We know meditation is calming, it changes brain chemistry and fosters a sense of positivity, optimism and happiness. However, meditation helps us tap into boundless creativity. We have forgotten about these inherent creative talents within us as our minds and hearts are junked out by stress, anxiety and expectations. We are like a horse with blinkers, refusing to accept the spaciousness and the expanse of the mind-space as we trot through life enmeshed in drudgery and anguish. We forget how to tap into this creativity. We forget our dreams.
Meditation connects us to those dreams, so it must be established as a set practice if we’re to reawaken and rekindle our creativity and get those juices flowing. What then is the best way to meditate? Let us discuss below on ways that will work best with our personality.
There are so many ways to meditate, albeit the techniques tend to overlap. There is no one way to do this. You have to do your own research and then decide which format works best for you. Maybe even try out a few before you zero in on the final option.
1. MINDFULNESS MEDITATION
This is possibly the most popular form which has been commercialized by big brand Gurus of meditation who charge tickets worth thousands of dollars to join their retreats. They teach us mindfulness which is the art of being present in the moment, in the now. The current moment is your only reality, the past and the future are like effervescent bubbles. If you reach out to touch them, pop, they burst! The present is what you can feel through your five senses and the art of mindfulness is paying heed to the experiences you feel. What do your eyes see? Does it evoke fear or attraction? What is it that you touch? Does it excite you or scare you? The smells around you, do they make you feel relaxed or stressed? Meditation in its brass tacks helps you touch base with all these emotions and then go beyond them. If you combine these awareness techniques with yoga, the benefits are doubled.
2. MANTRA MEDITATION OR SWITCHWORDS’ CHANTING
This is indeed a very effective type of concentration exercise that uses certain words or phrases as a way to prevent stray thoughts from polluting our mind. The mantra can be seed sounds or beejaksharas, like OM, KLEEM, HREEM, GAM or they can be whole sentences like OM NAMAHA SHIVAYA. You can just use DIVINE TOGETHER as a powerful incantation to steady the mind. Make sure to wear loose clothes and then keep your spine straight to begin chanting. The chants can be loudly enunciated, or spoken in a whisper or contemplated in silence. Once you lose yourself in chanting, you’ll see that the distracting thoughts that agitate your mind are gone.
3. TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION
This form of meditation was created by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India and it has seen great success all over the world. It is basically a mantra meditation that is carried out in silence and it is said to help one reach higher states of consciousness, promote heart health and lessen blood pressure. The Beatles were followers of Transcendental Meditation and did much to …….