Perhaps you have tried meditation and come away disappointed - you were expecting to feel calm, happy and focused, and instead got into an internal battle against your unruly mind! Rest assured, you are not alone. Meditation is an incredible tool to help you feel calmer, happier and more centered but many novices are under the mistaken impression that they have to try to stop their thoughts - and sadly give up when they realize they are unable to do this.
Please let me reassure you, you don't have to stop your thoughts! Meditation is actually really simple. There are thousands of meditation techniques out there (focusing on your breath, repeating a mantra in your mind, feeling the sensations in your body, gazing at a candle or a mandala). But basically there are just 2 steps to any meditation practice.
Firstly, focusing your attention on the object of your concentration, and secondly, when your mind wanders (which it will OVER and OVER again) simply notice and bring it back to your object of concentration. Rinse and repeat.
Eventually, rather than stopping your thoughts, you get better and better at not getting LOST in your thoughts, and you are able to tap into another aspect of your consciousness beyond your thinking mind: the aware mind.
Most of us spend the majority of our daily lives caught up in our THINKING MIND rather than our aware mind, and our thinking mind is where we experience our stress, frustration and worry. The nature of the thinking mind is to chew on problems, create a lot of internal noise and fixate on the future or the past. Unfortunately, the present moment is never enough for the thinking mind, it is always searching for something better or different, which of course, is a recipe for unhappiness.
By cultivating the aware mind, it is possible to experience surrender and peace in the moment because it is not preoccupied with the past or the future, it simply experiences the here and now. It is naturally calm and free from drama, negativity, mental stories. Because it seeks nothing, it is satisfied and accepting. With practice, the ability to tap into the aware mind becomes stronger and it gradually starts to change your experience of life for the better.
The benefits of meditation become more pronounced with regular practice, at least 10 to 20 minutes per day. So many areas of your life can change for the better: increased focus is a boon to your work life, increased compassion improves relationships and the new ability to be more self-aware means you can make healthier, more conscious choices for yourself. Your resilience and ability to cope with stress, anxiety or depression becomes stronger. And most importantly, being able to live in the present moment means you can truly enjoy all that your life has to offer.
Please let me reassure you, you don't have to stop your thoughts! Meditation is actually really simple. There are thousands of meditation techniques out there (focusing on your breath, repeating a mantra in your mind, feeling the sensations in your body, gazing at a candle or a mandala). But basically there are just 2 steps to any meditation practice.
Firstly, focusing your attention on the object of your concentration, and secondly, when your mind wanders (which it will OVER and OVER again) simply notice and bring it back to your object of concentration. Rinse and repeat.
Eventually, rather than stopping your thoughts, you get better and better at not getting LOST in your thoughts, and you are able to tap into another aspect of your consciousness beyond your thinking mind: the aware mind.
Most of us spend the majority of our daily lives caught up in our THINKING MIND rather than our aware mind, and our thinking mind is where we experience our stress, frustration and worry. The nature of the thinking mind is to chew on problems, create a lot of internal noise and fixate on the future or the past. Unfortunately, the present moment is never enough for the thinking mind, it is always searching for something better or different, which of course, is a recipe for unhappiness.
By cultivating the aware mind, it is possible to experience surrender and peace in the moment because it is not preoccupied with the past or the future, it simply experiences the here and now. It is naturally calm and free from drama, negativity, mental stories. Because it seeks nothing, it is satisfied and accepting. With practice, the ability to tap into the aware mind becomes stronger and it gradually starts to change your experience of life for the better.
The benefits of meditation become more pronounced with regular practice, at least 10 to 20 minutes per day. So many areas of your life can change for the better: increased focus is a boon to your work life, increased compassion improves relationships and the new ability to be more self-aware means you can make healthier, more conscious choices for yourself. Your resilience and ability to cope with stress, anxiety or depression becomes stronger. And most importantly, being able to live in the present moment means you can truly enjoy all that your life has to offer.
About the Author:
Sharee James is a yoga and meditation teacher, a naturopath and founder of Ashima Living. To learn more about how to calm your mind, watch her short video meditation or download her free e-guide "Stress-Less" here .
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