What is Meditation?
When we meditate, we create lasting benefits into our lives: We lower our stress levels, we get to know our pain and work with it instead of resisting and creating more tension, we connect better, we improve our focus, and we’re kinder to ourselves. This practice can really help you find joy in your daily living.
Meditation has become a passion of mine
I am a qualified hypnotherapist and psychotherapist as well as a Reiki Master. I have suffered with complex post-traumatic stress and acute panic and anxiety Meditation is a way of being able to quiet my mind and a tool to help manage anxiety. I also believe it can help you connect to your higher self, open your third eye, and expand your connection to your inner knowing. I also study Buddhism and have been blessed with some knowledge of chanting. I find chanting an excellent meditative tool.
There are many things in life that are beyond our control. However, it is possible to take responsibility for our own states of mind – and to change them for the better. According to Buddhism this is the most important thing we can do, and Buddhism teaches that it is the only real antidote to our own personal sorrows, and to the anxieties, fears, hatreds, and general confusions that beset the human condition.
Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. Meditation practices are techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity, and a calm seeing of the true nature of things. By engaging with a particular meditation practice, you learn the patterns and habits of your mind, and the practice offers a means to cultivate new, more positive ways of being. With regular work and patience these nourishing, focused states of mind can deepen into profoundly peaceful and energised states of mind. Such experiences can have a transformative effect and can lead to a new understanding of life.
How do you learn to meditate?
There are many forms of meditation. In mindfulness meditation, we’re learning how to pay attention to the breath as it goes in and out and notice when the mind wanders from this task. This practice of returning to the breath builds the muscles of attention and mindfulness. When we pay attention to our breath, we are learning how to return to, and remain in, the present moment—to anchor ourselves in the here and now on purpose, without judgement.
Us humans can be very tough on ourselves which leads to negative life states – mental, emotional and physical Meditation helps retrain our brains to have thoughts that are so much healthier and help create a feeling great life.
I run meditation classes and courses for all levels. To find out more message me through my website, call 07715 770696 or book online.
Meditation Benefits
Its much more than something you do to help relax. (although it is very good for stress reduction)
To understand the many benefits of meditation Ill start with a definition by a famous professor – Shapiro
Shapiro is the author/coauthor/coeditor of five books and over a hundred professional and scientific writings on eastern and western self-control strategies and psychological well-being.
“Meditation refers to a family of techniques which have in common a conscious attempt to focus attention in a non-analytical way and an attempt not to dwell on discursive, ruminating thought”
(Shapiro, 1982)
Meditation is retraining of attention
When we run, for example, what most of us do is we run while thinking about other things, which obviously isn’t meditating, but if we would have run while fully focusing on the movement of the muscles, feeling the muscles, feeling the body, feeling the connection with the ground, feeling the wind touching your face, feeling the sweat dripping. If every bit of your attention was right there with these sensations, with these experiences of the moment, the experiences of running, you would have been meditating, right? That’s the meditation of running. So as long as you are fully present within the experience, you could be meditating. We’ll talk more about what is required in order for us to move deeply
And that’s why it’s a family of techniques. There are many different options. What do they all have in common? First of all, they have a conscious attempt, right? So this is something that Kabat-Zinn, who’s one of the leading researchers and teachers of meditation,
really emphasizing, the fact that that meditation is a conscious choice. We choose to let everything else fall away, bring our attention to the moment, right? It’s a conscious choice we’re making, and by doing that we shift into this state of meditation.
So you bring your attention to a certain focal point and you just keep it right there without wandering somewhere else, right? So if you look at a chair and the chair is red and you bring every bit of your attention to the redness of the chair, this is it, this is where you are.
sensation in your body and you bring your awareness to that sensation, perhaps a feeling of pain or a feeling of pleasure somewhere, and you keep it right there with that focal point and nowhere else. Or perhaps the best example, breath. This is why breathing meditation is so popular. So you can bring your attention to your breath and feel your breath as it goes in and out, and that is your focal point. This is where your focus, nowhere else, right? And if your mind wanders, you bring it back to that focal point. So that’s the first requirement of meditation
So meditation is all about the experience of bringing your attention to that focal point, say your breath, and having that open, accepting, non-reactive relationship with that focal point where there are no thoughts about it, but simply the experience of it. And I want you to think about these two, the focus and then non-analytical relationship with it, as the wings of a bird because both are required in order to fly, right? Just as a bird needs both wings in order to fly, we need both of these aspects in order for our meditation to be able to soar and fly
And if there’s one thing we know about our mind, is that it’s like plastinine. Anything we do regularly will change our cognition. It also changes our brain. So, we are choosing to involve ourselves with an activity that changes the quality of our attention from a fluctuating reactive all over the place attention, to one that sits still with a certain focal point. That’s what you do when you meditate, you are retraining your attention, right?
