As a teacher of meditation, I am often faced with many questions and misconceptions about what meditation is. Although many people have an awareness of meditation, and many people now do understand it, if someone is new or if I am working with a group in a workplace for example, people will come along just to see what its all about.
Some people think it will be incense and chanting, others think its a little hippy dippy and some simply think its a little weird. Either way, people are interested and I like to start off all sessions with a little briefing, just to put people at ease.
The Engine Metaphor…
Once people are sitting and are feeling comfortable, I like to explain the following metaphor;
“Imagine your mind is like a car, and each morning as soon as you wake up, you switch on the engine straight away and just leaving it running the whole day.
Now imagine the engine is your stream of thought… you switch it on, and then you engage with it straight away. You follow the sounds, noises and vibrations - which are the
equivalent to all the thoughts streaming through your mind.
Now because you are so used to tuning in to the engine (or your thoughts) you don’t stop to question their validity… you just listen to the drum of your mind and you stay tuned in all day…usually until you fall asleep.
Just like a car engine is part of a system, so is your mind…
And just like you can turn a car on a let the engine run without engaging with it constantly … you can do this with your mind…
You are the driver of your mind - not the passenger…
The point therefore of meditation is to tune out of the engine noises and enter the quiet zone…
You will still hear the engine in the background, but the difference is… you are not solely listening to the engine… you can choose where to place your attention”
Many people find this quite surprising at first, its a revelation to understand that our thoughts are automatic, and its a different perspective entirely to grasp the concept that we can tune out of the thoughts.
By focussing our attention away from our thoughts, we immediately take ourselves out of the chaos of life and allow peace and serenity to enter our lives.
Is Meditation For Me?
Meditation is simply a way in which anyone can step out of their current mind identified state and enter a place of calm. Not everyone finds the lotus position comfortable, not everyone likes to sit for an hour at a time, and not everyone likes to sing, chant or sit within a group of people. There is never any right or wrong way to meditate, the true art of meditation is find your own unique way that suits you.
When I work with a person I find out what they they like to do, how they feel in daily life, and importantly, what they want to achieve in life. Meditation is not simply about following a structure, its about going within yourself and reaching for something deep inside of you that you already know. The best way to find out what works best for you therefore, is to try a few different things and see what makes you feel good…
“A true sign that you are in a meditative state is when you feel good about what you are doing and feel good about life in general…”
So where do you start?
Below I have listed a few different options for meditation, and I would always say to
people, try this out and see how you feel…
Types of Meditation
Transcendental - this form of meditation became very popular in the 1960’s and is essentially a mantra based meditation. During a transcendental meditation session, you will repeat a word or phrase (a mantra) and focus your attention on this. The mantra is usually a Hindu deity, and the aim is to meditate twice a day to achieve peace in mind, body and spirit.
Walking - this is a traditional buddhist meditation in which you literally focus your entire attention on each step you are taking in that moment. By focussing on each step, your mind becomes clearer and allows more space to be created for positive intentions, as opposed to worrying about the past and future.
Presence / Mindfulness - this is where your focus becomes entirely on the present moment. This exists outside of time, as you will focus on the fact that the past no longer exists, therefore cannot affect the present moment, and the future is yet to happen, therefore does not affect the present moment.
Hindu (Vedic or Yoga) - again this is a mantra based meditation. This is where the famous OM meditations come from, and are practiced to achieve a state of total peace and oneness. The word OM is consider to be the sound of all creation in many religions. In Hinduism it refers to all that is and Brahman - the ultimate truth of reality. In Christian literature the beginning of all creation was ‘the word’ and many believe in spiritual truth, that the word was Om.
Zen - this meditation is one where you will sit in a position such as the lotus position and focus entirely on your breathing and the present moment. Its often referred to as ‘effortless effort’ in that you become calm and serene as you focus on the breath entering in and out of the body and use the sounds around you to enter a zen state.
Vipassana - this is very similar to mindfulness / presence based meditations in that you bring your focus to the present moment. The aim here is to work with the breath primarily, by completely placing all of your attention on breathing, noticing the life force in and around the body. This is sometimes offered as part of silent retreats, where participants remain silent throughout the retreat, allowing people to experience total peace and quiet.
Guided - these are where a teacher will talk you through the meditation. This is a perfect way for people new to meditation to explore different styles and in due course, find their preference. This usually begins with a teacher leading you through a series of breathing exercises, and then maybe focussing on a specific topic such as ‘letting go of anger’, ‘exploring nature’ and focussing on the present moment.
Music - there are literally hundreds of types of music based meditation, from shamanic drumming, gong baths, binaural beats, classical music and so on. Music based meditations are beautiful as we focus our attention on the music, the beat and the vibrations entering our bodies. Many people love music based mediations as they can literally get lost in the music and enter perfect presence from here.
Feelings vs Thoughts - Life Hack
A very very quick way to evaluate what works for you is to completely bypass anyone else’s opinion and thoughts, or any judgements you may have about a practice and go straight to the feeling.
“One feeling is the equivalent to literally hundreds and thousands of thoughts, all of which can then tempt you in to the mind again…
If you can focus on the feeling rather than the thoughts, this is the truest reflection that something is or isn't working for you”
For example…
If someone is trying transcendental meditation and they start to feel uncomfortable or wanting the time to pass quickly to ‘get it over with’, and this produces a stress like feeling… this is an indication that this maybe isn't the best way for you.
That is not to say you are doing it ‘wrong’, its more that it doesn't suit you right now. So then it might be time to try something else.
There will be a starting point for you, and you will find your way in to meditation. The art therefore is to listen to what your feelings are telling you and always head towards what makes you feel good.