If you’ve never started meditation before, the thought of sitting with your eyes closed for 20 minutes while your mind enters a ‘new realm of consciousness’ can be scary, to say the least.
However, this isn’t what meditation is all about, and it’s actually one of the most beneficial things you can do for your mind and body. If you’re looking for ways to reduce your stress and anxiety, this is definitely for you.
But, like most thing, word of mouth has a funny way of changing things and very soon you have myths flying around which make it even more difficult to differentiate fact from fiction.
To help you get started, here are three of the most common meditation myths that could be holding you back from unlocking complete peace and virtue in your life.
Myth – Meditation is for Spiritual People Only
This is by far the most common, most believed and most incorrect myth around. There’s no test that allows you start meditating where you get up at the crack of dawn and start waving around burning herbs while the sun rises. This just doesn’t happen.
As long as you’re between the ages of 0-150, boy or a girl, CEO of a global company or a student and everything in between, you can meditate. Of course, spiritual people do meditate, and some even have it as part of their religious culture, but it’s not a strictly religious practice.
Myth – It’s All About Clearing Your Mind
Many people believe that they won’t be able to meditate, simply because they won’t be able to clear their minds. They know themselves, and their overactive minds, far too well. However, this is a common misconception.
Meditation isn’t about clearing your mind, so you’re sitting there thinking about nothing. It’s about becoming mindful of the present situation and the thoughts that your mind has.
I’ve spent countless hours meditating where my mind kept wandering off from my breathing pattern, and that’s fine. I’m not going to judge myself. I just take note of what these thoughts are, whether they are financial burdens or even relationship problems.
This can then help you to deal with these problems throughout your day to day life as you know exactly what they are and can deal with them. This is instead of getting anxious and stressed over them.
Myths – Meditate Only When You’re Stressed
When you want to run a marathon, you don’t just run a marathon. You’ve got to practice for months and months beforehand, and you’ve got to build up your body, so you can perform. The same goes for meditating.
It takes practice to get into a good mindset where you can practice effectively. It’s like exercise for your brain. This means not just meditating when you feel stressed, but meditating when you feel at your best.
Imagine how meditating will make you feel when you meditate when you’re not stressed.
It’s amazing!