Today we live in a world where everyone is under constant stimulation. Whether it’s from the TV, the computer screen, the cell phone screen, or billboards on the street, our eyes and ears are constantly under assault and our minds are racing to process all of this information. As a matter of fact, few of us can even remember what it was like before the internet and mobile phones gave us 24/7 instant access to gigabytes upon gigabytes of mind-stimulating content.
The truth is, our brains did not evolve to function in such a state of constant sensory overload. This can eventually translate into increased anxiety, stress, tiredness and depression. Most people then attempt to fix this by further saturating their brains with artificial chemicals provided by a system whose ultimate goal is to sell a product. No wonder depression and suicide rates are at an all-time high.
Luckily, not all solutions need to be complex or require a financial investment. Hundreds of years ago people throughout the world developed meditation techniques which help to reduce pain, depression, stress, and anxiety. This practice provides one with a sensation of peace that must be found from within, instead of acquired externally in exchange for money, like most of the things we are used to. For this reason, the system has little financial incentive to encourage you to try it. Nevertheless, it works.
What is meditation?
Meditation is a technique for resting the mind and achieving a clear and calm mental state. It is akin to clearing a computer of needless processes that are affecting the whole user experience by consuming energy and memory in the background. For those of us who are not used to meditating, this task can be more difficult than it sounds at first.
The goal of meditation is to reduce the mind down to its essential natural state,which is a state of calm and happiness. As we all know, our own mind is perhaps our biggest enemy. As if the mind has a mind of its own, it is constantly introducing ideas and thoughts which cause stress and anxiety and impede us from experiencing inner peace.
Types of meditation
Focused attention meditation, as the name implies, is based on focusing your attention on a single object. This object may be your breath, a part of your body, or an external object. The purpose is to ignore everything else around you and reduce your mind’s activity to nothing but the one thing you are focusing on. As your ability to focus on one object increases, the amount of needless distractions plaguing your mind will decrease accordingly.
Focused attention meditation, as the name implies, is based on focusing your attention on a single object. This object may be your breath, a part of your body, or an external object. The purpose is to ignore everything else around you and reduce your mind’s activity to nothing but the one thing you are focusing on. As your ability to focus on one object increases, the amount of needless distractions plaguing your mind will decrease accordingly.
Open monitoring meditation is an opposing technique which nevertheless aims to achieve the same goal. It is based on keeping your attention open to all internal and external perceptions (feelings, sounds, smells, emotions, etc.). By allowing all perceptions to take center stage, your mind is left with no space for intrusive thoughts or ideas and you eventually become truly present to the moment.
How to start
How to begin? It is extremely simple:
1. Choose a time of the day and place of your house to meditate. Anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes per day is enough, as long as you do it daily.
2. Find a comfortable position where you can sit still and relaxed.
3. Remain still with your eyes either closed or open, either focusing your mind on one thing (your breath, for example) or simply being present to the moment.
4. The goal is to slow down your mind until you reach a point of calmness and deep contemplation.
5. Once you are comfortable doing this you may try it for longer periods.
At first you may find yourself wrestling with your own mind, so it’s alright to begin with short meditation periods. If you manage to make meditation a habit, even if it’s only for 15 minutes a day, you will eventually notice an increase to your baseline happiness and a reduction in stress and anxiety. After all, it’s no surprise that it can be beneficial to disconnect and give our brains a daily break from the chaotic world around us.
