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How Focused Meditation Is Done: A Beginner’s Five-Step Guide Did you know that meditation is believed to have existed since 3,000 years ago? Scholars believe that this practice of training the mind originated from India. In fact, meditation finds mention in the most ancient Hindu text known as the Vedas. Since then, meditation has spread into various territories such as Asia and Japan. Now, meditation has been adapted into different types, fitting for the modern world that we are living in. Meditation is that practice that is incorporated in not just one religion but many religions including Christianity, Buddhism and Taoism.
What is meditation? I guess my favorite explanation of meditation is that of Osho from the Eighty Four Thousand Poems. An excerpt from the selection is this quote, “Meditation is a simple process of watching your own mind.” What this means is that meditation requires one to concentrate internally on his or her own mind. You let each thought pass, not creating any relationship or judgment to them. Eventually, by doing so, you transform your mind into an empty canvas and that’s when true meditation occurs.
The general types of meditation The best thing about meditation is that it has different varieties suitable for the kind of situation you are in. If we have to categorize meditation generally, then there are three types. In this blog post, we are concerned with the focused type of meditation. Simply put, this type of meditation is concentrating on one thing or thought. Place an apple in a table and focus on that, then you have focused meditation. If you find your mind losing focus, just re-concentrate and put your thoughts into that one thing or subject again.
The second type is called open-focus meditation. Imagine yourself in the park, just watching the people go by. You don’t build relationships with them nor allow yourself to judge your actions. This is exactly what open-monitoring meditation is all about. Allow yourself to get lost in your thoughts, without really building up on them. Watch as each thought passes by, let them disappear within a flicker of a second, that’s meditation as well. The third and last type is called transcendental meditation. Now this is perhaps the most challenging type of meditation. It goes beyond the previously-mentioned meditation types. Those who are experts in this type of meditation can transcend the normal patterns of thinking. They are awake yet not bounded by thoughts, whether internally or externally. That moment when your mind becomes clear, when calmness and peace are the main features of your mind, that’s when you achieve transcendental meditation.
Why start with focus meditation? For me, focus meditation is perhaps one’s entry way into the more difficult types of meditation. If you’re a beginner into meditating, focus meditation would enable you to focus your mind, which can be hard to do in this world we live in. We are constantly taught to do many things at the same time. Focusing on just one thing or even one thought can be daunting. But that’s the exact philosophy of meditation, being able to concentrate on one thing. If you can learn to do this, avoiding elaborating on one idea or object, then you can move on to the harder types of meditation. It’s also acceptable to just perfect this one type of meditation. You’ll find that in stressful situations, being able to focus on one thought can help you relax. Thus, for the housewife constantly exposed to family stresses, this type of meditation would be very beneficial. Even for the employee who is bombarded with different problems daily, focus meditation can help him solve his racing thoughts. If you just need to find your leeway into meditation, no doubt that focus meditation is a good step forward. It won’t overwhelm you but it can truly help in clearing your mind.
As a beginner, how can one try focused meditation? The beauty of meditation is that it doesn’t require fancy setups nor expensive courses to begin. You only need three things: your mind, a chosen target and a space to begin. That’s all and with this simple guide, you can begin being a focused meditator. Unlike other therapies or practices which require one to hire another person to help them, you
don’t need that with meditation. So are these enough reasons for you to try out meditation? If they are, continue reading and you’ll be on your way to becoming a beginner meditator.
1. Find a comfortable place to meditate in First, you need to find a place or environment that would compliment your practice. Thus, it has to be a comfortable place and at same time, calm enough to allow for the clearance of your mind. It could be a quiet place in your apartment. If you want to practice meditation whilst in your office, just find a comfortable place where you won’t be disturbed. You can even meditate outside, in the laps of nature or in your garden. Some meditators find it helpful to have their own place for meditating. It is also okay to meditate in different places, if you can’t find that perfect spot for you still.
It is, however, important to note that your meditation place should be relaxing. So if you want to meditate indoors in your apartment, reduce external stimuli such as the television or radio. Some window sunlight would be good or you can rely on dim lighting provided by a lamp or a candle. Soothing music, usually instrumental, can be played for the background. If you prefer to meditate outdoors, find a serene place away from the crowds. The melancholic chirping of the birds or even the gurgling of the river are good noise screeners.
