Listen to the words of the Universe.
Your life is your library 
You only need to be alert to gauge its signals

To a majority of people, meditation does not make any sense. They often ask why they should be sitting doing nothing when there are many important things they can do😀! However, people who have experienced meditation, agree that it brings focus, calm, inner wisdom and clarity to thoughts. How does this happen? What is meditation, how to meditate and what are the benefits? Let us learn. 

What is meditation? 

The age-old practice of quietening and relaxing the “thinking” mind is Meditation. Meditation is being in the present moment, being aware. It is a way of emptying the mind of all thoughts. Well, our mind is always thinking. It is because that is the mind’s job or its inherent nature. However, it loves to work overtime, keeping us busy with thoughts constantly. While we live in the present, the mind never actually lets us be in the present moment. It is always transporting us to either the future or the past. 

As a result, we fail to enjoy the present moment and what is happening right here right now. We fail to register things or incidents happening right in front of us. We lose out on life and its little joys. Our mind is busy thinking, planning and fretting while life simply flows by. 

Meditation is being in the present moment, being aware

We have to let go of the belief that we are the mind. We are not the mind but pure souls experiencing life on this planet. The mind is just an apparatus that processes information garnered from the outside world. Happiness and suffering both exist in the mind, and if the mind is taken care of, one possesses the capacity to go beyond the mind and beyond happiness and suffering. This can be achieved by meditation. When you learn how to meditate, you can quieten the ‘thinking’ mind and learn to always remain in the present moment. That is why spiritual seekers use the breath because the present breth is always in the present moment, neither before nor after.

Meditation is a state of mind and not a process!

Meditation is awareness. Observing your breath with awareness is meditation. Listening to birds is meditation. Anything that you do with awareness without any distractions is meditation.

When we are able to tame the mind and its monkey nature of jumping from one thought to another, we reach a thoughtless state. In this state, we absorb the energies of the universe and raise our consciousness to a new level. It uplifts us to our higher self and makes life easier, happier and blissful.  

Quieting the mind is how to meditate. 

The mind is the bridge between our mortal self and the higher consciousness. If this bridge is shaky, there cannot be any energy exchange.

But when the mind is quietened and still, abundant cosmic energy can be absorbed. Meditation is a way of quieting the mind. There are many ways by which it can be achieved. People use different tools to separate themselves away from the thought process. It is usually done by focusing your attention on something or by simply observing/witnessing. The most popular way is observing the breath, also called Breath Meditation. 

Meditation is taking a journey inside, within you. 

All answers, peace and happiness are contained within you. All you have to do is connect. Just like a WiFi network. Once you learn how to meditate, you can connect and download anything, unlimited data! Connect with your soul and disconnect from the mind, the monkey mind that makes you hop from one tree to another! While food, money and power are strong vectors, the happiness they bring is short-lived, leaving you with a feeling of “what next?” After gaining the physical pleasures you may feel an emptiness inside. Where is the peace and happiness that you had planned? You did not attain that. Why? 

Because you looked in the wrong places. You looked outside. You thought happiness lay outside- in material things. No wonder you came empty-handed. One needs to go inside.

Meditation is a path for growth.  

To some people, growth means money, fame or power. For others, it could be God, worship, prayers or religion. For yet others, it is gaining knowledge, enlightenment and finding the answers to existence and the purpose of life. 

Benefits of meditation

While we meditate, we absorb abundant cosmic energy or Prana( life force). It runs through our being and melts away mental and emotional toxins, enabling us to tap into higher levels of consciousness. 

Daily practice of meditation shows far-reaching results for us- subtle as well as gross. You experience changes such as focus, clarity of thought, enhanced creativity, self-awareness, and a sense of peacefulness around you. Outwardly your life may seem to be the same, but your response to situations changes. You will find that you are able to make decisions with a cool frame of mind, without any mistrust about whether it is the right or wrong decision. Your reactions to untoward happenings would also become better. Whenever there is a stimulus, you would inadvertently act consciously and not react. This makes life simpler, easier, and happier!

Physical or gross benefits of meditation

As the body is filled with more prana, it promotes healing in the physiological body as well. On a physical level, regular meditators have shared that meditation

• Cures hypertension
• Reduces anxiety attacks
• Decreases pains and symptoms related to stress, such as headaches, insomnia, muscular and joint pains
• Increases  the secretion of the serotonin hormone that is responsible for a joyful mood 
• Improves energy levels as cells absorb more prana

The Mental or subtler Benefits of Meditation

Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into an alpha state that promotes healing. It nourishes the soul from within and calms you down when you are overwhelmed. The mind becomes fresh, temperate, and beautiful.  Regular practice of meditation:

• Decreases anxiety
• Improves Emotional stability
• increases Creativity 
• Increases Happiness
• Develops intuition
• Brings focus, clarity and peace of mind
• Sharpens the brain
• Brings awareness- makes you aware that your inner attitude determines your happiness.

How to meditate

First, fix a time slot for when you know that you would not be disturbed by anyone during that time. Put your phone on aeroplane mode( let your near and dear ones know).

• Cross your feet at the ankles or sit cross-legged on the floor.
• Interlock your hands finger to finger and place them on your lap.
• Keep your body comfortable but not slouching. The spine should be erect.
• Adjust your body if you have to. relax your body.
• Relax your mind
• Fix your gaze at the point between your eyebrows- (the third eye).
• Once your gaze is fixed bring your attention to the movement of your breath.
• Observe every inhalation and every exhalation.
• Do not let any breath go unobserved.
• When thoughts come, bring your focus back to the breath.

The above method is also called Breath Meditation or ATM- Any Time Meditation.