Any method of keeping hold of one’s mind without letting it wander to the distractions of the outside world can be termed as Meditation. Meditation is a method of concentration. But meditation does not allow the mind to concentrate on anything else. In short, while meditating, you do nothing and you think nothing. Well, this can sound easy. But the tough part comes when you try to practice it.
Doing nothing is the only one step to meditation. People have this misconception that meditation is to concentrate on your “self”, or focus on only you. But this is not true to an extent. If we start focusing only on ourselves, then we are letting our mind think about our activities and problems. All you have to do is to be ‘blank’. Just you and nothing-that’s meditation.
Today, most of us experience stress in different forms. Some experience stress in their official life, some are stressed with problems at home, some get stressed thinking about the financial crisis they are facing and some get stressed at the slightest thought of their child’s future or bad behavior. In short, each and every individual has one or more problems to be faced every day and the ultimate result they get is ‘stress’.
Handling stress is a real tough thing. We cannot avoid problems in life and problems lead to unnecessary tension in our life. In order to tackle with the problems in our life, one must have to think calmly. Unfortunately, most of us do not have this calm and cool attitude towards life. Often when a problem comes across us, instead of handling it carefully, we tend to push our minds into stress. If we want to control our stress, it is better to train our mind. The best method of training our mind to tackle stress and other problems in life is to practice meditation. If we want to meditate, you have to do nothing. Concentration is not Meditation. Doing nothing is called Meditation.
Doing Nothing…
If it is your first attempt in meditation, you will be finding it odd just to sit in a place and trying to relax yourself. You will find that you are not able to ‘do nothing’. Your mind will begin to stray here and there, thought process gets wild and you start thinking about your next schedule, the next day’s programs and so on. So what really happens is that you are concentrating on other things.
Meditation means to do nothing…not even thinking.
• Sit in a quiet relaxing place. Avoid distractions like cell phones and televisions.
• You have to sit in a straight relaxed posture. It is advisable to sit in the lotus position. Leaning on the wall or sitting on a chair will only make you sleepy. In meditation, you need to be conscious and awake. It is only possible for a conscious mind to meditate, resulting in the relaxation of mind.
• Deep breaths help you to relax the mind as well as the body. Be slow, take deep breaths.
• Never let your mind go astray. Thoughts come into our mind even when we are meditating. That is not a big deal. But if we follow our thoughts, then we are not meditating, we are concentrating on our thoughts.
• Doing nothing means to be still and be in a sitting posture.
• Counting your breath can help you to let off the distractions and be in focus. Increase the number of counts each day.
• Begin your day with meditation so that you can clear your mind of all the clogs and then start the day with a fresh mind. This will help you to refresh yourself before stepping into the tiring routine schedules. The major advantage is that you feel fresh and energetic throughout the day.
Positive effects of Meditation…
• Meditation helps in stabilizing the physical, emotional and mental state of a person.
• It helps in releasing stress from the body.
• It helps in relaxing the mind and helps us to be free of worries, stress and pressure.
• It reduces anxiety.
• It normalizes blood pressure.
• It reduces stress and tension.
• It increases concentration
• It gives strength to the mind.
• It reduces heart diseases.
• It helps in preventing loss of body weight.
• It helps in decreasing rate of respiration.
• It decreases tension of the muscles.
• It is a cure to headaches.
• It gives relief from asthma.
• It keeps the mind young.
• It makes you less aggressive.
• It improves your listening skills.
• It changes your attitude towards life.
• You are always positive in your approach to life.
So move ahead, try meditation by “Doing Nothing”.
