What is meditation? Meditation is a process of clearing the mind of thoughts and getting in touch with your inner self. The essence of meditation is breathing. By focusing on your breathing, it allows your mind to slow down from excessive thoughts. Through meditation, you realize that you are the observer of your thoughts and emotions. You begin to realize that your thoughts are just thoughts and not reality. Meditation allows you to be in the present moment. It gives you clarity and mental strength.

How Did Meditation Start?

Enlightenment

Meditation has been around for thousands of years. It started mainly in India with the Hindu’s and Buddhists. Meditation was used as a tool to find your way to enlightenment. The state of enlightenment is an end to all suffering. An enlightened person realizes that true suffering is mind-made. They do not identify with the mind or ego, allowing yourself to just be without judgment or hatred.

Let’s let world-renowned Jon Kabat-Zinn explain what meditation means to him.

Does It Help?

Meditation is a great way to relieve stress and anxiety. In today’s world of consent distractions and sensory overload, meditation allows your mind to rest, refocus, and become aware. Meditation will enable you to recondition your mind from destructive, obsessive thought patterns that have taken over the lives of millions of people. You can reconnect with your inner being, your true essence. Practicing meditation retrains the mind, not allow your thoughts to take over. You become more present, calm, and focused in your daily life. When you allow the mind to slow down, you begin to see things more clearly without all the mental chatter.

Try Meditating Today

Just start with the fundamental core of meditation by breathing. Just sit somewhere quiet, close your eyes, and focus on your breathing. Be aware of your in-breath and out-breath. Breath normally and allow any thoughts to come and go. Just be mindful that they are there, but don’t be drawn into them. Don’t let them take you into another direction or away from your breath. Try and relax your body. Focus on your breath, the in-breath, and out-breath. Try this for as long as you feel comfortable. It may be difficult for some to sit and be still at first. But with practice, you will get better. Start by watching our 5-minute meditation video below.

See Our 5 Minute Meditation Video to Get Started:



Feature image/Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Guided Meditations

You can also check out all of our guided meditations. We offer guided meditations in different increments. Guided meditations are an excellent way to get started. It allows the instructor to guide you through your meditation, ensuring that it is done correctly. See our guided meditations below:

Conclusion

Meditation is an excellent tool to clear the mind. Through daily meditation, you will begin to realize that you are not your thoughts and feelings. There is something greater, you are the awareness, the silent watcher, observing it all.