A regular meditation practice has been proven to help reduce stress, anxiety and worry and to help people feel calmer, happier and more productive. But a lot of people try meditation just once or twice and give up because they find it difficult or fail to experience any benefits straight away. And most novices are under the mistaken impression that they must be able to stop their thoughts if they are to meditate "properly" only to discover that trying to stop thoughts is both frustrating and impossible!
Trying to stop your thoughts is a recipe for failure. Meditation is actually quite easy. Though there are countless meditation techniques out there (for example breath awareness, mantra repetition, noticing the sensations in your body, or gazing at a candle or a mandala), none of them require you to try to stop your thoughts. Basically there are just 2 steps to most types of meditation practices.
To begin with, ones attention is brought to focus on an object of concentration, (such as the breath, mantra etc) and then, when the mind inevitably wanders OVER and OVER again, all that has to be done is to notice the mind has wandered and then patiently bring it back to the object of concentration. We do this each time we become aware that the mind has wandered.
Over time, rather than stopping your thoughts, you start to develop the ability not to get LOST in your thoughts, not to be dragged away by the stream of your mind and you start to tap in to this whole other aspect of your consciousness: your AWARE MIND.
Throughout the day, we are mostly caught up in our THINKING MIND rather than our aware mind, and this is why we experience stress, frustration and worry. The thinking mind habitually gnaws on problems, makes a lot of noise and drama and likes to dwell on the future or the past. Sadly, the present moment is never good enough for the thinking mind, it is constantly on the lookout for something better or different, which leads to dissatisfaction.
By cultivating the aware mind, it is possible to experience surrender and peace in the moment because it is not preoccupied with the past or the future, it simply experiences the here and now. It is naturally calm and free from drama, negativity, mental stories. Because it seeks nothing, it is satisfied and accepting. With practice, the ability to tap into the aware mind becomes stronger and it gradually starts to change your experience of life for the better.
With a regular daily practice of even just 10 or 20 minutes you will see many benefits. It will be easier to make healthier choices for yourself because of your increased self-awareness. Dealing with stress, worry, anxiety and depression will become much easier. Relationships can improve as you become kinder - to yourself and others. Sharper concentration and focus will improve your work-life. But best of all, you will be able to enjoy the precious moments of your life instead of wondering where they disappeared to while you were preoccupied with other things.
Trying to stop your thoughts is a recipe for failure. Meditation is actually quite easy. Though there are countless meditation techniques out there (for example breath awareness, mantra repetition, noticing the sensations in your body, or gazing at a candle or a mandala), none of them require you to try to stop your thoughts. Basically there are just 2 steps to most types of meditation practices.
To begin with, ones attention is brought to focus on an object of concentration, (such as the breath, mantra etc) and then, when the mind inevitably wanders OVER and OVER again, all that has to be done is to notice the mind has wandered and then patiently bring it back to the object of concentration. We do this each time we become aware that the mind has wandered.
Over time, rather than stopping your thoughts, you start to develop the ability not to get LOST in your thoughts, not to be dragged away by the stream of your mind and you start to tap in to this whole other aspect of your consciousness: your AWARE MIND.
Throughout the day, we are mostly caught up in our THINKING MIND rather than our aware mind, and this is why we experience stress, frustration and worry. The thinking mind habitually gnaws on problems, makes a lot of noise and drama and likes to dwell on the future or the past. Sadly, the present moment is never good enough for the thinking mind, it is constantly on the lookout for something better or different, which leads to dissatisfaction.
By cultivating the aware mind, it is possible to experience surrender and peace in the moment because it is not preoccupied with the past or the future, it simply experiences the here and now. It is naturally calm and free from drama, negativity, mental stories. Because it seeks nothing, it is satisfied and accepting. With practice, the ability to tap into the aware mind becomes stronger and it gradually starts to change your experience of life for the better.
With a regular daily practice of even just 10 or 20 minutes you will see many benefits. It will be easier to make healthier choices for yourself because of your increased self-awareness. Dealing with stress, worry, anxiety and depression will become much easier. Relationships can improve as you become kinder - to yourself and others. Sharper concentration and focus will improve your work-life. But best of all, you will be able to enjoy the precious moments of your life instead of wondering where they disappeared to while you were preoccupied with other things.
About the Author:
Sharee James is a yoga and meditation teacher, a naturopath and founder of Ashima Living. To learn more about reduce stress, anxiety and worry, watch her short video meditation or grab her free e-guide "Stress-Less" here .
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