Read this if you suck at meditation
Most gurus would disagree, but here are 5 simple tips to relax your practice
You spend most of life on autopilot.
You think thoughts & complete tasks in a dream-like mode, barely aware of what’s happening in your own mind.
Meditation helps us break this cycle to wake up and live meaningful lives.
But there’s a lot of bad advice out there which can leave you frustrated with meditation.
Meditation is not:
- Focusing perfectly on one thing
- Having a perfectly blank mind
- Sitting perfectly still
Meditation is:
- Paying attention to your mind & body.
Here are 5 practical tips I wish I’d known before starting my practice.
- You don’t need to focus on the breath
Most guided meditations start by focusing all your attention on breathing.
This is useful, because unless you’re a supreme monk, you will fail miserably at it. You’ll realize you can’t follow your breath for more than a few seconds. It’s the moment you recognise your mind is completely out of control, like a monkey flinging feces.
But understanding this gives you opportunity to make change. And once you do, trying and failing to focus on the breath may drive you insane.
2. You can focus on any sensation you like
Pay attention to something different.
Focus on your visual field, sounds or bodily sensations. We’re always feeling something, just pay attention to whatever that is. Your body is bundle of nerves producing an ocean of stimulus.
Dive in and let it flow.
Instead of focusing on a single thing like the breath, rotate between different senses and pay attention to whichever you feel most clearly in each changing moment.
Meditation becomes more relaxed when practicing in this way. You can also try it when you’re out walking, ideally in nature. Just take it all in.
As long as you’re paying attention, you’re doing it right.
3. The goal is not to silence the mind.
Most people think the goal of meditation is to reach a state of thought-less bliss where the mind is completely quiet.
This is unhelpful, because meditation will actually show you how distracted and full of thoughts you are.
So don’t stress about not being able to silence your mind: it’s totally natural to become lost in thought.
Progress in meditation is recognizing that you’re lost in thought in the first place. So just keep going and paying attention to the experience of being alone with your mind & body.
And then you’ll get lost in thought again. And that’s okay.
It’s pretty much impossible to not think thoughts unless you’re an experienced meditator or take psychedelics. More on that in the future.
4. You can sit however you like.
I’m awkwardly shaped in the tall-and-lanky sense, so the idea of sitting lotus doesn’t really fly.
If you find sitting still difficult, adjust and move a little as you practice.
As long as your back is reasonably straight, you can sit in a chair or even lie down to meditate. That’s how I started.
5. If you don’t have time to meditate, commit to this:
Whenever you lie down, pay attention to your breath, body & mind. You’ll either meditate or take a nap. Win-win.
. . .
Hope these tips help you meditate with less frustration. Are there any steps you take to relax your own practice? Let me know in the comments, or email me at seanhoneyman@gmail.com
As mentioned earlier, gurus or strict practitioners might disagree with my advice, so take it all with a pinch of salt and find what works best for you.
Thanks for stopping by, have a wakeful day.
