How can I learn how to do mindfulness meditation to feel more relaxed and at peace?
Do you know the steps of mindfulness and how to practice mindful meditation? The idea of meditating may seem intimidating, yet meditation practice does not have to be difficult.
There are many ways to meditate and many mindfulness exercises that are very simple and straightforward. In fact, you can choose a mindful exercise and practice it for just a few minutes during the day, whenever you have some free time.
It is important to take quiet time for yourself, to simply exist in the present moment. When you put down your phone, and get away from the screens and distractions of life, you can more easily bring your awareness and attention to your breath, quieting your mind.
Practicing mindfulness is easier than you may think. Yet, it is a critical part of healthy living and physical health. Breathing is something we do all the time, but you can use your breath as a way to improve your mental health.
Deep breathing can be a part of mindful breathing exercises, but it does not have to be difficult or challenging. Simply do what you feel comfortable with, bringing your focus to your breath, and not getting caught up in your thoughts and emotions.
Mindful movement can also help, along with deep breathing. While you can take a class on a movement-based meditation practice, such as Tai Chi, you can also just as easily make up your own movements that help to bring awareness to the present.
Movement of the body can be a useful component of mindfulness training. You can close your eyes, raising your arms slowly to shoulder level, and then, above your head. Meditation technique can be completely unique and individualized for each person.
Taking a walk can be a form of meditation.
There is not necessarily a wrong way to meditate. Walking meditation is another way to relax the mind and body, refreshing and regenerating with some quiet alone time. Being in a state of gratitude will help to enhance the meditative experience.
Walking through a quiet, wooded area, or along the beach is ideal. The sound of the breeze, and birds chirping can bring focus to the present. You can focus on sensations, such as the feeling of a breeze on your face as you walk.
When you are in the midst of a mindfulness practice, trying out a new mindfulness exercise, you may become distracted by thought. Thoughts about the day come up, filled with anxiety of what will happen in the near future. Your thoughts begin to interrupt your meditation session.
When the stress of thought arrives, obsessing over the past, and worrying about the future, you may simply allow the thoughts to move along, without becoming attached to them. Do not worry about forgetting things you need to do later. You can let your thoughts go for now without fear.
In fact, fear is a major cause of stress, leading to issues of mental health and physical health. Some experts believe that chronic pain is connected to fear and addictions are related to past traumas.
Meditation means to let go of the attachment to thought. Thought originates in the brain, which is a powerful computer that can generate useful thoughts that help you to get through a complex life. Yet, thoughts can also work against you, causing fear and stress, and obsessions over time periods that do not exist in reality.
Taking a walk is an excellent form of meditation and mindful practice. Whatever brings you peace and awareness of the present moment is helpful. Even watching Koi Fish in a pond can be therapeutic.
Mindful meditation is about awareness of the present moment.
There is no past and no future. These time periods exist only in your mind. Only the present moment right now is real.
Guided meditation can help if you are not sure what to do when you are just getting started with meditation. You may want to try working with a meditation app or various meditation recordings with guided meditation scripts, read by a relaxing meditation coach.
If you want to get serious about traditional meditation practices, you may want to sign up with a certified expert in Transcendental Meditation. There are also meditation temples that teach traditional ancient meditation practices.
However, to get the benefits of meditation in your daily life, relieving yourself of the stress of negative emotions and thoughts, you do not have to follow strict meditation traditions. Meditation can be as simple as closing your eyes and focusing on a sound in your immediate environment.
In my podcast interview with Dr. Bryan Robinson, the world’s foremost expert on work addiction, Dr. Robinson described this basic meditation technique. He explained how a person can follow this practice of focusing on a sound for even just one minute.
With persistence, you can start with a minute at a time of meditation, and eventually work up to several minutes, and then ten minutes of meditation. Taking ten-minute breaks throughout the day from your work activities can be very refreshing, and it can help you get back to work with renewed enthusiasm, and creativity.
Meditation and mindfulness may be easier with a framework of faith.
While studying spiritual philosophies associated with meditation is not definitely necessary in order to practice meditation, it can help to have a framework of faith. Believing that you are connecting to something larger than yourself can make meditation more meaningful, and even more effective.
You do not have to engage in study of a formal religion to get the benefits of spirituality with meditation. There are meditation philosophies related to spiritual practices and beliefs that do not require a full religious commitment or belief in a specific mythology.
