Meditation and mindfulness have been part of my life for the last three years or so, but recently I fell out of practice. This is what made me decide to attend the mindfulness classes we have on campus twice a semester., each time lasting for five weeks I hope that it will be a force for me to start my practices regularly again.
This post is also a part of that reminder. I want to talk about meditation journey so I can remind myself its value in my life.
Here we go.
When people hear the word meditation, they mostly think of a person sitting, eyes closed, and doing nothing. Absolute calmness.
I used to think like that too and I found it not so relatable, being the ‘lets-do-something-all-the-time’ kind of person. But different things in my life forced me into being somewhat of that meditative person, meaning that I became able to do silent meditation more or less comfortably.
But that was not a one-step process. I tried many different types of meditation along the way. Now I believe that there is one for every personality and for every stage we are in.
I started meditation in the form of analysis of my memories (which I talked about in my post on peace with past here). I sat down, focused on an event in my past and analyzed it. It was not the meditation that we mostly think of when we hear the word. But it made me focus on one thing at a time and in detail, rather than having millions of things in my mind. It calmed my mind in this way.
That went on about a year or so.
Then, I needed to move on but I was still not ready for silent meditation. So, I did a lot of guided meditation. I just checked how I felt that day and found a guided meditation video on YouTube, usually 20-30 minutes in length. Say, I was having a low self-esteem a day. I listened to something that made me focus on that that day. This helped me not do cognitive analysis like I used to do in my previous meditation practice. My mind was more relaxed. But I was guided. I still had an external focus point to keep my mind together. I was not yet able to guide myself.
This went on for about several months.
Then, I decided that I did not want to listen to things anymore. So, I decided to go silent. But that was hard. So, I came up with a focus point again. This time, everyday, I imagined my mind, body and soul as three separate entities that had to live together and I talked to them. I asked my mind how it was feeling, same for my body and same for my soul. I even made them hug each other at the of the sessions to instruct my subconscious that all are one. All are me. It kinda worked. It helped me understand and appreciate myself better.
But that fell out of my favor in time. I wanted to do actual silent meditation.
My first attempts at that were ridiculous. It was too hard for me to go on even for five minutes. But in time, with practice, I started being able to go on for 20 minutes, silent, then even an hour at times. Meditating with other people helped too.
Later, for different reasons, I gradually stopped meditating but am starting back again now. In the time period that I did not meditate, I missed it a lot, because now it has become a need for me. I am looking for silence and calmness in my mind.
Do you guys also meditate? If so, how did you start and progress? What methods did you try? If not, do you want to start one day? What do you all think of meditation to be?
This year, I have tried to get meditate daily again. I usually use guided meditations, and only a week ago, I tried silent meditation. I’ve always been really grateful for this practice because it lets me let go of what isn’t serving me.
It is so helpful and effective, right! And your mind starts craving for meditation after a while!
Reblogged this on Harvesting Life's Lessons and commented:
Meditation is one staple in my relaxation routine!
Thank you!
Absolutely
It helps me a lot, but took me a while to understand it, but then I love it. I use several type of meditationer, and I often go out in the nature too🦋
What types do you use?
I use meditations to get peace, thea travel, self-cleaning, love myself, body scanning, mindfulness, look ahead, and many more. I go to a spiritual school right now and learn differently that helps me, but I haven’t said anything about it in the blog world yet.
I sm grateful that I do, it is really help me❤️
🦋
That sounds so great! Keep doing all of these. They are very effective, right! I would love tohear about your experiences too!
Thank you, yes, it is great❤️ I think I can do some post of it.
I wish you a great day, and I appreciate your support🦋
Great post. I wish to share this one.
Sure! Go ahead please!
Thank you 😊Betul.
Thank you for sharing😊
Welcome
Meditation in any form is good if we could focus on. I am not good at all. I can’t do silent meditation because my mind is too busy. It is good to do meditation if someone know how to do it properly.
