How to learn to meditate?
Meditation is a type of psychological exercises that are used in the composition of recreational or spiritual and religious practices. Another meditation is called a special mental state of a person. Translated from the Latin word meditation means thinking, thinking, concentration. In meditation itself there is no miracle, magic, or any kind of magic. The main feature of the state of meditation is to concentrate on a particular task, cleansing the mind from all other thoughts.
Types of meditations
Let us give examples of some types of meditations:
• Active.
• Passive.
• Meditations that are between active and passive types.
• Group meditations.
• Guided meditations (with a guide).
Active are meditations in which certain movements are used:
strikes, techniques (martial arts - karate, aikido, capoeira, kung fu, taekwondo, etc., as well as walking on coals);
any stretching exercises (yoga, weightlifting);
dances (belly dance, African, Sufi, shaman dances, voodoo, etc.);
In fact, any sport or dance can be considered active meditation. Such meditation is directed to complete mastery of his body. People who actively meditate, perfected certain sets of movements (regardless of whether it is dance or martial art).
In passive meditation they practically do not use movement (and if they do, then they do it minimally). As a rule, in passive meditation they use controlled thoughts or certain mental images. Instruments for passive meditation are sometimes sacred letters, statues, various special images.
Meditations, which are between active and passive types, are characterized both by the use of movements and internal thoughts. These include: Qi Gong (qigong), Taoist practices and Tai Chi. Some sources call Qi Gong “motion in stillness,” and Ta-chi means “silence in motion.” Similarly, Taoism is not an active, and not passive practice.
Group meditations help enhance the effect of the energy of an entire group of people.
This is because several people concentrate on one task. A task may be common to the whole group, or a task that one of the group members wants to solve. Usually in this case there is a person who is in charge of meditation. An example would be the collective prayer of the Baptists, where the pastor serves as the steward of this prayer.
Guided meditations (with a guide) are used if it is very difficult for a person to go into a meditative state. The goal of any meditation is to control your thoughts, to be able to focus on the goal and the achievement of the result. In order not to control the process of purification from unnecessary thoughts, a guide is used in meditation, which gives instructions for a sequence of mental actions, helps to reach a certain state and prevents distraction from extraneous thoughts. The conductor should speak in a calm, quiet voice. Often calm music without words or nature sounds is used as a guide.
Based on the foregoing, each person chooses the type of meditation that is closest to him, understandable, accessible.
Several ways to learn how to meditate
1. The easiest, most popular and affordable way is to focus on your breathing. Listen to the breath, observe it for a few seconds, then gradually adjust it until it becomes deep, even, calm. Focus on it and with each successive time the meditation will turn out better than before.
2. The second way is to concentrate on the candle or on your reflection in the mirror. Sit comfortably, light a candle or place a mirror in front of you and begin to relax. Do not let extraneous thoughts into your head, but watch the fire of a candle or your eyes in the mirror. If you do this exercise every day for ten to twenty minutes, you will soon be able to move on to more difficult ones. ways of meditation.
3. The next way is to use special mantras in Sanskrit. Take a comfortable position, relax as much as possible and imagine that you are not in a room, but in some secluded place (in the forest, in the mountains, on the seashore, etc.). When you feel that you are already mentally there, start chanting mantras in Sanskrit.
4. This method is very different from the previous ones in that it does not constitute a specific technique for meditation, but at the same time is great for those people who want learn to meditate. Now with the Internet there are many online and video meditations that are a consistent instruction for meditation. Listening or watching videos is easy to learn to meditate.
Tips for beginners
• Meditate before eating, because after a meal, meditation will take place with less effect and worsen digestion.
• Meditation needs to be practiced regularly. If the habit of meditating is developed, then the effect and the benefits are much greater.
• Do not expect instant results. In order to get a certain meditation effect, need a habit and patience. Each person achieves results in different ways - someone takes a year, someone takes half a year, someone else has less time.
• Try not to meditate before going to bed, because after meditation it is difficult to fall asleep due to the fact that it energizes and energizes. Therefore, meditate a few hours before sleep.
The whole point of meditation is not only to be able to control your thoughts, but also to direct them in the right direction, get rid of unnecessary thoughts cluttering your brain, and concentrate on one task.
Meditation is, above all, conscious, painstaking work on yourself.
