Are you actually meditating?
How can you tell?
A year ago, I interviewed over 10 different people of varying backgrounds on what they thought meditation was. I received a range of answers–some said it’s about awareness, a relaxation tool, mindfulness, emptying the mind, and etc.
How can something that seems so simple, be so hard to explain?
I realised from the interviews that the term meditation is pretty fuzzy to most people. The more I am learning about it, the more I realise how much more there is to learn. So let’s try to answer this question: Are you actually meditating?
Stripped down to its essence, meditation consists of two parts:
Meditation = Awareness + Concentration
Awareness: Being able to observe what is happening.
Concentration: The focus to sustain this awareness.
Regardless of the meditation technique that you’re using (mantra, body scans, TM, breath awareness, mindfulness etc), these are the two basic components that have to be present. Most meditation techniques use a focus point for the mind to concentrate on. Let’s take breath-awareness meditation as an example.
To concentrate on the breath, we must first become aware of the breath. And how we become aware of the breath is merely by observing it. Once we start to observe the breath, the next task is to prolong this observation with focus, for as long as we can. What usually happens within seconds though, especially for new meditators, is that the mind would start to wander.
If your mind has wandered off, that means you’re no longer aware of the breath nor are you focused, therefore you’re no longer meditating.
So if you’ve fallen asleep during meditation, that is called definitely called napping. This lapse in awareness could last from seconds till even half an hour before you realise you’re supposed to be meditating.
But the moment you realise that you’ve wandered off and try to come back to the breath, that is the moment you’re meditating. Because now you have awareness and concentration again.
The practice of meditation is the practice of sustaining this awareness, moment to moment. It is a practice of returning to the object of focus again and again. At first, it could look like one second, followed by a long lapse of unawareness. As we practise, we will find that we will be able to sustain this awareness a little longer each time. Until one day, you might find yourself staying aware for most of the session and only wandering off occasionally.
When meditation is defined as both having awareness and concentration, you can see how this can be applied to different activities that can bring about a meditative state. For some people that’s creating art, reading, racing cars, cooking, etc. You might’ve also heard of mindful walking and eating which is a form of meditation.
So the next time you’re wondering if you’re meditating, remember that it’s not about achieving a particular feeling, nor it is not about having an empty mind. It is about being aware and the ability to sustain that awareness.
Hope this article was useful, feel free to leave your comments and questions. You can also follow Have A Breather on Instagram where I share tips on meditation and breathwork.
