What is Going On in Meditation?

If you are reading this you have probably have already meditated for the first time – even  if it had only been for a few minutes. And, you are probably wondering what’s next? or How long do I have to do this? and How much time per day? and Is it really working?

The main goal is to make this simple and easy and something you’ll do every day.  I suggest that you start by meditating each day for a short period of time, like 5 or 10 minutes. Then work your way into a longer meditation period.  You can start these practices by scheduling only 10 minutes per day for the first week.  As the weeks go by, you can increase it. I don’t suggest you go over 30 minutes twice a day.  That’s it! it is that simple.

You would be surprised at how many people report they get significant benefit on a continuous basis simply by doing one meditation each day for 10 minutes. Some feel good meditating 10 minutes a day, some 20, and others enjoy it so much they do 30. It’s your choice. Do what works for you. And remember, it only works if you do it.  And yes, you can do it.

It’s important to begin with some good habits as you are training your brain. You want to train it the right way so you can get the best benefits meditation offers.

 Good or Bad Experiences in Meditation?

Ok, here’s the deal. There are no bad experiences in meditation. Naturally we like some experiences better than others, and we could be frustrated if we don’t have those experiences every time. But remember, meditation experiences will differ depending on your ever-changing physical and emotional states and life circumstances. This can include how you slept, what you ate, what your personal interactions were like that day, etc.  It’s important to realize that in each meditation you will have the most nourishing experience for you at that time.

There is no right or wrong way to feel while meditating.  Remember to treat each meditation with the beginner’s mind- this means having no expectations or preconceptions as to what will happen. Let the ‘I know mind’ take a rest. It will not serve you in meditation.  You might begin to expect your meditation to go a certain way based on previous ones, and you look for those experiences. This ‘looking’ can hinder the way your mind and body naturally settle down.

The goal of meditation is not to have special mystical experiences during the meditation, but simply just to do it. Subjectively it might not feel like you are having a deep experience or any kind of beneficial experience, but if it were measured objectively, say,  if you were to be hooked up to EEG machine or a blood pressure monitor or to have your respiration rate measured, you’d discover that you were experiencing deep physical and mental rest. Even if it didn’t ‘feel’ that way.

The practice itself, no matter what the content of it seems to be, will help you to have a better life.  By meditating regularly, meditation will become easier, your body will get used to it.  Remember, the benefits of meditation more often than not show up in your life, not in your meditation. Meditation is more like brushing your teeth. You do it every day, you don’t look for a fabulous experience. And some days it feels terrific, and you love it, and other days, you simply do it because 1) you know it is good for you and 2) you know it prevents disease. Also, like after brushing your teeth, you are usually pretty happy you did it. I doubt you’ll find yourself saying, “Gosh, I wish I hadn’t done that!”

What about Doing it Wrong?

The only things you can do wrong when meditating are to try too hard to achieve a certain experience, or beat yourself up because you lose your focus, or concentrate too much.

Don’t try too hard to meditate. Although meditation can be a way to experience inner silence, this comes about not by trying too hard to stop thinking or eliminate your thoughts, but instead, by going beyond, or transcending the thoughts. And this happens naturally.

Let’s talk about Thoughts, Again.

When you sit to meditate, you’ll probably become aware of sounds both in your environment and in your mind. The sounds in the mind are thoughts – they are linguistically structured. They are an ongoing monologue that you literally hear in your ‘mind’s ear’. This is natural.  The nature of the mind is to think (in words and pictures), just like the eyes are designed to see, and the ears to hear, don’t expect these senses to do anything other than what they are designed to do.  But when you interrupt the thought by refocusing on your meditation focus the mind will eventually start to settle down, naturally.

Don’t  force out thoughts or resist them.  Thoughts arise spontaneously and you may get caught up in a “story” about what is happening in your life, or even what is happening in meditation. You might get into a story about what has happened or what will happen. This is a natural part of meditation.  Once you become aware that you are focused on a train of thought, simply return your attention and awareness to the breath and the mantra.  This is a choice you can make to come back to the mantra or daydream. Either way, don’t beat yourself up. Be sweet to yourself and refocus on the practice.

You’ll train the awareness to be more one-pointed, and eventually become more familiar with the silence that is naturally present in the mind along with the thoughts. If you have a thought that you think is important, it will probably be there when you come out of meditation. Most thoughts are mundane will be forgotten afterwards.

It doesn’t matter how many times you have to refocus your attention.  You have not made a mistake if your thoughts come over and over again or your awareness becomes absorbed in thought. It’s a natural part of meditation. Thoughts are often indication of stress being released.  This is because as the mind settles down and the body settles down, the body starts to find a sense of balance. This is when it releases stress. Stress is released in many ways, through thoughts, emotions, and various physical sensations.

