Transform Your Life through Understanding Meditation
Are you reeling from the effects of the last few years? Does your life feel like it’s moving like a speeding train? Do you feel overwhelmed? Do you want to connect on a deeper, more spiritual level? Would you like to feel more grounded in your life? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then meditation is a powerful way to “slow things down.” Understanding meditation can help you achieve a deeper connection with yourself, reduce stress, help with physical and health issues, clear your mind, and open yourself to receive spiritual guidance.
Meditation is the ideal way to practice being in the moment and start to control your racing mind or your ever-increasing anxiety.
Understanding Meditation: Dispelling Meditation Myths
There are many myths and inaccurate information that are associated with the practice of meditation. Some examples of these myths include the following.
1. Meditating is hard.
On the contrary, meditation can be amazingly easy. There is no one way to practice meditation and it is not a “pass/fail” process. There are so many variations of meditation, that you’ll wonder why you didn’t start your practice sooner.
2. In order for meditation to be effective, you must sit for long periods of time every day.
Every time you close your eyes for even five minutes and listen to sounds around you, that is a form of meditation.
Taking 10 minutes out of your day to focus inward on your breath is meditating.
And there are many, many more examples of meditative practices. It is true that some practitioners sit for a long time every day, but others are able to quiet their minds and sit in stillness for a few minutes at a time. A few minutes is enough!
3. You must be in total silence to meditate properly.
That is false on several levels.
- First, you can meditate in a waiting room, on a bus, or anywhere you are able to implement your form of practice. The practice can be modified to fit your surroundings. This could include as eyes open or with a downward gaze rather than fully closed.
- Second, there are thousands of guided meditations and others with both music and a meditation guide. Some types of meditation use vocalizations such as mantras said aloud and the expression of various words and sounds.
- Third, as noted above, sound(s) can actually be the focal point of the meditation.
4. You need to sit in the same place to meditate for each session.
Though it can be helpful to have a place, a certain room, or even a special chair or mat that you use to meditate, so that you can “go into that space,” if you will, it is not required. As noted above, you can do it anywhere.
The most important aspect to a meditation practice is consistency.
Some Types of Meditation
Below are sixteen styles/types of meditation. And there are more. There is a meditation for everyone. The trick is to find the type(s) that work for you. Remember you can change it up and try different types until you find the one that resonates the most with you.
- Breathing Meditations
- Mindfulness Meditations
- Focus Meditations
- Movement Meditations or Walking Meditations
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation Meditations
- Mantra Meditations
- Loving Kindness Meditations
- Guided Meditations
- Spiritual Meditations
- Transcendental Meditation
- Active Listening Meditation
- Gazing Meditation
- Yoga Meditation
- Chakra Meditation
- Qi Gong Meditation
- Sound Bath Meditation
Benefits of Meditation
There are so many benefits to meditation, too many to mention here, but I’m going to share the ones I feel are most significant.
Meditation can:
- Lower cortisol levels (one of the hormones involved in the stress response that can increase anxiety).
- Lift your spirits.
- Lower blood pressure.
- Enhance serotonin levels, which is a mood stabilizer.
- Help in pain reduction.
- Teach you to be present.
- Help you release emotions that don’t serve you well.
- Help you relax and to sleep better.
- Open up your creativity.
- Help clear brain fog, bringing you clarity in your thinking.
- Make you a kinder and more compassionate person.
- Help you to bring balance into your life.
- Connect with Spirit on a deeper level.
- Help you forgive others and yourself.
Start Where You Are
If you’re still unsure when or how to start your meditation practice, do as many spiritual leaders say, “start where you are.” That statement is not only powerful for understanding meditation, but if you think about it, you can’t start anything at any other place than where you are in the present moment.
30-Day Meditation Challenge
To make the process of meditation easy and accessible, I created a 30-Day Meditation Challenge; 30 Ways in 30 Days to Start or Deepen Your Meditation Practice. Learn more at: www.marlagoldberrg.com
Understanding Meditation as a Path to Freedom
With all the ways you can meditate, and with all its benefits, you can see why I’m such an advocate for my clients and myself to meditate regularly. I believe that meditation can help to set you free from the emotions and conditioning that society has imposed on you, allowing you the ability to feel flow in your life, joy, and connection on levels you never knew existed.
Whether you’re a meditation pro or a beginner, I would love it if you would share with me how your practice is coming along. I hope you notice the subtle changes that understanding meditation brings to you as you deepen your meditation practice, and how you feel your life transforming in a positive manner.
