Without a doubt, meditation has made more of an impact in my life than any other ”self-improvement” tool I have utilized in my little journey. Research is continually emerging showing the practice to be beneficial for all sorts of conditions, both mental and physical. How exactly is not always understood, but this simple act appears to produce all sorts of changes in the body which benefit our health.
It is also an extremely powerful spiritual tool, which aids us in strengthening our connection to God, the Universe or whatever force you believe lies at the foundation of this crazy existence of ours. Whether your interest in meditation lies in its practical or spiritual benefits, you probably know adopting a regular practice can be quite the challenge.
Having been meditating regularly for years now, I still find it difficult sometimes, and still find myself making lame excuses why I can’t sit. Having had many conversations with people who spoke of their failed attempts to meditate, I wanted to share a few tips that can hopefully inspire you to keep going.
If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again
If you find it difficult to sit the first few times you try to meditate, don’t conclude you are not cut out for the practice and give up completely. Just keep trying. Even if you let yourself go a few weeks without doing it, give it another go. Keep at it until you are able to sit daily, or at the very least, several days a week. It might be a long road to becoming a ”regular” meditator, but there is no rush.
Start off with shorter sessions; no need to jump right into 60 straight minutes in lotus position. Even if you just sit for five minutes to start, you will begin to notice a difference.
Accept Each Session for What It Is
When we first begin meditating, we have this vision of becoming this zen-like person who enters another dimension during our session. Our minds are completely devoid of thoughts and we are just humming with powerful, life-altering energy. While the longer you sit, the more profound your sessions may become overall, you will also have some sessions that may not feel much like meditation at all. You may find yourself thinking of your 3rd grade crush, or unable to get the theme song from Spongbob Squarepants out of your head ( this actually happened to me once, and I have no idea what made it pop into my head.)
You may feel worse after rather than better. This does not mean you are not progressing, or that you are regressing,it just is what it is. Don’t let this discourage you. No matter what sort of experiences you have during an individual session, know that regular practice will impact all areas of your life positively. Don’t focus too much on what happens during your actual meditation session.
The More You Are Resisting a Session, The More You Need It
There are going to be times when you are feeling particularly anxious, irritated, depressed or whatever, and the last thing you will feel like doing is meditating. But, the more you resist sitting, the more you actually need to. Even after all these years, I find myself skipping sessions because of this, so I get how hard it is. So, you will find yourself doing it too probably, and that is okay. But, keep this truth in your awareness, and do your best to sit, at least for a few minutes, when you are feeling this way.
Don’t Worry about Emptying Your Head of All Thoughts
Meditation is all about calming the mind, and while we should try to keep our thoughts to a minimum, it is almost impossible for most of us to just not think about anything at all. And that is okay…it does not make you some sort of mediation flunkie. In this situation, your goal should be learning to observe all these thoughts without becoming attached to them, or making any sort of judgment about them. It is about learning the powerful truth that all this mental chatter is not you, it is separate from you.
Feeling Like You Might Go Crazy is Not Crazy at All
When you first start meditating, it seems like your mind speeds up to a thousand miles an hour. But, guess what? That is the speed at which your mind is normally operating, but you just don’t notice it because you are busy doing all this other stuff at the same time. When you slow down, and it is nothing but you and your thoughts, it can feel overwhelming.
Sometimes you might feel like you could go crazy; we have all been there, and feeling that way is actually anything but crazy. I remember being at a retreat where we were meditating several hours a day, and I can’t remember how many sessions I felt like running out of the hall screaming because the thought of sitting there for one more minute seemed unbearable.
The Buddha noted meditation as one of the key practices to purify our minds, reduce our suffering and improve our lives. If you don’t know much about him, let me just tell you he was one smart cookie, and following his advice, regardless of your belief system, is a good idea. Trust me.
KC, we have been through this meditation madness; you know I hear you.
Simply doing it day in and day out brings the ultimate benefit; acceptance. Embracing what is, is the idea behind meditating. Whatever arises, be there for it to learn how to roll with change.
Great post.
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Hi Ryan
Thanks for your comment. ”Meditation madness” can be a very accurate way to describe the experience at times! It is all about sticking with it and just accepting whatever happens with each sit.
Hello Kelli,
I’ve never meditated in my life, even though it’s relaxing and I guess most of us need to add it to our busy daily routine. I don’t know why I haven’t done it yet, but I plan on doing it in the near future.
