By Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
What is meditation, how it can benefit you, and how to begin your journey to peace now ~ all beautifully explained! Read on!
The need to meditate is present in every human being because it is a natural tendency of human life to look for a joy that doesn’t diminish, a love that doesn’t distort or turn into negative emotions.
Human beings are gifted with a beautiful mind through which we think, perceive, analyze, and make decisions. Just as all these skills are natural to the human mind, so is meditation.
What is meditation?
A Skill:
Meditation is the skill to calm the mind and get in touch with your inner joy and the source of energy within us. When the mind becomes calm and serene, it gains access to the enormous intelligence and energy that we all possess.
An Art:
Meditation is the delicate and effortless art of doing nothing. It is the way to take deep rest yet be alert and conscious at the same time!
A Journey:
Meditation is the journey from movement to stillness, from sound to silence. Beyond all the chatter and noise in our mind, there is a silent, peaceful, blissful, beautiful space that exists in all of us, a place that is intact and unbroken. Turning our attention to this silent chamber is meditation. This silence cleanses the mind, giving it a much-needed rest, and makes room for better perceptions and new ways of looking at life and its challenges.
A Recycling Process:
The natural tendency to recycle all that we have collected in day-to-day life as impressions, getting rid of them, and getting back to the original state that we were in when we came on this planet is what meditation is. Becoming fresh and alive again is what mediation is. Getting back to that serenity which is your original nature is meditation. The absolute joy and happiness is meditation. Pleasure minus excitement is meditation. A thrill without anxiety is meditation. A love without hatred or any of its opposite values is meditation.
A Soul’s Yearning:
Meditation is food for the soul. When you are hungry, spontaneously you go to eat something. If you are thirsty, you want to drink some water. In the same way, the soul yearns for meditation and this tendency is in everyone.
A Prayer:
The peak, the most supreme type of prayer is meditation. All powers are hidden within the Self and everything will manifest when you connect to your consciousness. Being silent and knowing that the divinity is taking care of everything – that is the best form of prayer; the best prayer is meditation.
A gift of the present moment:
When there is no regret of the past, no want of future, that moment is whole and complete. Meditation is living every moment totally with depth. Mind in the present moment is meditation.
What is not meditation?
For understanding what meditation is, let us also understand what is not meditation:
Meditation is not mental gymnastics. During meditation, you do not do gymnastics with the mind or force anything.
Concentration is not meditation. Many people think meditation is an exercise of concentration. That is not the case. It is a deep relaxation. You simply have to let go. The ability to concentrate is an outcome of good meditation practice, but concentration itself is not meditation.
Engaging in an activity you like (for example, running, singing, drawing, reading, etc.) is not meditation. Deep sleep is also not meditation.
Giving up everything and becoming a recluse is not meditation either.
Why should one meditate: 12 benefits of meditation
1. Improves communication skills
Regular practice of meditation frees you from within, which allows you to shed the inhibitions and barriers that prevent effective communication. Finding peace within yourself gives you the confidence necessary to master communication.
2. Brings clarity of mind and betters decision making
Do you sometimes find yourself wavering between different options, feeling confused and indecisive? Meditation provides a mind without agitation, a mind that is calm and crystal clear.
When our mind is calm, we are able to make better decisions, thus creating a more harmonious and positive atmosphere around us. Meditating allows you to see what’s important. When you understand what’s valuable, you are more likely to see and make the best decision.
3. Nurtures creativity
Creativity surfaces when you meditate. Creativity is the core of our personality as individuals, but sometimes it’s suppressed or hidden.
As your mind calms down, creativity can calmly and confidently surface. When we clear the turbulent or cloudy water from our minds, we can see down to the bottom. Inside all of us is a well of creative resources and possibilities.
4. Improves focus and concentration
Meditation improves concentration and helps one be in the present moment. If you observe, the mind vacillates between the past and the future. We are either angry about the past or anxious about the future. Meditation helps bring the mind to the present. When the mind is calm, we are able to perceive things better. When the mind is disturbed, our perception is also disturbed.
5. Refreshes the mind and helps in stress reduction
Most hard-working adults wait for months to go on a vacation, but meditation gives you an opportunity to go on a vacation within yourself every day.
The practice rejuvenates you until you feel fresh and relaxed. Because you know the results, you take the time to close the doors of your daily chatter and spend a few minutes with yourself.
After a peaceful meditation session, you’ll feel energized and ready to calmly take on whatever challenges come your way.
6. Renews you
A snake sheds its skin and moves on with brand new skin. If cats or dogs have water on themselves, they shake it off. The caterpillar, a worm-like creature, forms a cocoon around itself and emerges as a whole new animal, a glorious, colorful butterfly!
However, we tend to carry our emotional baggage for years. Meditation helps us to shed our old attachments, feel renewed and rejuvenated, and move forward. With regular practice, it will begin to feel normal to only carry around what’s necessary. Use meditation to free yourself from within.
