A Beginner’s guide to meditation for beginners and intermediate.
Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh.
WHAT IS MEDITATION?
Also known as (dhyana,) Meditation is an applicable method for resting the mind.
For thousands of years, people have practiced meditation to gain greater inner peace and improve their mental, physical, and emotional states.
In meditation, we observe how our minds operate; we see how it pulls into thinking, planning, judging, and future and past thoughts.
And we support ourselves to let go of these condition thoughts by continually return to the present.
Thanks to neuroplasticity, we can change our brain’s neural synapses and pathways to respectively reprogramed our mind.
In his famous book “The Brain that changes itself.” Dr. Norman Doidge referred to the brain as a living creature with an appetite.
It’s an entity that can grow and change itself with proper nourishment and exercise.
In other words, eating the right kind of foods, such as whole foods, organic, or plant-based foods, can do wonders for your brain and body. In turn, it will give you a better experience with meditation.
Nobel Prize winners Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider, and Jack W. Szostak also discovered; daily meditation altered the brain circuitry and helps you build better long-term habits.
In this now moment, we have continual access to spaciousness, wellbeing, and vitally. To fully understand mediation, bring your awareness to this moment, and focus solely on your breathing.
When you notice yourself getting pulled off-course, there’s no need for judgment.
Simply pause, reconnect with your body, and breathe.
You can change the circuitry pattern of your brain synapses by rewiring your brain’s neurons.
As the famous science saying goes, “neurons that fire together wire together.”
Meditation will help you develop better focus and self-awareness and deliberately rewire the brain for better life experiences.
MEDITATION & SPIRITUAL TRADITIONS
Scientists, spiritualists, philosophers, and religious leaders; have all proclaimed the power of witnessing awareness.
They may refer to it as deep reflection, contemplation, stillness, relaxation, prayer, and being present, but it’s all referred back to meditation at the end of the day.
The difference between meditation and prayer is that with prayers, your speaking to God. And with meditation, you’re allowing the spirit to speak to you.
Though it only speaks in silence.
Then it manifested as intuition and inspiration.
The word inspiration also means to be in spirit — enthusiasm. Which literally means — to be in touch with God.
In Christianity, they have something called centering prayer. Benedictine monks use this very similar method to Eastern practices.
There’s breathing meditation in every tradition: body awareness and variations of mantras meditation.
Generally speaking, meditation has nothing to do with a belief or ideology or any doctrines. Instead, it is a way one chooses to connect with God.
THE BENEFITS
Meditation has many long-term benefits. For starters, It improves focus, self-awareness, physical health, emotional states, sleep, amongst other wellness assortments.
World-class achievers, such as Oprah Winfrey, The Dalai Lama, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Arianna Huffington, amongst others ― embodied this practice into their morning routine.
As Thich Nhat Hanh puts it, “Feeling come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.
And if you’re up for it, you can learn how to meditate today In under 5 minutes. Its indeed is a beautiful tool for quieting my mind.
Thank you for reading!
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References.
Doane, L.D., and E.K. Adam. “Loneliness and Cortisol: Momentary, Day-to-Day, and Trait Associations.” Psychoneuroendocrinology 35, no.3 (2010): 430-441. Davidji—secrets of meditation, 45 (2012) Dugosh, K. L., P. B. Paulus, E. J. Roland, et al. Department of psychology, the University of Texas at Arlington. “Cognitive Stimulation in Brainstorming.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79, no. 5 (2000): 722-35. “What is meditation:24-32