Self-Awareness through Meditation

February 25, 201411 yr

Meditation

My thoughts on the subject, it's benefits, and a guide to help you achieve the state of meditation.

Meditation is an altered state of consciousness and can be used as a technique to clear your mind and relax. It has many benefits and positive aspects to it that are life-altering. The sources I used to pull the benefits and images I refer to are as follows: Lifehacker, HuffingtonPost, FoodMatters, WikiHow

My Thoughts

A summed-up story regarding my life and explains why I find the idea behind meditation so intriguing:

When I was a younger child, I spent most of my days alone and enjoyed simply thinking. I would sit outside in the yard, inside my house, or essentially wherever I found peace in a given surrounding. I let my senses go, my worries, my problems, my sense of who I thought I was. I would imagine peaceful scenarios where I and the ones around me were happy, and simply being able to see this made myself feel blissful. After a while of doing this, I started to wonder why this is happening. Why I was able to achieve these 'real' feelings from situations that were clearly unreal. I asked my parents, and just as I had expected, no clear, understandable answer was able to be explained to me. Therefore, at that point I knew had to go out and experience this, 'thing', on my own.

When I wasn't busy thinking, I was challenging my mind (intelligence, if you prefer that term) to do the things that I liked to do. Reading was my favorite past time, the multitude of creative stories and new "realities" that the often-dusty pages had to offer absolutely fascinated me. I believe that it introduced me to the concept that if you can imagine something clearly, it can become a reality. Much like how, based on Freud's model of the mind, if we are hungry and think about a food, it temporarily subsides the hunger because the mind is unable to discern between what is real (based on tangibility) and what is surreal (intangibility). Thus, if I could disconnect myself from the largely subjective 'reality', whatever I imagined became the reality. I was able to play and experiment with this concept and find out if what I had theorized was true. So, one day I can remember laying in the soft grass field in my back yard, warm sunshine beating down on my skin, playing out my idea of the perfect life - living on an undeveloped island in a with a softhearted girl (the one I thought was 'cute' at the time) and a stunning chocolate Labrador. Everything was so vivid - the quaint and natural house, the waves crashing upon the beach and the moisture being absorbed by the sandy beach, even the warm and slightly humid air which lingered around my body. It was at this moment when I decided that this is something I couldn't live without: the ability to imagine anything you could possibly conceive and be able to truly live it.

I believe that this concept is also the basis as to why I enjoy video games so much. The clear-cut concept behind them, living in a world which isn't tangible but gives a sense of 'reality' and control over what you do, gave me feelings which were vividly real. If you get feelings from the game, much like how you get a sense of pride when a sports team that you played on has won a game, then it simply must be reality.

The thing that separates my love for contemplation & imagination between my love for video games was the ability of freedom of creation and the infinitely-stronger mental aspects that are present in meditation. Sure, we are able to play games in 1080p on a 60" screen, but what we cannot do (as of now) is to fully imagine a situation we desire and accordingly create the situation through a video game. In other words, yes, you can create a game to whatever your liking is, but it will take a prolonged amount of time and conditioned skills versus being able to simply think about it. The ability to transcend your mental state into your liking instantaneously is something that I value higher than any game has to offer.

Benefits of Meditation

The very purpose of meditation is to work off of the aforementioned basic focal points and to strengthen the use of your mind. Among the thousands of benefits that can be achieved through means of meditation, a few are listed below.

Invariably reduces stress (the "silent killer" of society)
Increased creativity
Better memory (study)
Increases compassion
The ability to get to know your 'self' (look here for more info)
Prevents aging (studies show that it increases the strength of your telomares - protective caps at the end of your chromosomes)
Improves focused engagement in music (makes music sound better)
Mindfulness, which can be broken down into four subsections
- Body awareness
- Self-awareness
- Regulation of emotion
- Regulation of attention
Lowers depression
Can increase job performance
Increases sleep efficiency
Increases immune system

Most important out of the benefits (in my opinion) is what your brain waves indicate during and after being in the meditative state.

The following is an image which displays the before and after effects on beta brain waves during meditation.

As you can see in the picture, the difference in the population of waves is greatly decreased after meditation.

This is to say that you had a thousand thoughts running at once, and now your mind is clear and you are able to think more peacefully and clearly.

You may be thinking, "well, I was never able to do this even though I tried multiple times", or "it's too foreign to me". I wish there was an easy way I could answer the underlying question behind the statements: How do I begin meditation?

The answer to that can not be explained through words - much like how your thought process cannot be fully explained to others through language. You must go and experience this yourself to get a sense of what, exactly, I am referring to. I am here to offer you resources, techniques, my past experiences, and to be your personal guide in being able to do just so.

Preparing for meditation

When preparing to enter the state of meditation, a few things need to be achieved for maximal performance. They are split into a few different subcategories. Make sure you are alone and not with any other parties.

Environment

Note: These vary per person, so experiment with different ways until you find what works best for you.

In order to attempt to meditate, you need an environment which is calm, quiet, and not bright. This will enable you to focus exclusively on meditation and to avoid outside interruptions. (find somewhere in which you will not be interrupted)

The space does not need to be very large, a place to sit comfortably on the floor works perfectly.

If your floor is uncomfortable, place a pillow under where you are sitting.

Make sure the temperature in the room is comfortable and will not distract you from being too hot or too cold.

Turn all of your electronics off! This includes, but is not limited to, phone, TV, etc.

