“The gift of learning to meditate is the greatest gift you can give yourself in this lifetime.”

– Sogyal Rinpoche

The word “meditation” is subject to all kinds of mysticism, preconceived ideas, polemic and debate. There are a lot of misconceptions about this word. A lot of information can be gathered about this subject, so it seems a very tough subject to learn about. But actually, it is very simple. So please, before reading this post, forget everything that you have heard about meditation.

Why do we need to meditate?

Meditation is not a matter of religion. Meditation is the only technique, humans have developed, to guide and train our minds. Every human being is born with a mind. The mind is everything. What we think we become. Therefore, everyone of us should meditate. You do not need any other reason…

Furthermore, our mind is intrinsically connected to our body. Body obeys the mind. If mind is quiet, calm and serene the body will be comfortable. On the contrary, if the mind is stressed, feared and worried our body will be uncomfortable. Therefore, we will never reach mental happiness by comforting only the body. On the other hand, physical discomforts can be overcome with mental training. Let me exemplify this point: Imagine a person that has access to all the physical facilities of the world. He can satisfy every pleasure that he has. He lives very comfortable. He eats and travels around the world. We could all agree that he has reached physical happiness. However, he has a great problem; his mind is neither serene nor at peace. He has no mental happiness. Since mind controls the body, although his physical body is happy, his life, as a whole, will be unhappy. From this we can conclude that mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.

“You cannot travel on the path until you become the path itself.”

Meditation is not an act of doing; it is a state of thoughtless awareness. At this moment, you will become completely aware of your reality and you will be immersed in the present moment. When you experience this, you see that you are nothing, and by being nothing, you are everything. That is all.

With the understanding gained from observing the nature of thoughts you will, naturally and effortlessly, develop mind’s pleasant qualities and reduce its unpleasant states. You will know that your mental state does not dependent on external circumstances, but on how you react to these circumstances. With this knowledge you will be able to face the vicissitudes of life quietly, calmly and wisely. But more importantly, you will reach the truth. You will be Enlightened.

To be completely honest, you do not need to know anything else about meditation that is why I stopped writing. Actually, you do not need to know what I wrote. With everything that you just have read, you know nothing about meditation. Meditations is something that must be experienced. It is practice which counts.

How to meditate

The less you know, the best. You will not have preconceptions and expectations so you will not think of them while meditating. The simple idea that you are meditating can be an obstacle. Get rid of it.

From my experience, these are the only things that you need to know:

Sit in a comfortable position and clasp your fingers. If you do not want to sit, then you can kneel on a bench. Just be aware that the whole idea of the posture is to be comfortable, not to prove your stretching capabilities. If you do not have the flexibility to do the loto posture, then just sit on a chair. You will not gain anything by being in an uncomfortable position.

Then, begin to relax the body. You can start by relaxing the head all the way down to the foot. Or you could simply relax all the body at once. The important thing is just to relax…relax… and…relax.

Once your body is relaxed, you are prepared to transcend the mind. Mind will be transcended by observing the breath. To observe the breath do not do concious breathing. Do not think of the breath. The most important thing here is to just breathe in the same way as when you are going to sleep: naturally. Just be with your breathe. Sense it.

If thoughts come never reject them. Observe them. Do not judge them. Do not follow them. Do not make questions about them. Let them flow and naturally return your attention to the breath.

By immersing yourself in the heaviness sensation, you will reach the meditative state. You will become aware of thoughtlessness.

I want to share with you this video. This guys have made a great work. I have never seen a simpler explanation on how to meditate. Hope you like it.

I truly hope and desire that this post has inspired you to take action and start meditating today. I promise you that your life will start to change positively. It will be the best decision you will ever make. Let’s become enlightened through the daily practice of meditation together! Please share with me your meditation experiences. Please remember before each meditation: do not expect anything just enjoy it as it comes.

Dansplanes