Would you like to learn to meditate?
Perhaps you have heard many times about meditation and its many benefits, but have you ever tried to meditate? Do you know the basics of meditation techniques? Have you practiced but are unable to get your mind to accompany you?
In this post I am going to try to solve your doubts and I am going to give you the necessary tools so that you learn to meditate on your own. Finally, I will propose an exercise so that you can start practicing on a regular basis.
If you are interested in meditation and you still don’t master this art, this post is for you. And if you are already a confirmed meditator, take advantage of it to refresh concepts and put your grain of sand leaving a comment at the end of the article.
I’ll start by answering the first question that may be on your mind:
Why should I meditate?
Meditation is a millenary technique that goes beyond simple mental work. The act of meditating allows us to reach a state of connection and harmony between mind, body and soul. And even beyond. I explain…
During the processes of listening and observation that we carry out when meditating, we obtain benefits at the corporal level, like a generalized muscular relaxation.
This body relaxation initiates a positive feedback circuit that allows us to obtain greater peace and mental tranquility, which again facilitates greater muscle relaxation, and so on. This state of calm and psychophysical relaxation helps us, in turn, to perform a parallel work of a more spiritual type.
On the other hand, there is also a close relationship between our mind and our physical environment, as much of the transformation of the external world originates from our thoughts.
Therefore, if we focus our mind properly during our meditations, we will be contributing and facilitating in the long term the transformation of our external reality and, therefore, of our life.
Thus, meditation techniques not only help to heal our bodies, know ourselves better and become better people, but also contribute to discovering, transforming and improving the world around us.
How do you meditate?
Meditation is not a pure mental process that involves thinking. The meditative state does not require an active mental activity aimed at taking ideas, reflecting on them and reaching different conclusions.
It is rather a passive or, at most, semi-followed mental process in which ideas are tried to flow freely (or not at all) while we are open to the arrival of different information that may appear in our consciousness. In meditation, then, it is more important to listen and observe than to think properly.
When we meditate we must find ourselves in a quiet place, with reduced luminosity and place ourselves in a position that is comfortable for our body but not conducive to falling asleep.
A standard position would be to sit with the trunk upright and place the backs of our hands in contact with our thighs, that is, with the palms facing upwards. The breathing that we will carry out will be slow and deep, which will contribute to a greater state of relaxation little by little.
From this state of physical and mental calm we can begin to meditate. At that moment, we find ourselves in our small laboratory, a place created by and for us from where we have a greater power than we believe to shape our body, our life and the world in which we live.
Breathing: a fundamental pillar
Meditation and breathing are two closely related parallel processes. Meditation requires a particular, slow and deep breath, while a good breath is already a technique that leads the person to mental and physical states proper to the meditative state.
Therefore, breathing correctly is key during meditation, as it will allow us to release excess physical stress, dissipate our mental turbulence and reconnect with the deepest part of ourselves. If you want to know more about breathing and learn some breathing techniques that can be useful when meditating or clearing negative emotions, take a look at this article.
Meditating to create a perfect world made to measure
To finish the article I’m going to propose a technique so you can start practicing regularly. It is an active meditation that requires a mental process quite directed in relation to other types of meditations more known.
It is a very useful exercise for beginners and for those who need to find or redefine the direction of their life. It is also useful as a help to move forward in times of stagnation or when important decisions have to be made, especially when our lifestyle prevents us from doing with our existence what we really want.
Don’t underestimate your potential or your ability to actively create what you set out to do. The regular practice of this meditation will help you to shape your thoughts, attitudes and actions so that the attainment of your goals is more feasible.
To do this exercise, as I described earlier, we must find ourselves in a quiet and relaxed place where no one bothers us, look for a comfortable position and, from there, begin to take rhythmic, deep and slow breaths.
Little by little we will enter a state of deep relaxation. Then we will imagine that we are in an ideal reality where everything is possible and in which we have the ability to manipulate everything in it instantly with our thoughts, without any limit.
From that moment on it’s about playing at being the director of the very film of our life, with unlimited budget, means and possibilities. In it we can immediately include everything we want to be, do or experience and remove everything we don’t like or want to improve or change.
We must visualize how we would like to be on a physical level, define how we would like to manifest ourselves when relating to others and what attitude we would like to adopt when facing life’s circumstances.
We will think about how we would like people to treat us, what kind of work we would like to do or what kind of couple and friends we would like to have. We will project the place and type of accommodation we would like to live in, the economic status we would like to have, and even the hobbies we would like to practice. Anything you think or wish will instantly become reality.