Meditation
Well, by now you perhaps have realised that I consider meditation essential to the process of self-knowledge.
The word meditation comes from the Latin, meditare, which means “to be in your centre”, “to turn to the centre”, in this case, the centre of yourself. Turning to ourselves, we can stay in the present and not on the usual past-future switching of the mind.
Be still. Be at peace.
I will not go into the historical facts or even the various types of meditation. This kind of information you can find in abundance on the internet, where you will be able to find out about the numerous scientific researches that have proven several beneficial effects on both physical and mental health.
Over time I will share some techniques that I have tried and liked.
My idea now is just to give you an idea of what it was like for me. This can be a nice insight into the practice of meditation and thus, who knows, demystify it a little.
Usually when I discover something that resonates with me, I try to gather as much information as possible. However, I embark on an idealization process that works just to make the result to seem unachievable.
Imagining a path with a series of huge insurmountable obstacles to reach that ideal happens in just a blink of the eye. It results in a lot of postponing. Thoughts like “This is too hard for me” or “I will never gonna get a this stage” sort of start popping into my mind every time that I think about actually beginning to do it.
At this point, the procrastination mode is already running. And in this case, knowing how good meditation is, I want to do it like Tibetan monks do straight away, for example. I want the impossible. I want nothing less than perfection. To start. (??)
Only that, there is no perfection in this world! Every practice, every talent, every mastery requires practice. And practice implies making mistakes often until you get it right. Practice implies learning from mistakes. Practice implies getting started.
And that’s when I started. I let go of preconceived ideas of how I would become Zen after two weeks of practice for instance. I let go of my unrealistic goals and opened myself to the experience.
I faced my restless mind. And I still do it today. Because don’t you think that after you’ve managed to quiet it for two minutes, then it’s done. Nothing of the sort. It is a constant work. Every day is a new chance to learn one more trick of the mind that struggles to keep itself quiet.
I learned that I don’t need to be in an (uncomfortable) lotus position. That I can focus one time on my breathing, another time on my heartbeat. Also learned that I don’t need to close my eyes to meditate.
And I can do it anywhere. Even when walking on the beach (the best!).
So, if I can give any advice it would be “just give it a go”. Begin by doing the breathing exercise three times in the morning. Do it before picking up your cell phone, please.
You will be bothered. You will feel itchy. Hungry. Cold. Thirsty. Your mind is going to do anything possible to get you out of that quietness, since you are not used to the silence, the stillness.
Your mind is not used to silence and being in the present. Thus, it will scream and kick like a spoiled child.
It will be up to you to remain in the now. For two minutes today. Maybe three tomorrow. And who knows: half an hour in a month?
It doesn’t matter the time. It matters that you start.
If it is too difficult to start, imagine a yellow light on the solar plexus (navel height). It is the chakra responsible for manifesting what you want in the physical world.
In case you can’t meditate one day, don’t feel yourself a loser. No! A loser is the one who never tries. Or gives up at the first obstacle. Keep going as it doesn’t invalidate what you have done before. It is a path, a cool one.
Set the alarm to ring five minutes before your normal time. Don’t take out your cell phone, really, don’t do it. And give yourself these minutes with yourself. It is a beautiful gift that you will be giving yourself.
You won’t have a transcendental experience right away. Maybe you will never have one. But your body and mind will feel the many benefits over time.
Love and light,
Monica