I agree but it is also a matter of time. I was also very much unable to do silent meditation for the same reason. It gets better😊
I think I should try but time is the biggest issue. I wish there were 26 hrs in day instead of 24hrs.
Yeah! That is also so true! One way I am trying to get around this issue is to keep meditation sessions short. Like even 5 mins is very effective if done regularly.
Yes I need to restart my life again after working long hrs in the busy emergency room, I just look for couch.
Yeah, that is a demanding job! I hope you can find a way to relax better from it!
Also, now, because I took a break from it and am trying to get back. But my mind forgot how to be silent. I am essentially starting from the beginning😭
I still do the guided meditation but would love to move to the silent meditation in the future. I find myself putting it off thinking it would be too challenging 🙂
It is challenging but also very satisfying. I think the key is to start by little and move in whenever you feel comfortable moving on. Otherwise, the mind reacts. Hope you can start it one day!😊
Yes, I plan to.
Great!
Silent single-focused meditation is my go-to. I’m also on the grease-the-groove route of at least twice a day (5mins minimum) rather than epic sittings. I’ve tried guided meditations, however they just don’t do it for me. https://markward.today
I cant do long meditation everyday either. Only if there is a big event or something or if I really crave for it. Guided meditations were a way to be able to focus for me. Now I prefer silent meditation over it
I most enjoy solo walking meditations out in nature, however, recently my husband and I joined a Wednesday night sangha with a meditation teacher, Ann Porto, who has studied a variety of styles from many teachers and combined these into her own instructional practice. Every week begins with a 20 minute session of silent meditation, followed by some other form. She has taught us a variety of ways to focus on the breath, which helps to clear away the chatter in our heads. She also recommends books written by the most well known meditation teachers. I wrote this article about meditation teachers here in Rhode Island. I suggest studying with a sangha (support group) led by a seasoned practitioner. https://www.rinaturalawakenings.com/articles/february-2018/meditation-in-rhode-island.html
That sounds really attractive! Having a guide in this process is important, though I have not had one. It makes the process much easier and more natural.
Also, I enjoyed reading your article! It sounds like a dream location!
I listen to a guided meditation and I can almost play that meditation in my mind now so I can practice it anywhere or anytime I get a chance.
That is nice! It seems like you found what works for you.
I recently started a book which I definitely suggest you try to read: The Things You Can See Only When You Slow Down – How to be Calm in a Busy World, by Haemin Sunim. I always seek for calm, mindfulness moments but I am the worst with meditation (especially the silent one). So this book is my moment, to take time, to sit down, read a statement and try to think about it. Meditation has different forms 🙂
Great! I will check that!
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Thank you!
I know the benefits but find it hard to do. It really is mad when you cant even find 5 minutes per day to sit in silent. I know it would be of great help to relax and calm me but frustrated that i cant do it regularly. Any advice? Thanks.
No I definitely agree that sitting in silence is hard. I could not do it for even 5 mins when I started. And this is despite the fact that guided meditations had helped me focus better. I think my advice would be to start with guided meditations rather than silent meditation, then maybe do silent meditation for only 2-3 mins. Then move onto 5, then 10 etc. This way your brain will get used to it. How does that sound?
No I definitely agree that silent meditation is hard. I could not go 5 mins when I started too. And this is despite the fact that I was doing a lot of guided meditation by that time. I think what could be helpful is to start with guided meditation, then move onto silent meditation for 2-3 mins (however long your mind can go), then do 5 mins and it gets longer. But just follow what your mind can do at a given time instead of setting up a time for it. Sometimes you might be able to do 1-hour silent meditation but on a specific day you can only do 10 mins. These things happen. What do you think?
I used to do a lot of silent meditation focusing on breath but more recently I’ve been struggling to keep focus so have been doing visualisations, mantras and movement which really helps distract me a bit from the intensity of it and therefore reach my goal-loved your post!
Yeah, we sometimes need a break from a certain type because our minds get so used to it that it loses attention. Nice tactic! And thanks for the comment!
