Enjoying a sunrise meditation Palm Beach Sydney
I have read a quite a few blogs and articles on meditation recently, and I get a bit confused at why so many people describe their daily practice as a painful process. Some detailing a daily ritual that sounds like torture.
Then I remind myself to think back to when I first started or attempted to meditate. Yes it was mostly frustrating. I did experience aches and pains in my body which tended to dominate the process along with many random thoughts.
At about the same time I did a series of courses where I studied the Yoga Sutras. It became clear to me at this time that meditation was also about being aware of what was going on in your body and becoming the observer while dropping judgement.
My two biggest hurdles in learning to meditate were:
1. Wanting really, really hard to meditate.
2. Not being able to find a teacher that was truly confident and adept at meditation. Lots can sit, act spiritual, guide a visualisation and explain the mechanics but it took me years to find a meditation teacher that worked for me.
The hard thing with meditation is that like a feeling sense it is really difficult to explain and then even harder to understand if you have not actually experienced what the sensation is like. It's like trying to describe to someone the feeling of something cold if they have never felt cold!
The other variable is that we are all different, our reasons for exploring meditation maybe similar though our thinking minds are all unique.
So here are 10 points that I can share given the benefit of hindsight.
1. Meditation is actually a lot simpler than our minds want it to be so that is the first hurdle.
2. The harder you try the harder it is, if not impossible to meditate.
3. You need to surrender first by just allowing yourself to just be, meaning you become the observer instead of the judgmental commentator or participant in your mind's drama.
4. It is more than being mindful and relaxed, though this mind state has many positive benefits and is often a helpful step prior to meditation.
5. Once you have tasted a meditative state their is no grey area of whether you are meditating or not.
6. A good teacher is rare but keep looking. There is not mistaking once you have found one as they will make the learning process easy for you.
7. Find a group meditation situation with experienced meditators who will automatically take you along for the ride. That is also why so many people can not recreate the same feeling when meditating alone as the collective meditation experience is a very powerful sensation.
8. It's very difficult to meditate if you are tired.
9. It's much easier to meditate if you start with a smile and follow an established routine.
10. It takes about six weeks of daily practice to change your habitual mind to then be able to enter the meditative state at will.
Meditation is for everyone, it is not limited to a few chosen ones.
I can confidently say that learning to meditate is the single most transformative skill I have made part of my life.
Good luck and I'm happy to share my personal interpretations to any questions anyone feels like directing my way.
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