Today I want to talk about meditation as a tool for your personal development. I have been meditating for some years now and I have seen tremendous benefits from meditation. Let us dive right in!
Is meditation only for thought control?
There are two general myths about meditation: first that it is only for controlling your thoughts and second you should be good at controlling your thoughts so you can meditate. Meditation is a tool that can be applied to various different things (as you will find out below) ranging from calming your mind to energizing your body so you have enough energy for the day. I have heard people say to me “I am not good at controlling my thoughts so I cannot meditate” then I always reply something like “You can meditate for achieving thought control or for various other things,
you are not limited”. Meditation is like working out, you start by being a total newbie and develop yourself to have more benefits in your life. You are not limited to this general idea that meditation is only for calming your mind, if you want you can achieve that or something entirely different.
How to meditate?
There is not just one way to meditate, but the method you choose should align with the intention of the meditation. Here are some examples:
#1
If you wish to relax your body and mind, so you can get rid of some stress you have acquired throughout the day, you should find the most comfortable position for you. Lotus position may get you to be uncomfortable and you are more of a lay down on your back kind of guy/gal, so you should try by trial and error to find the most comfortable place and way to relax your body. Then you focus on your breath. For relaxation, you can do really slow and deep breaths. If you find yourself unable to get rid of bad or unnecessary thoughts you can try to focus on your breath or acknowledge that thoughts are just ideas, then you get rid of them by not following the idea that pops in your head.
#2
If you want to meditate for the energy you can try putting some music on with your headphones and breathing a little more intense meaning that your exhaling is faster than the inhale, over time you built some euphoric sensations up your stomach and get more energized, at least that works for me. I use rock or epic film music for that kind of meditation.
#3
If you want to have a meditation session for sleep, I simply do that: I put on some relaxing music and start dancing slowly either while I am in a lotus position or just dancing around the house. I focus on the music while getting myself in a trance state which later on helps me sleep easier or calms my headache. This method sometimes builds energy also and can work for that too. I use more slow tunes while dancing for sleep and relaxation or rock/epic music for energy build-up
The benefits
Over time you will see that regular meditation will calm your mind, lower your blood pressure, make you more present, make you more aware of your emotions and reactions, and a lot more. You can achieve astral projection or lucid dreams with meditation. Your overall sleep can be more relaxing and full. Regular meditation really can boost your quality of life. I recommend a simple 5 or 10 min meditation for starters. As you progress you will need fewer minutes to achieve more of your desired results and reactions. You will create psychological shortcuts which allow you to faster get into a desired state of mind. You can achieve inner peace which is a really weird but beautiful emotion that we will talk about some other day. And the list goes on and on
In conclusion
Generally speaking, if you meditate regularly you will see some overall benefits, but it is always good to have an intention. To know why you use it for, for better control over your emotions or thoughts or breath and etc, so you can adapt by your intention, finding the best way possible for your kind of meditation. A lot of experimentation is used to find your own unique technique and if you have fun along the way – you will have a wonderful and strong tool at your disposal for practically anything. And until next time – have a good life. Peace and love to you all <3