Hi Hristiqun
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on my blog. I think it just seems so simple that it is hard to grasp how it could help so much. But ,it does. Definitely give it a go!
Great point! There are times in our life that we need meditation on oneself, get out from our comfort zone.
Hi Richard
Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment…meditation is very helpful for helping break out of our comfort zone for sure!
I meditated a lot, and just like you, i feel it has play a huge part in my success.
I ensure that whenever i relax, i used the time to meditate.
Hey there..thanks so much for taking the time to visit and comment. I am glad to hear meditation has brought you success..I believe it can for anyone who gives it a serious try!
This is an excellent article because we definitely need to take a few minutes of time out during the day to empty our mind, because that will definitely calm us down and we will be more clearer on what steps we need to take in moving forward. Because if we are constantly consumed by any of our worries then we will get nowhere fast.
Lawrence Bergfeld
Hi Lawrence
Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment on my post. I am glad you liked it. Like you said, taking that time each day to clean house ”mentally” is crucial. I have always referred to it as reining in our ”raging river of thoughts.”
Interesting. Meditating is relating minds is on my knees on the Word but the results of inner peace and connection with the source is important to our mental, physical and spiritual being. Being anchored thanks for sharing.
Hi Carolyn
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I personally use meditation not only for its practical benefits, but also to connect to what I believe to be the force that unites us all. It does give me an inner peace.
I’m glad I found this post, Kelli. I formerly studied Buddhist philosophy and meditation for 8 years, and taught for a few. Meditation is so many beneficial things, isn’t it? I haven’t been as regular with it in the past couple of years. I find it very difficult to slow myself down, to just STOP! (Which shows me that I really need it.) Thanks for sharing your ideas on how to make it better. Peace
Hi Jeanne
It is really crazy how something so simple seems to benefit us in so many ways. But, if we look at things from a Buddhist perspective, it makes perfect sense– purifying the mind lies at the root of physical and mental wellness. I still struggle with the ”slowing down” too. I hope my tips can help people stick it out.
What a wonderful post. You have managed to answer most of the questions or concerns I have heard people mention when someone tells them they should meditate all in one place.
Your post makes it sound like something anyone can accomplish. 🙂
Hi Cindy
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment. I am so glad you liked the article and found it helpful. It is definitely an activity anyone can do, if they just give it some time.
Hi Kelli,
I’m fairly new to LOA and I recently stumbled across your blog. I love your articles, especially the simplicity of them. I agree with you 100% on meditation. Being a Buddhist myself, we are advised to meditate regularly. In our religion we have several meditation methods (I am a Therawadha Buddhist), simplest being the “Aanapanasathi Bhavana”. It is the best meditation to do if you are a beginner. You just have to sit in quiet place, close your eyes and focus on your breath. You have to notice your breath going in and going out (or you can keep counting the breaths)
Then we have the “Maithri Bhavana” (Maithri means compassion) where we chant certain sentences in our mother tongue (Sinhala) .We sit in a quiet place, close our eyes and the chanting basically goes like this:
“May myself be healthy, joyous, free from suffering, and attain Nirvana.
May myself and my loved ones be healthy, joyous, free from suffering, and attain Nirvana.
May myself, my loved ones and my adversaries be healthy, joyous, free from suffering, and attain Nirvana.
May myself, my loved ones, my adversaries and all living beings be healthy, joyous, free from suffering, and attain Nirvana”
Just as “Aanapanasathi Bhavana” will give a immensely peaceful mind, “Maithri Bhavana” is capable of delivering a compassionate mind over time. You can customize the chanting in Maithri Bhavana, If you don’t believe in Nirvana, you can of course leave it out and if you aren’t comfortable at being compassionate towards your adversaries yet, you can leave that out at first as well ( But I highly recommend not to) 🙂
Hi Nimesha
Thanks for taking the time to comment, and I am so glad you liked the blog. That always means a lot to me when people say that! Thank you so much for this information..I will definitely try these things. And, I agree it is important to learn and cultivate better feelings towards those whom we may not like so much! The more compassion we can cultivate, the better off we will be.
Hey, I love meditation, sometimes my mind gets in the way and I seriously overthink meditation, could you maybe do a quick no-bullshit guide to meditation, or how you do it, also i fall asleep a lot when i do it, even if i do it in the morning and while sitting up…