into the experience of authentic self, into the experience of our potential. And when we engage with that potential, when we, at certain points, dive into that undercurrent river, we gave this great gift, gift of the love and compassion and peace and joy that are within that river, and then we get back to a normal state of consciousness, it’s a different world, it’s a different life. There’s less attachment, there’s so much more presence, there’s greater connection with everyone, including ourselves. It transforms our lives.
There is much scientific research now that supportsa meditation can:
Better Focus and Concentration – meditation helps retrain our brains and to focus attention on the present moment without judgement. You maybe aware of a beautiful blue sky and really enjoy the blue sky but then you wish the sky stayed blue because it makes you feel better and grey sky brings you down. Right in that present moment the sky is blue and we lose attention and starting thinging negativel;y. Meditation helps you stay in the present moment and really enjoy the blue sky and stay in that positive awareness.
Improve self esteem and self-awareness. – meditation helps you to slow down, allows for deeper reflection which can help you to discover how to really feel everything that’s posirtive about you. It helps you to slow down your thoughts and examine them. Many of our thoughts are negative, full of self blame which is really destructive to your self esteem. We can access our own emotional guidance system.
Reduce Stress – meditation helps lower levels of cortisol which is a stress hormone. This helps your body relax and your mind to be more quiet and have more space.
Manage anxiety and depression – meditation can help reduce current symptoms and prevent further episodes of mental ill-health. Reducing cortisol levels, slowing us down, being able to examine our thoughts in a non-judgmental way and accessing our own emotional guidance system.
Can help fight addiction – meditation can help reduce the automatic thoughts, cravings and behaviours associated with addiction. It can help you take a pause, and then react in a more mindful way and therefore choose a different thought and different behaviour that stops supporting the craving.
Control pain – meditation can be part of a treatment programme that can help the focus of attention to be distracted from the pain and therefore providing relief.
Be more kind and loving – meditation changes the relationship you have with yourself. You become less judgmental, less attached to expectations and what you feel should be. You treat yourself with more kindness and compassion. When you are able to be like this with yourself and understand how it feels you can be more loving and compassionate of others. Releasing resentments and repressed anger that only hurts you more than it does the person or situation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Meditation
Meditation is a mental practice that involves training the mind to focus and become more aware of one’s thoughts, emotions, and surroundings. It can involve various techniques such as focusing on the breath, repeating a mantra, or visualizing an image.
Meditation has been shown to have numerous benefits, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving concentration and focus, promoting emotional wellbeing, enhancing self-awareness, and increasing feelings of relaxation and calmness.
To get started with meditation, find a quiet and comfortable place to sit or lie down. You can then choose a technique that resonates with you, such as focusing on your breath or repeating a mantra. Start with just a few minutes each day and gradually increase your practice over time.
There is no set amount of time that is best for everyone. It is recommended to start with just a few minutes each day and gradually increase the length of your practice as you become more comfortable with it. Aim for at least 10-15 minutes per day.
No, you can meditate in any comfortable seated or lying down position. The most important thing is to find a position that allows you to feel relaxed and alert.
Yes, meditation can be done while lying down. However, some people find it easier to fall asleep in this position, so it is important to stay alert and focused if you choose to meditate while lying down.
It is recommended to meditate at least once a day, but you can choose to meditate more frequently if you find it helpful. The key is to establish a regular practice that works for you.
Yes, meditation has been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety. By training the mind to focus and become more aware of one’s thoughts and emotions, meditation can help individuals better manage anxious thoughts and feelings.
Yes, meditation can be done with music, but it is important to choose music that is calming and does not distract from the meditation practice. Instrumental music or nature sounds can be good options.
Yes, you can meditate with your eyes open, but it is generally recommended to keep the eyes slightly open and focus on a single point, such as a spot on the wall, to avoid distractions.
