Lately I have received some emails asking me about meditation, so although I’ve only been practicing on and off for over a year, I feel like it has already brought so many benefits in my life that I want to share my experience with you.
If you are unfamiliar with meditation, you may have certain prejudices associated with this practice and you might be unreceptive to understand its benefits.
Well, it happened to me as well, but if you are reading this, at least you’ve already taken a step, you have already touched by curiosity and you’re opening your mind to “new information”.
What is meditation?
I perfectly remember this was one of the first questions I asked to Atmareka, my guru during my stay in India, and his answer was clear: “I can not explain it, you must experience it by yourself to understand it”.
Well, as I like to experience everything, I decided to give myself a try to see what this meditation thing actually was.
The first time I tried it was a guided meditation in a group and to be honest, I did not remember anything of what our guide told us to do. It was night time, the first time in my life that I remained sitting in the same position for so long, so I had to focus all my energy on not to fall asleep…
After that first attempt, others came; we were practicing every day and gradually I could notice some progress. It was not easy because I was not sure of what I suppose to feel or what I was suppose to do, but one day without realizing it, I began to notice a sense of inner wellbeing. That day, when the group meditation ended, I stayed alone in the room; I found my inner peace for the first time.
Well, back to the initial question, for me, meditation is a state of conscious quiet mind that brings me peace and mental clarity.
Why meditate?
To calm our mind, allowing us to put our ideas in order, to face our problems peacefully and to make decisions more tailored to our needs.
To generate positive energies; through meditation we connect with our emotions, we open our hearts and we let peace and love flow within us, from which we will generate positive emotions.
To reduce stress and improve quality of life; if we can include meditation in our daily lives, we will achieve the state of peace and harmony that appears during our moments of practice. It becomes a resource that we can use at any time of need, thus avoiding stress. Moreover, if we practice regularly, we become more peaceful and more open to love.
To live in the present; when we get this state of consciousness, we focus on the present moment, rather than living in the past or to resort to the indefinite future.
How to meditate?
The truth is that there are many techniques, depending on what our personal situation and our goals are, it will be better to opt for specific methods. What is important to know is that no matter what technique or techniques we decide to use, like everything in life, the key is to practice.
We must learn to train the mind, just like we do with the body and this can’t be achieved in one day… actually it happens to me that some times when I want to meditate, I can’t put myself into it. I need to practice much more!
One of the techniques that best work for me is to focus on my breathing, so I keep my consciousness while my mind emptied of any disturbing thought. This is not to leave a blank mind, it is to control the mind and prevent it from wandering to superfluous or negative thoughts.
Conclusion
Meditation brings many benefits, but it requires a lot of practice. For some people it might be relatively easy to get to that state of mind and for others it may take months of practicing until they will actually feel something.
Also, do not think meditation is something miraculous; don’t think that because you’ve decided to meditate, all your problems will be gone. You’ll need to combine meditation with other practices to solve your problems.
If you have never tried it yet, I would encourage you to give it a try.
You have nothing to lose and lots to win!
Love and gratitude
♥♥♥
