06/02/2024
Meditation is frustrating!
"I try to meditate, but I can't. I just get mad and quit."
I totally understand.
I've been there, so let's understand what is happening, and how to meditate correctly like a yogi in the Himalayas.
While leading meditation courses for over 30 years, I saw the same obstacle come up for nearly everyone who tries to do one form of meditation or another.
**Guided meditation are not the subject of this, but self practice is. A guided meditation is more of preparatory practices to relieve stress, or lift someone out of a negative pattern.
Once a person is curious to try meditation on their own, they usually have the idea that it should feel peaceful and calm with heightened clarity. 💕
But what usually occurs, is you sit down, and the body feels agitated and wants to move every 15-30 seconds.
The mind starts generating whirlwinds of distracted thoughts, and the person realizes they are far from calm or peaceful and they quit, thinking meditation is not for them.
Or that it's really hard, or maybe even it's impossible. 😱
Contrary to popular belief, the ultimate goal of meditation is not to achieve a constant state of tranquility or to escape from the chaos of our daily lives.
Instead, the true essence of meditation lies in cultivating awareness.
Even if we find ourselves feeling dull or agitated during meditation, the key is to remain aware of these states. 💕
Meditation isn't about achieving a state of Zen-like tranquility or becoming a human version of a tranquilized sloth. 😎
It actually makes you more alive, more dynamic.
Not afraid to see your own darknesses, and mistakes.
~ and now here is the kicker, and to acknowledge any mistake and just do better in a more realized direction. That simple.
If you're chasing after peace and calm, only accepting certain experiences as valid or spiritual, most likely you will become more agitated.
This is because by forcing one experience, we repress and avoid what is actually occurring.
This puts a lie, or a distortion on our ability to perceive the subtleties of life around us, thus limiting our abilities.
By seeing, acknowledging and not repressing, we can adjust our thoughts, speech and actions in accordance with new realizations.
If we are not controlled by a false ego or holding too tightly to a previous identity.
The real goal of meditation is to achieve a state of heightened awareness.
When you are aware of this moment, and the way choices spread out around you, you are not in the space of ruminating the past, or daydreaming about the future.
And this is where your super powers are.
So when you sit down to meditate, make the body comfortable either on a meditation cushion if your hips and knees are used to sitting cross-legged, or in a chair with back support.
The spine must be upright and in correct position.
This why we practice the physical yogas, to be able to hold the spine in a supported and ease-filled way, without feeling the need to fidget or adjust ourselves constantly, which creates distractions and doorways into the past or future.
Think of it as mindfulness on steroids. 😎
So when you're "trying" to be calm or peaceful, you're actually resisting your natural state.
It's like trying to hold a beach ball underwater – the harder you push, the more it pops back up.
The same goes for your thoughts and emotions during meditation.
The key to successful meditation is not to suppress your thoughts or feelings, but to acknowledge them and let them pass.
It's like being a curious observer of your own mind, watching the chaos unfold without getting swept up in it.
So, the next time you sit down to meditate, remember: it's not about achieving a state of calm or peace.
It's about embracing the chaos, observing your thoughts, and cultivating a deeper awareness of your inner world.
The more you practice just this, you will realize something very precious, and then get the result of a true meditative awareness.
And I am not telling you what that is, you will have to be curious enough to look. 💕
