Meditation has changed my life for the better. I used to live my life and let things happen to me, without any questioning or reasoning any of it, just thought that life was happening to me. I learned with meditation and a spiritual awakening that life happens through me and that I am in control of what goes on.
Many philanthropists and life coaches all say the same things: “Thoughts become things”. And nothing could be harder to grasp when a person is used to let life happen to them. As soon as you shift your thinking, and that you start thinking “good thoughts” and you let go of the negative in your life, you will begin to see a “good” change. The universe is plastic to our thoughts, and this is true! I’m the living proof of it.
Being Mindful is what meditation is all about
Being mindful doesn’t mean anything religious. It’s a simple way of saying we become a lot calmer and a lot more aware and careful of our thoughts. Meditation is simple but not necessarily easy because of all of our paradigms and conditioning that we have carried all of our life, and the mind has a hard time figuring out what the heck is going on. It wants to be back to its original chaotic state, the flight or fight pattern that we have induced through all of our daily stresses. This will most likely discourage most of the beginners and they will drop the practice of meditation and go back to where the mind is used to…BUT, if you know what to expect, then you can manage this change with much greater ease.
Here are a few tips to keep you meditating regularly
- First and foremost, RELAX. If you find yourself tensed, maybe from trying too hard, just remind yourself to relax. You will want to achieve a balance between being aware or alert and being relaxed at the same time.
- Your mind will tend to wander, this is absolutely normal and natural. You will find yourself thinking of all of your daily activities and maybe you are stressed about something and this will pop up in your mind. Don’t fret, this is a sign that you are aware of what’s going on in your mind, which is the whole point of being “mindfull” and is what you are trying to achieve and stabilize here. What is important is to bring yourself back and let the thought go, just like a breeze, let it flow through.
- Meditating is NOT the absence of thoughts, and it’s a common misconception that will often discourage the beginner. Meditation is simply a process of getting your mind to a restful state, but also aware of any thoughts going through it. Don’t force your mind to be quiet, it will never work.
- Repetition and persistence are the keys to success. Meditation, like a lot of other things in life, gets better with practice. The more you meditate, the more the mind becomes used to it and actually gets better at it.
- Build up your time of meditation practice slowly, starting with a few minutes every day, building up to more time as you improve your daily practice. There is no set time for it, it’s up to the individual to set up its own time.
- The best time to practice meditation is traditionally recommended to be first thing in the morning when the mind is clear and energetic. But actually, the best time is what works for you! Do it when you feel like dong it!
There are so many benefits to meditation that I have not mentioned here, and these are just a few pointers as to what you could expect from meditation when you begin. Most important thing is to realize that meditation is good for you, and the more you do it, the better the results you will get. You will begin to identify with your soul instead of all the mundane thoughts and emotions of your daily lives. You will begin to notice that life is more than what we see and touch and that when you can control your thoughts, things in our daily life are much better than we are used to.
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