Free Online Meditation Guide
With the free online meditation advice you are about to receive, you are going to
completely get rid of all thoughts and prejudices you have when it comes to meditation. For starters...
- You don't have to be a monk to meditate.
- You don't have to sit cross legged with your hands in some sort of weird position.
- When you meditate, you don't go in lala land and have vivid memories of coming out of the womb (at least I haven't...yet)
- And you don't have to meditate all afternoon. In fact, you'll learn that it really only takes about 8 minutes
Meditation more than likely isn't anything like what think it is. In it's simplest form, meditation is a way for you to take a step back and notice your thoughts.
As you are meditating, you will realize just how much your brain jumps around from this thought to that thought.
The whole purpose of meditation is to become aware of these thoughts, dismiss them, and practice doing this repeatedly so that in your every day life you will be able to approach things with a much clearer mind.
The Benefits Of Meditation
Imagine the driver in front of you is getting on your last nerve. First, they pulled out in front of you, nearly killing you both. Now, they're just sitting there at a green light, because as you can tell, they're on their cell phone and not paying any attention to what's going on.
You would be pretty angry right?
Well, when you practice meditation, you practice observing your thoughts and dismissing them. So when you have these thoughts of complete rage for the driver in front of you, you'll be able to observe these thoughts, realize you're having them, and dismiss them. Leaving you much more calm and peaceful.
This is just one tiny example of what would happen if you practiced meditation regularly.
Another area where meditation can really come into play (and where I find it more useful) is in your ability to focus.
While your working, your mind often jumps around from thought to thought. One minute you'll be working hard, then all of a sudden, your mind will give you the idea, "Why don't you go check your email?" Or, "Did that check ever get added to my bank account? Let me go check it."
All kinds of thoughts seem to pop into your head throughout the day. Most of the them aren't useful. And that's where meditation comes in.
Meditation is all about controlling your thoughts so that you can focus on what you're doing, without getting distracted.
How To Meditate
I hope I've said enough to have you at least "consider" trying meditation. As I mentioned above, you only have to meditate for 8 minutes. You can do it for longer or shorter if you want, but 8 minutes is a nice balance that will be sure to get results.
First, you'll need to choose a time and place during the day where you won't be distracted. Preferably first thing in the morning or before going to bed. But it doesn't have to be!
It's important that it's somewhere where there won't be any distractions. Because if your mind is too busy thinking about what is happening around you, it kind of defeats the purpose of trying to think about nothing.
Once you have the time and place in mind, get a timer/alarm that you can set that will go off after 8 minutes. When you have this, your mind won't have to constantly be thinking, "Has it been 8 minutes yet?" the entire time you are meditating.
So find a place, and set your alarm for 8 minutes.
Now, find a chair that you can sit and place your feet firmly on the floor. The most important thing about getting in a meditation position is that you are comfortable. You shouldn't have to think about how badly your back or neck hurts when you are sitting there for 8 minutes.
To begin, close your eyes (keep them closed) and take 3 deep breaths. Breath in through your nose, and out through your mouth. This will do two things for you:
- It immediately begins to relax you. Which is important in meditation.
- It works kind of like a start button. Once you do those three breaths, your mind will think, "OK, it's time to begin meditating."
Once you've completed your three breaths (you're going to love this part) just sit there!
Try your best to not think about anything. Just sit there, relaxed, controlling your thoughts.
As you will soon see, this is a thousand times more difficult than you think. Your mind is going to bounce from thought after thought. I want to emphasize the point...
This is perfectly OK!
Don't get frustrated when a thought pops into your head. It's going to happen. Even if you've been meditating for 30 years, it's still going to happen. Here's what you do...
Whenever a thought pops into your head, realize that you are thinking about something. Then, shift your focus from the thought you are having, to focusing on your breathing. Do this for about 10-20 seconds.
Meditation is all about letting thoughts just "drift away." So when a thought comes into your head during meditation, let it drift away and focus on your breathing. This will quickly allow you to prevent your mind from racing from thought to thought and get you back to sitting their peacefully.
Do this for 8 minutes until your alarm goes off.
Meditation is like a push up workout for your brain. It's like a muscle that will only get stronger with each time that you meditate.
You'll get better and better at controlling your thoughts and letting them roll off of you when you have them. And as you get better at doing this during meditation, you'll automatically get better at doing this while you're working.
You may also want to try a form of meditation that focuses on something other than breath, and heart meditation is a great alternative.
A Prequel To Visualization
I'm becoming more and more convinced about the power of visualization in everyday life. I've read several stories where people visualized what they wanted in life, and through repetition, ended up having whatever it was they were visualizing later down the road.
I'm thoroughly convinced from both reading and personal experience that if you visualize what you want to happen, the chances of it actually happening go way up!
What do you think those guys on the PGA tour are doing when they are standing behind their golf ball? They are visualizing the ball going perfectly down the middle of the fairway. Then, they step up next to the ball and make it happen. Time after time after time! This is visualization in practice. Back to meditation...
Meditation is a terrific way to clear your mind for an effective visualization session. Here's something you can try if you want to get the most out of meditating...
After you've finished your 8 minute meditation, turn of that annoying alarm. Then, sit back down and close your eyes again. Begin visualizing one of two things...
- Visualize what your perfect life looks like in five years. Or...
- Visualize you going through your perfect day today, getting all of your work done and being happy.
I haven't quite discovered which one that I like better. You can experiment to find whichever one you prefer best. Whatever one you do decide on, be as vivid and detailed as you can possibly be.
Think about every possible little detail you can possibly think of. The more real it is, the more it is going to work for you.
Do this for however long you want. No need to set a timer. Do it until you feel confident that you are going to get started immediately making your dream a reality.
Your First Meditation Session
Remember all of that stuff I mentioned earlier about finding a place where you won't be distracted and being comfortable?... Forget all of that.
Wherever you are sitting right now, try meditating for a few minutes. Don't worry about finding a timer, just sit there with your eyes closed and try not to think about anything. You'll be amazed at how difficult this is!
Whenever you do catch yourself thinking about something, accept the fact you are thinking about something, let it go, and focus on your breathing for a few seconds.
Repeat this over and over again for the next few minutes. Realize that throughout your entire day, this is what your mind is doing in the background. It doesn't matter what you are doing, whether it's trying to get some work done, or trying to fall asleep at night.
Your mind is constantly thinking! Meditation allows you to practice quieting your mind in order to live a happier and peaceful life. A life where you can get more work done and be "in the moment" at all times. Why not give it a shot?
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