For example, you might consider studying The Three Principles, which is a spiritual philosophy based on the concept that there is thought, the mind, and the greater Universal Mind, to which all conscious beings are connected and a part of.
When you close your eyes to meditate, you can visualize a warm, loving spiritual force of nature and of the universe. Spirituality is the key to making mindful meditation more meaningful in your life.
There are other, similar schools of spirituality, many of which have similar beliefs and philosophies. They are not necessarily exclusive or contradictory.
Attending spiritual retreats or seminars can be a rewarding experience, where you can meet like-minded people and teachers of continuing education on topics of loving kindness meditation and other types of mindfulness meditation.
Meditation retreats exist to learn from masters and meet with like-minded people.
For example, another podcast guest, Dr. Anna Yusim, regularly hosts spiritual retreats with a variety of themes and topics. As author of the best-selling book, “The Science of Spirituality,” she is an excellent teacher of a wide range of spiritual techniques, including meditation and mindfulness.
Another podcast guest, Daniella Hunter, has restaurants in Tulum, Mexico, and Los Angeles. She focuses on the importance of healthy, natural nutrition to achieve a more balanced, mindful daily existence.
Spiritual teachers and gurus may be more readily accessible than you think they are. You may believe that in order to find a meditation and spirituality teacher that you must travel to far away places, such as India.
Then, maybe you have to climb a mountain or take a pilgrimage with a group of ascetics, starving and living a miserable existence, just to prepare yourself for a meeting with a great spiritual teacher. Is that the best way to learn mindfulness and the interconnectedness of human consciousness and the universe?
Fortunately, there is no need to give up all of your worldly possessions and live a life of suffering to become ready to experience the benefits of mindfulness and mindful meditation. You can find great teachers as close as your local library, web browser, podcast player, audiobook player, or ebook reader.
There are local meditation temples available in many regions.
Another option is to visit a local meditation temple. You might be surprised to find that they exist and may not be far from where you live.
I recently saw a friend posting pictures of their visit to a local Buddhist temple where attendees were learning how to meditate. I looked up the temple and read further accounts of how friendly and welcoming the temple was for people seeking spiritual enlightenment.
Years ago, I visited a meditation temple in central Florida, named The Temple Of The Universe (TOU). The reason I looked up TOU and visited was that it was founded by best-selling author, Michael Singer.
In his first book, Mr. Singer writes about how he developed an interest in meditation and the meaning of the chattering of his inner voice. For years, he sought to quiet that voice, and then eventually realized that it was better to coexist with it.
The temple grounds at TOU were beautiful. There were wooded areas and open fields. Deer ran through the woods freely, without fear of being bothered by humans.
The buildings were hand-built of wood. In another book, Mr. Singer describes how he learned to build with his hands and personally constructed many of the structures on the property. I was excited to learn more about spirituality during my visit.
At the main temple, there were yoga classes going on, and meditation classes. I was there for a lecture given by Mr. Singer, and I was early, so I sat and watched various classes starting and ending.
Meditation and mindful awareness can happen at any moment, especially in spiritually connected settings.
At one point, a light rain fell in the woods where we sat on the steps of the wooden temple building. Everyone was quiet, enjoying the beauty of the rain falling around the trees.
When I finally went in for the lecture, I was given a large pillow to sit on. Everyone sat on the floor. Mr. Singer came in and spoke for about 90 minutes. There was no charge for attending.
I was impressed that Michael Singer makes himself available to anyone to teach lessons about how the mind works and how we are more than just our brains. We are the observers of what happens in our brains.
He teaches that we are more than our thoughts. During his lecture, there was a sense of peace and connectedness. Regardless of the words he was speaking, I felt relaxed, and I was mindful of that present moment.
Another great spiritual leader, who is no longer with us, was Sydney Banks, founder of The Three Principles. He also has a very calm voice, and it is quite relaxing to listen to his lectures on YouTube.
In fact, Mr. Banks says at one point, that his words are meaningless, because what he wants to teach cannot be expressed in words. At that moment, the listener realizes that they can stop trying too hard to figure out what he is talking about.
It is fine to sit back and listen to his words, and experiencing a feeling and a spiritual connection, induced by his speech. The specific words and spoken concepts are not as important as the internal understanding that each individual takes away from them.
What happens if you try to meditate and nothing happens?
