'I try to meditate, but.." . Have you been there?
Aight, are you someone who kind of see certain benefits of meditation, kind of open to try practicing, but kind of "don't have enough time" and kind of not knowing where to start?
No sweat, here's my elevator pitch: I have something for you. There exist easy and accessible meditation practices. No need for a $200 meditation cushion, no need for calming music/nature sounds on Youtube, and definitely no 3rd eye opening bs.
First let's explore a few aspects of meditation. From my limited experience and conversations with other humans, there are certain generalized impressions on meditation:
With meditation we try to have no thoughts: this is the one that I most often come across. Based on how our brain works, this is most likely not possible. Our brain is built for ideation, daydreaming, analyzing, holding memories, and so much more. There are billions of neurons constantly receive information from the environment and also release information, even when we sleep. The thing is, we don't always notice our thoughts running wild. We might wake up and right away think "What's for breakfast?". We eat breakfast then we think about "Who am I meeting later?". Constantly we are either in the future or the past, rather than being present with what is. Through meditation, we can cultivate awareness of thoughts. We observe these vibrant actions rather than suppressing them.
People meditate because they are stressed: this is not inaccurate but it is only a tiny fraction of why people meditate. There are many types of meditation out there for many purposes. From my limited background in Yoga, Zen Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism, there are already countless types of meditation such as observing our senses, grounding through breathing, visualizing deities to receive blessing and realizations, healing traumas, etc. Stress relief, or calmness of mind, is viewed as only a by-product of meditation. My Buddhist teacher said that although Zen practitioners look like they do nothing all day, just sit and meditate, but their mind is so sharp. Highly-attained Zen monks can look at people and profile their tendencies and personalities really fast. I never forget this. Nowadays, you can try searching on Youtube and you'll see bazillion meditations, ranging from breathing, heart chakra opening, to landing a job or buying a house. Stay open-minded and we'll see the wonderful world of meditation. We just need to be mindful and check the source to make sure it's safe and legit, because we then can be vulnerable and truthful in our practice.
Back to our topic - a few easy and accessible appies for meditation that help you be more present, more grounded and calm, and more energetic through your day. Why do we need to be more present? When we are always time travelling - either stuck in a past event/experience or caught up with future plans, our energy is so disbursed and we can be less aware of what's happening right here. Such as your shoulders are tight today, or your left knee is in pain, or you feel happy or worried. You might not even bother to enjoy the coffee you are drinking, or notice the beautiful blue sky today. When we are grounded in the present moment, we have a good sense of safety - we have air to breathe, good quality water to drink, clothes to wear, etc. Even if we are going through a hardship, we can notice ahh I feel anxious, but I acknowledge my state of mind rather than distracting myself from it.
The method here is to choose bite-sized activities in your day to practice mindfulness. For example:
When you wake up, instead of zipping up to the next activity, let's stay in bed for a few moments and enjoy the opportunity of being able to wake up and live the day
When you make your beverage, or drink it, be with the whole process fully: your eyes see the movements, your ears enjoy the sounds, your nose smells the aroma, your tongue, your touch. And then your mind naturally be just right here with the activity. It doesn't take much, right? A 5 minutes of mindfulness with your lovely drink
When you cook or clean your space, instead of blasting music or following a movie, you bring your mind to observe the whole process. Then you might notice in a spit second, you are time travelling already. That's ok, guide the mind back. Then it might go again, when you are aware of it, guide it back.
The benefits here is tremendous. You are sharpening your mindfulness and observation. You are nourishing inner peace. You are monotasking, and your nervous system loooves it. You will less likely be reactive to situations, rather you can take a few moments to observe and response. You name it..
You can see meditation as a state of mind, not an action. With that point of view, when you graze through your day with awareness, you are meditating. Whether your body is in pain or not, whether you are happy or not, whether the sky is blue or not, be with what is fully. There, our appies.
Then when you feel ready for more in depth meditation practices, explore!
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