I want to talk about Meditation myths and facts in this musings post.
Before I talk about the myths and facts of Meditation, I want to define what I mean by Meditation.
What is Meditation?
Meditation seems to mean many things. It may mean thinking about things or the meanings of things, it may mean sitting in silence, it may mean uttering words softly.
I am using the word Meditation to mean the practice of becoming aware, to live fully in the moment.
James Joyce, in his book the Dubliners, writes;” Mr. Duffy lived a short distance from his body.”
You may live in an” awakened sleep state,” going through the day on autopilot,
ten steps ahead mentally, your physical body, and your awareness trailing behind.
You may live with stress and overwhelm, surrounded by to-do lists, cell phones, noises, and deadlines. You might go through life unaware of your own motivations. Your actions are reactionary. Your thoughts and emotions can overwhelm you.
Meditation Myths
Before I talk more about what Meditation is, I want to address some meditation myths.
Meditation is not “thinking about things” The goal is to go beyond your thinking mind.
Many people think that Meditation will stop their thoughts. When they practice, they don’t understand why they can’t do that. You can’t actually control your thoughts. You think something like 60,000 thoughts in a day. In Meditation, you learn to acknowledge them and let them go.
“Meditation is not evasion; it is a serene encounter with reality.”
Thich Nhat Hanh
Meditation is not about ignoring or denying your sensory experiences, your sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. The goal of Meditation is to be aware of your reality in the moment. Meditation is noticing the thoughts and sensations that come up without blocking anything or adding judgment to your experience.
Meditation is not going into a hypnotic blissed-out state.
Meditation is not about relaxation, although it can help you relax. Mediation can be a tool to help you deal with stress by learning to deactivate your reactions to stressful events.
Meditation is not concentrating. Meditation is noticing when you have lost awareness; the mind becomes more focused because of your meditation practice.
Meditation does not require any specific religious beliefs, nor do you have to change your current religious view.
Meditation Facts
Now, let’s discuss some facts about Meditation.
Meditation is a tool to learn to use your mind to its full potential.
Meditation allows you to learn how your subconscious patterning and perceptions shape your interactions with the world. Meditation gives you a chance to break the pattern of thought and reaction or action and reaction.
Meditation teaches you to notice how a sensory perception creates a story in your mind. You begin to notice that one thought can feed into another, leading to a thread of reactions or emotions. For example, you hear a barking dog. It is only a sound. This sound may lead to a mental story about the dog constantly barking, why the neighbors leave it out, and how annoying the barking is. This story may lead to an emotional response, irritation, or anger. You don’t recognize the sound for what it is, a vibration that our brain recognizes as a dog barking.
Meditation teaches you that your thoughts and emotions come and go. All sensations come and go; all things change over time.
Meditation connects you to the intelligence and wisdom of your body and soul.
Meditation allows us to see beyond our thoughts and emotions.
Meditation allows you to find the calm in the storm, the quiet space you can create in your mind even during the most chaotic times. This serene space is already there. You need to learn to connect to it. Meditation gives you the tools to observe your life from behind your thoughts and emotions.
You begin to see beyond your mind, glimpsing the inner intelligence and intuition hidden beneath the senses. I picture this process of going behind your mind, like a hurricane hunter airplane flying through the hurricane’s eyewall and finding the calm eye at the storm’s center.
Meditation is not one-size-fits-all
Meditation is a practice. Every day is a new experience; you will have a different experience when you sit.
There are many ways to practice Meditation. Not every practice will work for each meditator. There are mindfulness meditation practices where you focus on your breath or sensation in the body. You may meditate on an object like a sound or a flickering candle, holding that in your attention. There are practices of Meditation that involve movement, like some forms of Yoga. Mantra meditation focuses attention on a word or phrase. Metta, or loving-kindness meditation practices, offer love to those around us and ourselves, focusing on our heart’s feelings. Other practices focus on thoughts or emotions.
Explore the practices that work best for you, and enjoy!
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