7. Spreads happiness and peace
Our mind has the ability to affect our surroundings. Only a peaceful and happy person can spread happiness.
Meditation creates ripples of happiness and peace within you, which then spread out in multiple waves all around the world. A better you make the vibrations, energy, and people around you better.
8. Develops a pleasant personality
Think about who you like to be with and why you choose them as companions. Are the ones you love happy and joyful, or sad and depressed? Contented, cheerful, and upbeat, right?
Similarly, when we ourselves are happy, our personality reflects that, and others look to us for good company. These interactions are another area of life where meditation helps. Practice with the intention of becoming the best version of yourself, which will attract other positive-thinking friends to you like a magnet.
Meditation can bring about a balance between the different states of the mind. You can learn to switch from the tough aspect to the gentler aspect within you. You can be firm when appropriate and at the same time let go when needed. This ability is present within everyone, and meditation enables you to switch between these states effortlessly.
9. Gives you an unshakable smile
Meditation brings you to a state of being where nothing can rob you of the smile in your heart.
By resting and releasing all the toxins and negative emotions stored, each cell becomes so alive that our smiles are unshakable in the face of any event that happens to involve us.
10. Makes you a master of time
While happy times fly, don’t sad times seem to drag on? Only in meditation do we transcend time and add hours to our day. We begin to do things more efficiently than we normally did before, which frees up time for leisure and personal interests.
Rather than looking at meditation as a waste of time, think of it as a tune-up. You often clear useless files and data from your computer by emptying your recycling bin, right? And once our circuits shed the excess weight, they run faster, right? The mind is no different.
11. Gives you a glimpse of infinity
Every cell in our body has the ability to hold infinity. However, limiting concepts in our minds impede us from perceiving our infinite potential.
When we culture and purify our consciousness through the process of meditation, we take a dip in the ocean of spiritual bliss and experience deep rest. In other words, we can easily tap into the timeless energy that surrounds us, resulting in a strong feeling of calm and assurance.
12. Heals and harmonizes
Through regular practice of meditation, healing can happen. When the mind is calm, alert, and totally content, it works like an efficient tool that helps our bodies perform better, which allows us to heal faster. There is a significant body of research on how meditation helps improve conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart problems, sleep disorders, and nervous system disorders, among others.
We must nurture our minds to have healthy bodies. Our minds are the engines that drive our reality, our existence. Meditate to not only be alive but to feel alive!
With a few minutes of daily meditation and pranayama (breathing techniques), our thoughts become powerful, and our tasks are accomplished more effectively. Through regular meditation practice and breathing techniques, we can cleanse our minds of negative thoughts and emotions and effectively address mental illness and depression.
How can one start meditating in daily life?
Doing meditation daily helps you to tap into the inner peace and energy you never knew existed. In order to start meditating, all you need is the right guidance from a teacher to learn the skills to calm your mind. If you are a beginner, you can start by meditating with me with a guided meditation on my Youtube channel or with our Journey meditation app (download for free from the app store or google play). You can also learn to meditate using the rhythm of your own breath or using a mantra with Art of Living teachers across the world.
Some quick tips:
1. In the beginning, if you feel restless, it is advised that you shake your hands for a couple of minutes or do some light exercise like jogging. And then relax.
2. Do pranayama or some yoga asanas before meditation.
3. Take deep breaths 10-15 times. This prepares you to calm down and gets you out of the “restless circuit” that you are in.
Here is our Meditation for Beginners Guide with some more best practices to get you started with meditation.
Learn SKY Breath Meditation: Inhale good health and exhale stress every day!
Breath is the main source of prana - the vital life-force energy. Prana is the very basis of health and well-being for both the body and mind. When the prana is high, one feels healthy, alert, and energetic. Sudarshan Kriya (aka SKY Breath Meditation) elevates the prana by flushing out more than 90% toxins and accumulated stress, every day.
Day follows night, seasons come and go, a tree sheds its old leaves to get new ones ~ This is Nature’s rhythm.
Similarly, there are biological rhythms of the body, mind, and emotions corresponding to those found in Nature. When stress or illness distorts these biological rhythms, we experience discomfort, discontent, and feel upset and unhappy.
SKY harmonizes these rhythms of the body, mind, and emotions with those of Nature. Being in sync, we experience better health and joy which in turn brings harmony to our activities and relationships. Studies show that Prolactin, a well-being hormone, significantly increases from the very first session. Recent research at Yale University showed that its benefits are even deeper than mindfulness-based stress reduction meditative practice.
It facilitates physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being and is an integral part of the Art of Living programs. SKY practitioners have reported better immunity, increased stamina, and sustained high-energy levels. It has benefited millions of people on this planet making their lives a celebration!
All my best wishes and blessings to you for getting started with your journey to inner peace and joy!
Editor’s note:
Join Beyond Breath, an online introductory session for free, and learn more about SKY. A meditation teacher will be available to answer all your questions and also will share some simple meditation tips.
