These 10 tips for meditation are intended to provide a quick overview of the issues that arise when someone begins to meditate. Especially since meditation is an internal process, a simple overview can quickly help with doubts and irritations.
Tip 1: Have fun while meditating
Meditation is often associated with a spiritual art that is difficult to learn. Many texts on meditation seem complex and convoluted. It is certainly helpful to try out different meditation techniques and choose one that you personally enjoy the most. Even if meditation requires a certain amount of discipline, it is like any other activity – it should be fun.
Tip 2: Stick to one meditation technique
Once you have found a form of meditation that you like, it is helpful to stick with this technique over a longer period of time so that it can become ingrained, so to speak. In particular, you should be aware of which technique you are using before you start meditating and not change in the middle. Using a technique over the long term leads to more confidence in your meditation practice.
Tip 3: Same time, same place
An important tip for a successful meditation practice that is often overlooked. The same time and the same place are conducive to a long-term and regular meditation practice. The best time is early in the morning directly after getting up or in the evening, when our thoughts calm down and the energy of the day is more peaceful.
Tip 4: Relax to the Max
Meditation is not a competition. Although a good ability to concentrate is required and also trained, the first foundation for good concentration and meditation is relaxation. It is always amazing how tension can sneak in and rob us of energy. Relaxation comes less from actively doing something and more from letting go. A glass of water only becomes heavy if we hold it for a long time. At the beginning of a meditation, relaxation techniques help to get you started.
Tip 5: Impressions and experiences come and go
Stagnation, disappointment and expectation are issues that we often encounter in meditation. Paradoxically, by simply becoming aware of and accepting our negative perspective, we make positive progress. It is inevitable and right that we go through disappointing phases in our meditation practice.
Tip 6: Meditation is mental training
When we sit in meditation for the first time, all the neuroses, fears and things that make up our personality, but which we want to get rid of, come to light. On the other hand, there are fantasies that are supposed to fulfill our desires and that we want to keep. Our deeply rooted reaction is repulsion and attachment to these things. Like a muscle, we train ourselves to no longer react with repulsion and attachment.
Tip 7: Not reacting is acting
A tip that is more of an indication of an individual process. In meditation, we take a step back and allow everything to happen without getting carried away. We are used to actively tackling and solving projects. Our mind is constantly fed with information and has to classify it. This results in negative and emotionally charged thoughts that can cause us to become agitated. In meditation, we train ourselves not to give in to this reflex, but to observe everything with a clear and relaxed attitude.
Tip 8: Meditation is a process
When we see in meditation how unreliable our mind is, we are often disappointed. We see how neurotic we become through thoughts and emotions and how little control we have. In addition, we experience back pain and constant wandering during meditation. When we encounter these things, it is a sign of good meditation if we face them calmly and without judgment. The constant ups and downs of meditation are part of the process. Loving acceptance is so important because it teaches us that meditation is not a continuous process of improvement, but is constantly changing, just as we ourselves are constantly changing.
Tip 9: The mango tree and the apple tree
If you are a mango tree, try to be as good a mango tree as you can. Don’t look over to the apple tree and then try to produce apples. Your path with meditation is also your path and you work with your level and your nature. That is the beauty of your meditation.
Tip 10: Patience
Patience with yourself, patience with meditation and patience with life. We are used to quick results and a satisfying solution. If we take our time and don’t form an opinion too quickly, we have the opportunity to experience the path for ourselves. This deceleration may sometimes be unpleasant, but it is a strength and very healing in the long term.
