Meditation Basics
Breathe in… Breathe out…
As a hooman who finds themselves often riddled with problems, I often struggle to find focus, which only leads me to more problems… does this sound like you too? Meditation techniques can help us achieve a calm state of mind without needing any sort of external assist! Every step of meditation is done inside your mind.
Remember- meditation is not a test, it’s not a one and done kind of art. it some cases it can even become a lifelong pursuit. That being said, it is almost impossible to attain a calm state of mind in just a couple seconds or minutes, especially if it’s the first time ever trying! Remember that old phrase “practice makes perfect”? Well practice certainly does increase skill level, however “perfection” is a total construct… It is VITAL that you keep on practicing meditation until you have Trained your mind to instantaneously achieve that calm state just by *snap* thinking about it!
Here are some steps toward getting started on YOUR meditation journey!
Find A Quiet Corner To Start Your Meditation! Distraction is just that, DISTRACTION. When you close your eyes, your sense of hearing can heighten, so almost any noise in your surroundings can make it even harder for you to concentrate. For the Un-Trained, it is important to start out in a quiet, SAFE & comfortable place where noise is as non-existent as possible, Things like earmuffs, headphones, noise-cancelling gear, etc. can also be used to assist in finding that sweet sweet silence!
Ready Your Position! It is encouraged for the Un-Trained to avoid lying down when first starting to practice meditation. The goal here is not to sleep, that’s a different type of mediation, and you can fall asleep way easier once your mind reaches a relaxed state. To stop this from happening, you can start your meditation in a lotus position (crisscross applesauce!) or you can find a chair to sit on, with your lower back as supported as possible. Make sure that your back is straight and your hands are in a relaxed position wherever they are most comfortable.
Begin Your Meditation With Proper Breathing! A good way to start meditation is to do a solid breathing exercise. This can look different for every Hooman, however the following is a simple one: You inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, to a slow, steady, repetitive count. This way, you can come up with a rhythm that you can easily focus on, whether it be the counting or where the breath is entering/exiting, or something else entirely. Also, the increased amount of oxygen in your body can help keep you more relaxed! Keep practicing your breathing until you can do it easily without having to think too hard about dropping into a ‘normal’ rhythm.
Focus On Your Mind! While you are concentrating on your breathing, you will achieve a state where your mind just wanders. this is totally ‘normal’ and happens with every Hooman (that I have heard of) on the planet that practices meditation. These can be totally random- events of the day, future plans, problems and worries, fears, etc., or they can be more specific and targeted. Every mind is different. It can be hard to ignore these thoughts and you don’t have to ignore them! The point here is to acknowledge these thoughts when they appear in your mind and then release them, kind of like watching clouds in the sky float on by. This might sound silly or ridiculous but here is an example to help clear it up: You know that you have furniture at home- you can see it clearly with your eyes, but you are not really concentrating on it. Focusing on the furniture will usually make you think of its color, its material, how it looks in that part of your home, if it’s dirty (and then if you’re like me how many other things are dirty and how you have a whoooooole list of things to do and oh look distracted again…) and more. You need to be able to look at these random thoughts (or furniture) in a state of unconditional positive regard, seeing them clearly in your head but not focusing your attention on anything other than its existence. There will come a time when these random thoughts will float away and you will notice that you are in that meditative state in your mind.
This is the state you want to achieve during meditation. This is the place where your subconscious can do it’s job and sort through all your inner thoughts and feelings. Achieve this state, even just for a few seconds, or a minute, and you will have mastered the basics of MEDITATION!
