Meditation is an art form, a way to master oneself, and a gateway to profound spiritual experiences. Many people are attracted to meditation because of the inner peace that can only be experienced when the mind is silent and free from the constant mental chatter. Meditation has many mental, emotional and physical benefits – too many to list here so we will concentrate on one that is at the forefront of most people’s minds…
Stress
Meditation is the best form of stress release. Exercise is great, but unless you get to the root of what is causing the stress, even exercise is just a temporary relief. Meditation can actually help you eliminate stress. Yes, eliminate stress!
Stress is a choice. Often the choice is made unconsciously – it’s an automatic reaction to a certain event and the inability to let go of the thoughts that relate to the event. For example, you can feel stressed in traffic; or you can choose to let it go. Even experienced meditators can have moments of stress, but they also have the self-mastery necessary to avoid wallowing in the thoughts that caused the stress response. With experience, you can learn to choose an alternative response to any situation!
Meditation brings awareness of the automatic stress response as well as its triggers – and develops the mental mastery necessary to release stress forever. You can learn to let it go.
Meditation improves concentration and the ability to shut out unpleasant, stressful thoughts. Meditation helps put things into their proper perspective so that little things don’t become huge dramas. It helps you live in the present, instead of allowing your thoughts to continually wander to the past or to the future. Many health benefits follow the release of stress!
As attractive as meditation is, it can be difficult to silence the mind and enter that deep, trance-like state of altered consciousness. The mind wants to keep yammering about everything under the sun! It takes a lot of discipline to make it be silent. But, there are some techniques you can use to speed up the process of gaining mastery over your mind. The Silva Method program is full of easy and extremely effective methods to enter the meditative state – and stay there. In fact, the program is designed so that you can achieve powerful personal growth while in the meditative state.
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Another reason many people don’t meditate is lack of time. Time is relative! If you’re engaged in something you absolutely love, time ceases to exist. When you’re bored, you’re bored for an eternity. If you want to make meditation part of your daily routine, do a quick inventory of how you spend your time. It’s easy to carve out 30 minutes for yourself – watch less TV, get up earlier in the morning, forget the mindless trips to the mall… when you consider how many benefits there are to a daily practice, you’ll make the time.
Early morning is the best time to meditate – before the day’s dramas have begun and before you’re so wrapped up in your to-do list that meditation seems impossible. Imagine starting out the day with a clear mind instead of waking up rehashing yesterday’s news. Imagine starting out the day with enhanced mental ability and a sense of calm and inner peace. If you can’t squeeze 30 minutes out of your day anywhere else, wake up 30 minutes earlier. You’ll end up needing less sleep, because stress won’t be keeping you awake in the wee hours and your sleep will be better and deeper!
Like anything worthwhile, meditation takes practice. Persistence and consistency are the ways to get the most from meditation.
How to Meditate
1. Find a quiet, serene place where you will not be disturbed. You should feel good about being in this place.
2. Sit on a chair on on the floor with a straight back. Don’t meditate lying down because you will probably fall asleep. Meditation is different than sleep in that both states are very relaxed, but during meditation, you’re fully alert, conscious and aware.
3. There are many ways that people use to enter the meditative state. One thing is constant: focused concentration. Most traditions involve focusing on the breath but it may help to have an object or a sound to focus on: candles, music or mantras. Focus on one thing only. The mind wants to wander and jump from idea to idea like a crazed monkey (meditation teachers call the untrained mind the “monkey mind”). When this happens, bring the focus back. Some days, this is easy. Others, not so much. Consistent practice is the way to master and focus the mind.
The ability to hold your focus on one thing at a time leads to achieving the silent mind. This experience is powerful and amazing! It’s something best experienced rather than explained! You can achieve a silent mind in two ways – by continuing to laser-focus on the breath, sound, mantra or object; and by mastering the thoughts. Mastering the thoughts starts by becoming aware of your thoughts that enter your consciousness but not becoming involved with any of them. Eventually, you’ll see that if you don’t get attached to a thought and let it go, you can actually make the mind stop talking for a moment. You will learn to reject the thoughts that bring you suffering. When you learn to reject one thought, you can learn to reject them all and achieve the silent mind. Don’t be discouraged – keep practicing!
Above all, enjoy this time to yourself. Meditation often happens spontaneously. Sometimes when you’re struggling to quiet the mind, you’ll suddenly realize that your thoughts have stopped. You may experience a feeling that you are an energetic being and not a physical being (many meditators lose their awareness of their physical body).
Make meditation a part of your life. Especially in today’s turbulent hurry-up-and-multitask world, it’s a welcome reprieve and a great way to get in touch with the real you.
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