Wear comfortable clothes that will not cause any irritation or distraction. They should also coincide with what was said earlier about temperature, meaning do not wear overly warm clothing.

I recommend stretching out before meditation as you are going to be in one position for a good amount of time.

Postures

Unless you are an already seasoned veteran in meditation, sit in an upright position and not laying down. If you are laying on your bed, it's likely that you may drift into sleep. Some of the postures to begin to try are shown through this illustration (source, source):

The position I use most often is something similar to #3 (center). The second picture displays the same posture, but from a different angle.

Find whatever is most comfortable for you, it doesn't even need to be within one of these pictures.

State of Mind

Meditation requires a peaceful, relaxed, and calm state of mind. That means you can't just jump straight from playing Battlefield 4 right into meditation.

By now, all of your electronics should be off, you should be sitting in a posture that you feel comfortable with, and you feel comfortable with all of the other factors listed above.

Relax your body - Whether that means taking a walk, having a cup of tea, or taking a short nap.

Focus on your breath - Count your breath, making sure you fully and deeply inhale and exhale.

Thoughts - Don't let any negative thoughts distract you. Know that they are there, take note of them, but simply let them pass.

If you are still unable to clear your mind after trying the previous techniques, refer to "Guided Meditation" below.

Entering the State of Meditation

Detailed page / source: here

It should be noted that having your eyes closed during meditation is more effective for beginners.

Techniques

Follow your breathing

The most basic and universal of all meditation techniques, breathing meditation is the best method for beginners to enter meditation. Become aware of the rising and falling of your stomach and lungs as you breathe in and out. Do not make a conscious effort to change your breathing patterns, just breathe normally.

You will find that when you are thinking about breathing, you are forced to control it. When you are not, it happens to you. The hard and fast worlds that connect these two (what happens to you versus what you choose to do) are arbitrary. (for more see "Guided meditation: Alan Watts" below)

Mantra Meditation

Meditation through repetition of a mantra is usually used with spiritual meditation, and involves saying a sound, word, or phrase repeatedly until you enter into a state of meditation. You can choose any mantra you wish to use, the most popular mantra is OM (mystic syllable in Sanskrit, sounds like this). Below, I have listed links to some mantras to try.

http://www.mayurivaid.com/images/Planetary_Mantras_b.jpg

Visualization

For visualization meditation, it essentially uses the same concept which I was referring to in my personal story. It is the act of creating a peaceful place in your mind and exploring it, until you reach a state of complete calm. The place can be anywhere you wish - however, it should not be entirely real, it should be unique and personalized for you. That means, don't play out the day that you had yesterday simply because you wish to relive it.

This source is extremely helpful: http://www.innerhealthstudio.com/visualization-scripts.html

Body Scan

Meditation through the body scan method is more for those who are focused on getting a relaxed bodily feeling along with the mental benefits of meditation. Doing a body scan involves focusing on each individual body part in turn and consciously relaxing it.

Make sure your eyes are closed, and focus on a body part to start, usually the toes.
Focus on whatever sensations you can feel in the body part while making a conscious effort to release any tension you may have.
Once the body part you were focusing on is fully relaxed, move on to the next part and repeat the process throughout your whole body.
When you have completed the relaxation of each individual body part, focus on your body as a whole and enjoy the sensation of the calm and relaxed feeling you now have.

Guided meditation

In guided meditation, the speaker attempt to take you directly into a state of meditation through auditory means. There's not much to be said about it, so check out the following videos:

I strongly recommend this one, Alan Watt's guided meditation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NonSfWKt_Yc

Further meditation practice

When you gain experience with meditation, you may want to incorporate a few extra things into your practice.

Audio

Meditation can also be used with different music and sounds playing while you are meditating. Here are some of my favorite meditation music pieces:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE8n4U_tmuY

Extending what you learn from meditation to everyday life

What good are all of the mental benefits of meditation if you can't incorporate them into your daily life?

Living mindfully is the short-term goal you are trying to accomplish through meditation. There are many ways you can do this, and a few are listed here:

In moments of stress, try to take a few seconds to focus solely on your breathing and empty your mind of any negative thoughts or emotions.
Practice mindfulness while you eat, becoming aware of the food and of the sensations you experience as you eat.
No matter what actions you perform in your day to day life, whether it's sitting at a computer or sweeping the floor, try to become more aware of your body's movements and how you feel in the present moment.

Hopefully, after all is said and done, you are able to enter the state of meditation and take something out of it. If mindfulness is achieved, then we are all able to coincide peacefully.

Give it a shot, and as I said earlier, I am here for any questions, comments, or thoughts.

Namaste and gassho,

-@Natsu

Edited February 25, 201411 yr by Natsu

6

February 25, 201411 yr

Meditation makes me mad though.

February 25, 201411 yr

Will definitely try this when I have some free time

February 25, 201411 yr

Author

Meditation makes me mad though.

Then I'm afraid you aren't doing it right. :p

Sift out the negative thoughts, focus on positives, and maintain compassion for everything around you.

February 25, 201411 yr

I don't need meditation.. all I do is think about life when I'm in the shower

February 25, 201411 yr

Then I'm afraid you aren't doing it right.

Sift out the negative thoughts, focus on positives, and maintain compassion for everything around you.

There is no postitives.... for me anyway.

February 25, 201411 yr

Didn't have time to watch all the videos, but after reading all this I have to say that meditation seems to be quite interesting topic. My mom likes this kind of stuff, but I've never really tried it, maybe some day I will. And this might even be good way to relax after the gym