You may have been practicing meditation regularly but have you noticed that at times when you sit to meditate, your mind seems to take a holiday to a world of thoughts? Learning how to meditate is the first step but do you want to move up the ladder and learn more ways of getting a deeper experience? Following a few tips can help you in this direction.
#1 Bring a smile to another face
How do you feel when you help someone? Happy, satisfied? Do you also feel a burst of positive energy, like something expanding in you? Do you know why? This is because when you do service and bring a smile to someone’s face, good vibrations and blessings come to you.
Service also brings merit and it is this merit that allows you to have a deeper experience in meditation.
“When I do service, I am directly benefited with a sense of satisfaction which makes me happy and peaceful. When I am both peaceful and happy, I am guaranteed to have a deep meditation,” shares Shilpy Madan.
#2 Experience the sound of silence!
Imagine yourself standing on a terrace early morning, looking up the grand red sky, completely mesmerized by the beauty of the rising sun. Do you feel deep silence and oneness with the beauty - the beauty that takes you beyond words? Your mind is so calm and settled. Have you ever wondered why?
In silence, there are fewer thoughts and your mind settles down.
Most of the time when we chatter, our mind also keeps chattering. Our senses are busy collecting information and bombarding us with so many thoughts and impressions.
Silence complements meditation. When you are silent, your mind slows down and you slip into meditation more easily.
An easy way to experience silence and meditation together is the Art of Living Part-2 program that happens every weekend at the International Center of the Art of Living in Bangalore.
“Sometimes I feel stuck in an endless trail of thoughts. Keeping silence gradually reduces this bombardment of thoughts and I experience much deeper meditation,” shares Hitanshi Sachdev.
#3 Pamper your body with some yoga twists
Have you observed that some days you feel very restless during your meditation and are unable to go deeper?
This is because long working hours bring stiffness to the body and aches due to this stiffness make you restless. Doing some yoga asanas frees you from this stiffness and releases restlessness. With this, your mind settles down and allows you to have a deeper experience in meditation.
#4 Keep a watch over your food
Think about the days you have meditated after having oily, fried, non-vegetarian food, and the days you meditated after having light and healthy food. Do you feel a difference in your meditation? This is because your food has a direct impact on the state of your mind.
As a meditator, an ideal diet should include grains, green vegetables, fresh fruits, salads, soups, etc. – essentially foods that are light and easy to digest and high in ‘prana’.
#5 Sing to yourself
Have you noticed how different types of music trigger different emotions in you?
We are made up of 90% or more space, so sound has a very profound effect on us. Singing in satsangs purifies emotions and you feel a sense of expansion in you. The ‘little mind’ that chatters incessantly is silenced and when you meditate, you have a deeper experience.
#6 Book your daily meditation time
Keeping a discipline and honoring the practice are keys to having a deeper experience in meditation. So book your meditation time everyday and experience the magic of going deeper.
“Earlier, I used to meditate at different times of the day. Since a past few months, I meditate everyday before lunch and I observed that I have a better and deeper meditation by meditating at the same time,” shares Divya Sachdev.
Inspired by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's wisdom talks
By Divya Sachdev, based on inputs by Priyadarshini Hariram, a Sahaj Samadhi Meditation Teacher.
