- Where is the time to meditate?
- I am not the meditating kind.
- I am an atheist.
- I don’t believe in meditation.
- I can’t control my thoughts.
- I fall asleep as soon as I begin meditating.
- I can’t sit in a particular posture for long.
- My work/painting/dancing/writing is my meditation.
- I have kids, meditation is a dream for me.
- I am not spiritual
If the above and similar statements came to your ‘mind’ after reading the heading, then you need to begin meditating! Yes, you read that right. This ‘mind’ of ours will give multiple reasons to not indulge in an activity which will silence it, quieten it down. It is only when you willfully begin meditating, then the mind will understand, that this ‘activity’ works in its favor more than it can imagine right now (speaking with personal experience)
- So, what is meditation?
- Does it involve a process?
- Can it be done incorrectly?
- Are there any adverse effects of meditation?
- Can it be done only at a specific time during the day?
It is important to answer questions of the mind before we begin any new activity. In my experience, the mind cooperates better this way. Our thinking, rather overthinking and detailed research about anything new that we undertake, has resulted in such training of the mind. And nothing unnatural about it. We can begin with this flow if need be. The important thing is to begin. Do what it takes, get answers to your questions through multiple resources you have access to and begin Meditating.
The most important question — What does meditation do?
The first answer which automatically springs to my mind (yes, my mind now answers questions on meditation), is — Meditation can do for you, whatever you want it to;
- Whether you need quiet time for yourself for a few minutes in a day, meditating can give you that
- Whether you want to have a peaceful night of sleep, meditating can give you that
- Whether you want to manifest a desire in your life, meditating can give you that
- If you wish to overcome grief, loss, sorrow, anxiety, meditating can give you that
- Not getting an answer to your questions, meditating can give you the answers
- Whether you want to experience parallel dimensions of different realms of the universe, meditating can give you that
- If you simply wish to know yourself, meditating can give you that.
The one who meditates can express endlessly about what meditation can do. The one who doesn’t, will never believe until they experience it. Multiple Jnanis, sages and Gurus who have meditated for ages together have said, we never ‘do’ a meditation, we remain in a meditative state. To even understand the depth of what this means, one has to cut off distraction for a few minutes in their everyday lives, sit in a quiet corner and experience what the silence of meditation can do for them.