When we have thoughts in meditation, it is important to know that the thoughts themselves are the indication that stress is being released, but the content of the thoughts might not have anything to do with the stress that is being released.  For instance, you might be thinking of a work issue during meditation, but you could be releasing some environmental stress. So, remember, there is no correlation with the content of the thought and the stress that is being released.  Thoughts in meditation are a good thing, even if they are frustrating.

Bored? Restlessness? Good.

Don’t stop meditating just because you are restless. Keep your time commitment.

When your mind is active, your body may feel restless. This experience may occur at the beginning of a meditation or if you’ve recently been engaged in emotionally charged or mentally intense activities.  You can also feel restless if you’ve just eaten or done some traveling.

The important thing to do if you are feeling restless is to stay with your time commitment. Continue your meditation through the restlessness with an easy attitude. Keep coming back to your mantra or the focus of your meditation when you realize your attention has drifted away from it, even if it is over and over again. It will eventually become easier, and your body still may be at deep rest even if the mind doesn’t think so. As you continue your meditation during this restless time, your mind will eventually settle down and your body will relax.  You will definitely feel better when it is over.

Emotional?

Strong emotions indicate the release of an ‘undigested’ experience. If we are uncomfortable with a particular emotion, such as sadness, anger or grief, the tendency may be to want to ignore it when it arises in our everyday life.  Emotions are simply part of the body’s intelligence, and some people say it is energy in motion.  If we resist that natural flow or movement, the energy of the emotion becomes “stuck.”

When the mind settles down in meditation, you might become aware of an emotion that has been “under the surface.”  Strong emotions can arise.  It could be that the deep relaxation of meditation causes a kind of “unwinding” or purification, so that any emotion or feeling that has been held in the body is released. Allow the emotion to be experienced fully and the energy of the emotion can flow and restore the body’s intelligence.

Interrupted? Bothered by noise?

It’s enjoyable to meditate in a quiet place, but it is not always possible. If you hear noises, don’t try to ignore the noise or to block them out. I try to welcome them, and then simply return the focus onto the breath and mantra.  It’s all a part of meditation — the noise, your thoughts about it, the way the mind may start to resist them, the emotions that arise about it.

Emotions in meditation.

Don’t resist them; they usually don’t stay too long. When we feel the emotion in meditation, it is usually in a pure state: a sense of fear, bliss, sadness, anger, anxiety, love, etc. There isn’t usually a thought associated with the emotion. However, it’s a habit when we feel a strong emotion to interpret its meaning or dramatize it with a story about it.

If anger arises, for example, we might immediately try to figure out what happened in the past that made us so mad, or imagine something happening now as the cause of the anger, such as too much noise in the room, etc.  This can intensify or feed the emotion, and it can obstruct the emotion from moving through our nervous system easily.  And usually the story isn’t true.

Ideally, you’ll simply let the emotion go through and let your body process it. Emotions felt in meditation are pure and the reasons for are usually hard to distinguish, though we can certainly make some up. When you become aware that you’re once again caught up in a train of thought or a story about this or that emotion, simply refocus once again on the mantra.

If the emotion or thought is so strong that you can’t easily come back to your mantra. Then let your awareness locate a physical sensation in the body that is associated with the strong emotion (or thought). Keep your attention there easily and into the awareness the sensation will eventually dissolve and the mind will be free to continue with the focus of the meditation.

A daily 15-20-minute practice can make all the difference.  It’s not much time to dedicate when you consider all the time spent caring for your physical appearance. After all, you wouldn’t go out to an important meeting or social occasion without clean clothes and brushing your teeth. Make meditation a must as part of your daily routine.

The basic principles of meditation are simple:

*         Determine how long you will meditate for.

*         Time your practice with something that doesn’t make you jump up to turn it off.

*         Find a comfortable spot, where you’ll be undisturbed.

*         Sit comfortably, close your eyes.

*         Welcome any noises or sensations you experience.

*         Scan and relax your body.

*         Shift your attention to your breath, the sensations and sound of the breath.

*         Stay with the breath, of, if you are using a mantra, you can gently introduce it, silently.

*         Don’t force or concentrate.

*         When you notice that you are no longer focused in your meditation, come back.

*         Be kind to yourself.

*         Relinquish expectations, resistance, efforting, or anticipation during meditation.

*         Take at least 2 minutes after you finish your practice, with your eyes closed sitting in the stillness.

*         Don’t judge your meditation by the experiences you have during meditation, but by the benefits you notice in your life.