There is a ton of buzz around meditation and
if you are anything like me when I got into it,
You are probably overwhelmed by all the information out there.
However, it does not have to intimidate you.
Naval Raviakant said it most simply,
“Meditation is the art of doing nothing”
I’m aware to a lot of people that may not sound very enticing,
but I will explain why this unlocks your highest self.
MEDITATION CULTIVATES SELF AWARENESS.
Whenever you are meditating,
You are simply:
-Sitting in a comfortable position
-observing your thoughts, sensations of the body, etc.
-letting them pass without judgement
-that’s literally it
It sounds very simple and it is.
Similar to how eating healthy and exercising is simple and is all someone needs to do to get fit, but it still requires work.
You see, meditation is work.
And perhaps, the most important kind of work
Because it is self therapy.
To quote @Naval again, “Instead of paying someone, you listen to yourself.”
We get so lost and anxious in life because we are not paying attention to ourselves.
We are not paying attention to this moment.
I know we are all guilty of being at an event or being with someone we love
And not being fully present because we are too worried about our future or still stressing over our past or thinking about all the things we need to get done tomorrow.
Meditation teaches you to be present.
It teaches you to be self-aware.
“Awareness is the power that is concealed within the present moment. That is why we call it Presence. The ultimate purpose of human existence, which is to say, YOUR PURPOSE, is to bring that superpower into the world.” -Eckhart Tolle
Awareness is an absolute must for happiness.
If you are not present, you are not fully appreciating life.
Presence allows you to be a better spouse because you notice all the good in your partner.
It allows you to be a better friend because you can fully listen and give constructive advice from being aware of your own experiences in the world.
And most importantly, it allows you to be the best you because you are totally immersed in life and all that it has to offer.
It allows you to live every minute.
Meditation forces you to look at yourself and your thoughts.
This is a scary thing because all of us, at some point, have carried around something we did not want to share with anyone else, whether it be something we did, said or thought.
Furthermore, the second we wake up, we are struck with stimulation.
Social media notifications, emails, missed calls, text messages…
They all start piling up on us throughout the day and we never take a second to just do nothing.
We never give ourselves space to think and organize our ideas.
Meditation is like pulling out the Nintendo 64 cartridge, blowing on it, and putting it back in and everything works again.
Meditation is a different experience for everyone.
There are so many ways to do it, it’d be foolish to say it isn’t for you.
You can do plain, sit and observe meditations, guided meditations, mindfulness meditations…
Walking or long drives can be meditating for some.
The point of it is to just let it be whatever experience it is meant to be for you.
And let whatever benefits you get out of it be enough for you.
Do not concern yourself for not doing it for long enough or not practicing often enough.
It is always available to you.
If you are interested in trying a guided meditation, I would recommend starting with Deepak Chopra’s 21 Day Abundance Challenge.
I hope this opened your eyes to meditation. I could go on with more benefits like how it reduces stress and anxiety or how it literally reshapes your brain,
But I wanted to keep this short, sweet, and digestible.
Have a lovely day!
Namaste.