Sometimes, it seems unfair that certain people claim to have had major, life-changing spiritual experiences. While most of us must be content with a few minutes of quiet, refreshing meditation, a select few have experienced a flash of light and a vision that changes everything.
It happened for Bill Wilson, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He had a vision in the 1930s that led to his founding of AA and his determination to quit drinking and help others to quit drinking.
Was it a true supernatural event, or was some sort of mental breakdown? Some accounts describe psychedelic treatment with belladonna that might explain his epiphany.
Sydney Banks, founder of the Three Principles, also had a spiritual vision that led to his founding of a movement. He decided that he was going to teach psychologists and psychiatrists the truth about the human mind and the meaning of thought.
Other well known spiritual leaders have described similar experiences. Yet, the vast majority of meditators describe quiet, disciplined mindful meditation.
They may practice meditation for years without ever having a dramatic spiritual breakthrough event. A spiritual experience is not necessarily the goal of any mindfulness based stress reduction, mindfulness exercise, or meditation.
Can psychedelic drugs, such as ayahuasca or ibogaine play a role in developing a better sense of mindfulness and connection with the universe?
First, I should be clear that I do not recommend that anyone seek out a psychedelic experience with these, or any other drug. The exception might be a US-based, FDA-approved clinical trial.
Psychedelic drugs are not harmless. They hold the potential to trigger serious psychiatric issues that can remain with a person for a lifetime. Additionally, a drug trip can go horribly wrong, leading to serious accidents.
Many spiritual awakenings described throughout history may be related to psychedelic drug experiences. In some cases, the person may have not been aware of the fact that they were under the influence of a psychedelic.
The experience of taking one of these drugs is not necessarily similar to the quietness of peaceful mindful meditation. Psychedelic drugs alter brain chemistry and involve heightened awareness and increased brain activity.
Do repeated uses of psychedelics lead to a superior sense of spirituality and oneness with the universe? Not at all.
Recently, it has been revealed that Oscar-winning actor, Will Smith went on ayahuasca journeys, taking the DMT-containing drug at least 14 times. This fact was revealed in an interview with David Letterman, just months before he went on stage at the Oscars to slap Chris Rock and scream obscenities at him from his seat on live national television.
Another, less well-known user of excessive psychedelics was scientist, John Lilly. Dr. Lilly’s life and work was used as inspiration for the popular 1980s film, Altered States.
Dr. Lilly consumed excessive amounts of high doses of the drug, ketamine. He believed he was in contact with alien beings. While ketamine is a relatively safe drug, the effects of repeated high dose uses over a period of years is not well understood.
Similarly, Harvard psychologist, Timothy Leary, was well known for consuming huge amounts of LSD regularly over many years. He is considered to be largely responsible for dangerous, uncontrolled use of psychedelics throughout the 1960s, by publicly promoting their benefits.
Dr. Leary’s associate, Dr. Richard Alpert, went on to become a bearded and robed spiritual leader. He was renamed, Ram Dass.
How much of Ram Dass’s spiritual experiences were related to his interactions with Indian gurus, and how much might have been related to psychedelics? Of course, I do not want to diminish the important work of Ram Dass, in helping sick and suffering people to deal with terminal illnesses.
What is my next step in practicing meditation?
If you find that you are unable to get even a few minutes of uninterrupted time throughout the day, you may want to rethink how you allow others to control your time. Mindful parenting involves being aware of how you set boundaries and how you practice parenting in the present moment.
Loved ones, spouses, friends, coworkers, in addition to children, are people who might be controlling your time excessively. You need time to yourself to meditate quietly for even a few minutes.
Suppose you are sitting in your car at your workplace, and you decide to take five minutes to meditate. Will you be able to take the five minutes?
Or, do you have to worry about coworkers coming up to your car to bother you? Do you feel that you must keep your phone turned on every minute of the day?
Are there people in your life who will get upset that they were not able to get in touch with you during a five-minute period? You should not have to announce meditation times to people to be left alone, yet if necessary, you can do this.
One way to get people to take your meditation time seriously is to refer to it as prayer time. People who take time to pray during the day are treated with respect and left to practice their prayer ritual. You deserve the same respect for quiet meditation time.
To get started, you can simply follow Dr. Bryan Robinson’s recommendation, by closing your eyes, and focusing on a sound in the environment for just one minute. Meditation is not difficult at all.
Find what works for you. Mindfulness and meditation are personal activities. Learn what brings you joy and fulfillment, and design a program that works best for you in your own life.