2. Choose a position that is comfortable for you The most common meditation position that people know of is the sitting position. Just like meditation itself, there are various kinds of position to choose from. You can opt to sit on the floor or even on a chair. The idea is to find a position that you are most comfortable with. For beginners, it’s acceptable to begin by sitting on a chair. Just make sure you place your back away from the support and place your feet firmly on the ground. If you don’t have any issues with sitting on the ground, then you can opt for the cross-legged position as well.
Make sure that your spine is aligned straight, regardless of the position you choose. Keep your head straight, your shoulders relaxed and your body relaxed. In a way, only the spine should be fixed, everything else should be relaxed. If you need pillows or fabrics to support your lower back, you can use them as well. There are other positions such as lying down, standing or even more complicated sitting position types, but if you’re a beginner, it’s okay to skip these ones.
3. Go ahead and choose your mind target It could be anything you like, a still object or a lingering smell. But for beginners, it is usually recommended to focus on just one’s breathing. You begin by counting your breaths. Take an inhale and then an exhale, that counts as one. Continue doing so until you reach ten. In the next stage, you can drop the counting and instead focus on breathing. Eventually, you would learn how to begin the practice even without any counting, just focusing on that mind target and nothing else.
You can choose any other mind target, like the sound of the blowing wind or the drops of water on the leaves. You can choose to close your eyes and instead imagine the petals of a flower or perhaps the glow of the moon. Choose to your heart’s desire, what’s important is that you focus on that object, sensation or imagination. You can begin by counting. And then eventually let it go until your mind has automatically learned to focus even with counting.
4. Begin slowly but consistently It doesn’t really matter at what time of the day you choose to meditate. What matters is that you are consistent with meditating. You can begin slowly, incorporating at least five minutes of your time a day for meditation. Do this for a week and then increase your meditation time to ten minutes the next week. You will find that meditation would come more naturally for you as the days pass by.
Just remember to find a natural rhythm for meditating for you. If you feel like you are able to focus more on meditation on the morning, then meditate during that time of the day. If you feel like meditating during night time allows you to remove the stresses during the day, then do so. You don’t really need to meditate on specific times just because your friend does so or someone from your class does so. Find that natural rhythm for yourself because after all, meditation is more of a subjective experience.
5. Re-focus during moments of distraction It is natural, especially for beginners, to have their focus strayed away from the mind target at times. Don’t worry, if you find your mind wandering away from the target, just re-focus on it again. This can happen several times in one session so just keep going back to that mind target every time. You would find that as you get more accustomed to meditation, your mind becomes harder to distract. Within a few weeks, you would have gained excellent attention control, a calmer mind that is harder to distract.
If you find yourself going along a different path, go back to your target. Focus on it if it’s an external one or reorganize your mind to the internal one. Keep going back to that target every time your mind fails to do so. That’s why it’s important to find an environment that is quiet and has few external stimuli. For expert meditators, even a chaotic environment can be conducive for meditation. But for beginners, this is one aspect that they can’t enjoy yet since they are just on the starting path for meditation.
Are you suffering from stress? If you ask around, you would find people who found interest in meditation because of their stress. Their interests are not without justification. Meditation, especially the focused type, has been proven to have significant positive effects on various clinical conditions which involve stress. If you are suffering from anxiety from work, depression from relationships or even painful conditions, meditation might help you find some relief without any harsh effects. The longer you do meditation, the more significant its effects can be.
One cannot really be free without being aware To end this blog post, here’s a quote from the same selection mentioned in the beginning. Being aware of your own thought yet being removed from them, now that’s a practice that takes time to develop. Don’t let these thoughts make you a prisoner. Don’t disregard their presence as well. Only by acknowledging them and letting them go can you really be free.
Did this guide help you ease into focused meditation? Can you share your experience after trying the steps above? The comments section below is open for your thoughts and stories! All vectors used in this blog post are from Vecteezy, credits belong to the creators and uploaders