IMHO, Meditation in the simplest form is interrupting your regular thought patterns. So if you empty your mind, go for a nature walk, repeat an affirmation, focus on your breath, or follow a guided meditation, you are meditating. 🙂 I also don’t like to set time parameters around meditation. I view meditation like my appetite, sometimes I’m ravenous and need to meditate for an hour, sometimes I’m barely hungry and three minutes will more than suffice. I listen to what my body and mind are craving. Good luck!
This is a very nice explanation! I think the kind of meditation that works all the time is walk in the nature, although all have their places.
I have been practicing meditation since 2017 and I started with guided meditations and used them for a long while, I found them to be very helpful (I talk about this in my new post – https://calmlifestyle.blog/2019/04/21/the-beginning-of-my-journey/).
Now I am mostly practicing with silent meditations and I have found these to bring me more knowledge of my body and soul as well as my internal problems. Whenever you practice silent meditation I believe it is necessary that you question all the sensations that come up in your body and not be bothered by them, no judgement, just notice and move on.
Great post! Glad to hear that meditation is helping you out, it has definetly changed my life.
Sorry for my late reply! Meditation really makes a lot of difference and brings such calmness that you do not want to miss it! I will check your post!
I find that being in nature is meditative, as is doing something creative like making music or painting, when in the flow, as that is when I am totally in the present… Great post. I invite you to listen to some of my meditation music here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBlzt55dkN96UWhJTDhkLPA blessings, Bridget 🙂
I agree! I will check your videos out, thanks!
The journey to learning to guide yourself can most certainly be a long one! But meditation is a wonderful way to learn that comes with many benefits! The biggest thing to help me progress with meditation was listening to binaural beats, or even just sounds in nature; sometimes I even just went out and found a quiet clearing and listened to life go by, feeling the connection of everything. Within moments i’d been meditating for hours on end, coming back to myself and suddenly feeling the ache of the position yet going back in for more once the pain had passed. Meditation is the most beautiful practice we have. If you’re still having trouble or want to try other forms I talk a bit about on types of meditation in this post https://fadetostay.com/2019/03/28/a-brief-introduction-to-meditation/
This is such a beautiful description! Meditation brings in such strong bonds with everything around us that it is impossible to ignore. Thanks for sharing all these!
Right now I’m currently doing guided mediations up to 15 minutes. I feel like I’m at sort of a standstill right now because I need to start pushing myself a bit more. You just inspired me to try silent mediation. Will let you know how it goes. I can’t go a day without it! If I do I definitely notice. Great post btw 🙂
Please let me know! When you come to a standstill, it is best to challenge yourself just a little bit more. Either increase the time or change methods. It will refresh you. Also thanks for the compliment!😊
I made different, unsuccessful, attempts at meditating over the years. Four years ago I started using hte Headspace meditation app. I view it more as a tool to help me improve my mindfulness, to interact with my innter voices better (less resistance and chasing after), and to gain wisdom. I mostly do the guided meditations. When I did the unguided ones, it was a different experience. For now, I appreciate the wisdom shared in the guided ones.
This post goes into my experience more and describes the app, including info about Andy, the voice behind the guidance. https://walkthegoats.wordpress.com/2019/01/27/meditating-with-headspace/
I enjoyed reading your post, and hearing about the different meditation/mindfulness paths you’ve explored.
Thanks for sharing this! I will check into the app and your post! Guided meditation is to go for me too, especially when I have difficulty gathering myself together!
good to learn about the types of meditations. I am not into meditation, and am happy that, I should be going through one of the program in June https://wearesacred.org/events/ and hope fully after that with daily practice, i should be able to focus on my goals – settings. any advice?
Meditation is the key to relaxation
It is!
You have a real good article here! And specificaly about the last para containing questions… i have a blog where i have shared my journey through meditation, and how it has helped me over years! I also have a guide for beginners meditation! How i think one should start meditation! Heres the link:
http://www.meremeditator.health.blog
Hope you visit and feedback me!
Hoping to make stronger bonds! Anyways, keep meditating 🙂
Thank you for sharing!