the world a better place, first for myself and then for all those I come in contact with?
Nothing has opened the doors and given me more scope to explore my ?Why? than meditation.
There are many forms of meditation, many different teachings. Humans from every corner of the globe, have been exploring their subconscious for thousands of years.
I?m not going to touch on them all here, I?m no expert by any means. I am still new to meditation, it has only become a daily practice for me throughout the last 12 months.
The intention of this article is to delve into the benefits I?ve found. From the simple art of stopping, sitting and coming back to the breath.
One thing I need to address, and that?s what meditation is not.
Meditation is not switching off completely. You will not silence every thought by sitting in complete external and internal silence for an extended period of time. Your brain isn?t a fridge. You can?t just turn it off and on as you wish.
Meditation is an opportunity for introspection, for self-care. To reign in some of those thought processes, that you haven't given yourself the time during the week to unravel.
Meditation is a chance for observation. To observe the levels of thought process that your subconscious and conscious minds are having. To quote Eckhart Tolle, The most decisive event in your life is when you discover you are not your thoughts or emotions. Instead, you can be present as the awareness behind the thoughts or emotions?
We are not what we feel or what we think, our ability to understand this is powerful
I look at my time meditating like pulling on a piece of string. If I have a thought, I?ll follow it, pull on the string and see where it goes. If I find myself drifting off into nothingness, I?ll eventually catch myself and come back to my breath.
The way we interpret our lives and the world we live in is a product of our experiences.
Each experience is processed one morsel of information at a time. We have so much data coming in each second of every day, that it is impossible for us to consume all important information that comes our way. I find meditation can be the filter to all of the rubbish, and allow us to dive back to what is really important.
If you feel like your brain is going a million miles an hour. If you overthink, feel anxious, or get stuck in your own head. Then meditation is a tool to help you slow down and gain a greater understanding of your given reality.
If you are none of these things, then meditation will help you become more introspective and give you the time you need to reflect breathe and reset your mindset.
When it comes to executing and actually experiencing the benefits of meditating. The hardest part is getting started.
Where:
You can meditate anywhere, I would suggest finding somewhere silent, especially early on, find a comfortable place where you can sit upright, with your back supported
When:
If you don?t feel like meditating, this is probably the best time to do it. I tend to feel the best when I meditate in the morning, but lately, I?ve been giving myself time to do multiple sessions a day.
How:
I prefer guided meditation, I currently use the 'Calm' app. 10-20 minutes at a time and since becoming a daily habit I don't know how I ever lived without it.
Whether you meditate or don?t, whether you?ll start now or not, it doesn?t really matter. We are all on our own journey.
If we can find tools which can give us a greater capacity to make the world a better place. First for ourselves and then for all those we come in contact with, then lets do it.
Be amazing. Be mindful.
Wallace
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