Meditation

When you come across the word “Meditation” , the first impression that comes to mind is that of a person sitting in a relaxed position, eyes closed and breathing in a slow but rhythmic manner.

People generally tend to confuse meditation with “Yoga”, which is actually a Sanskrit word, meaning that it has origins from the East.

Yoga means “to add up.” It is a union of your inner being with the Supreme Being.

On the contrary, Meditation involves digging deeper into your own being. In other words, it is like having a meeting with yourself.

You can compare it to the process of dusting something, where we we learn to acknowledge and embrace emotions such as pain, anger, anxiety, stress and all other repressed emotions in our hearts and so activate a healing process.

What bathing is to body  meditation is to our soul. A regular cleansing of body and soul is required to have an active and healthy life.

In the olden times, people were not aware of Meditation techniques, yet they led a relatively stress-free life, more so than our present generation. The main reason behind this is that Meditation was simply absorbed in their daily life; meditation was not a separate activity for them. Even drawing water from a well or ploughing soil was a way of Meditating for them. When they were doing their simple tasks they were so immersed in their activities that no other thoughts of anxiety or depression would afflict them.

With the advent of science and technology, our lives have become a lot easier today. We are still in a phase however  , where a stress-free life is everyone’s dream. Due to this, we have invented many ways of FORGETTING stress, not RELIEVING it.

Some take refuge in alcohol while others resort to drugs. Some relieve it via other harmful activities which not only lead to bodily harm but also to  financial ruin.

To be stress-free, first and foremost, it is essential to understand what stress actually is.

Stress is a peripheral phenomenon. Humans have a joy-loving soul. Stress is nothing more than baggage which we carry unnecessarily and which we accumulate  without being aware of it.

This baggage makes it difficult for us to see our inner-self, which is always a joyful and peace-loving part of us.

We are always fighting with stress, sometimes we succeed in suppressing it, and sometimes not. It always remains present.

Meditation is a way to bypass this peripheral stress in order to meet with our inner-selves. We  make stress powerful by engaging it directly and letting it control us, however, by taking a detour, we can approach our inner-selves so that stress vanishes like vapor.

Mediation can be done by using several techniques. Each person can meditate in his/her own way.

“ ANYTHING CAN BE A MEDITATION”

By meditation we simply aim  for AWARENESS. 

AWARENESS of our own inner-self.

One popular technique is Vipassana Meditation. Here one has to simply observe things. Another way to understand this term is  to consider that you are merely a witness of your environment. Through this technique we do things  without being a part of them. We walk and observe our own walking, our limbs move but we are simply a witness to this , in much the same way we eat, partake in exercises like swimming and activities such as painting can be done with the Vipassana Meditation technique.

One important technique is to observe the breath. Breath is the life-giving force. When you Breathe in , you take in vital energy. Holding your breath and observing its movement through your nostrils and down into your lungs is an act of witnessing this life-force entering into your system. We never notice this magical phenomenon through which our body constantly keeps itself energized.

When we start noticing the inhalation and exhalation of breath, we simply become aware of the present moment which is neither stressful nor depressive.

If we keep practicing meditation like this, we reach a state of AWARENESS from which no anxiety or stressful experience can disturb our peace of mind.

At the beginning of this journey, you might want assistance to help you better meditate. Try out this  app which provides you with a virtual Meditation Instructor so that you can easily try Meditation in your home.