“I Just Can’t Meditate”
Some people, no matter how hard they try to meditate, can’t escape the thoughts in their head. Sound familiar? This constant babble or noise can be extremely inconvenient when you are trying to find your Zen. Having meditated for over 25 years I can tell you, you are not alone. This is the number one reason people tell me they don’t meditate yet these are the people who need it the most. So how do you overcome this?
Overcoming the Mental Chatter:
The babble in your head can be overcome in the same way you have overcome every temporary obstacle you have in your life. That is practice, determination, and discipline. You were probably terrible the first time you played soccer, worked out, or the piano, so why do you think you would be great at quieting your mind the first time you have ever tried to? The answer is because most people think you are doing “nothing.” And doing nothing should be easy, until they try it and find out it is nearly impossible. The important thing to know is that it is like a muscle. Your minds ability to become quiet gets easier the more you do it, and there is no person who can’t achieve calm in meditation with practice.
Here are a few tips to make it easier
- Have a pen and paper (write down anything too pressing to let go).
- Use a guided meditation to kick off, then sit quietly afterwards. (You can find guided meditations at www.TheArtofUnity.com/meditations)
- Before you start, raise your vibration by thinking of one to five things you have gratitude for.
- Schedule the time to do it. Twenty minutes before sleep or when you wake up is best.
- Go easy on yourself, just as you did the first time you started any new hobby.
- Listen to the noise.
This last one is important “listen to the noise.” When you are not on a fulfilling path for your soul, your soul will give you constant reminders of this by letting you know that that aspect of yourself is unsatisfied. Taking drugs, drinking, prescription medication, eating too much ice cream, watching too much TV, and other distractions is just a form of escaping from that voice. When you finally sit down to mediate, this voice that you have been avoiding is the first one that shows up, along with your fear/ego telling you not to listen to it. This is the constant battle going on that will continuously build until you do something about it. Hence the cause of so much anxiety, depression, and sadness in our “superpower” culture.
How to Meditate
The easiest and often most powerful meditations are just sitting quietly having an awareness of your body, and breath. Problem is, this is difficult for people and becomes un-motivating to continue if you can’t quiet the thoughts. That being said I have developed a practice of incorporating your inner energy to get what you want out of your meditations. You can see how to do it in the main video on my site by clicking on the meditations tab
Once you are able to feel your “Chi” in the energy ball, you can add things to your energetic system that you want and remove those you don’t want. This is a way to bring your vibration high enough to attract better things in your life as well as all of the other benefits of meditation that you have heard about, such as: stronger left and right brain connection, lowered stress, more compassion, better memory, better sleep, increased IQ, lowered fight or flight, and sooooo many more.
More info and videos can be seen at www.theartofunity.com/meditations