Beginners
Tips on Meditation
By Cristina Goyanes
the zen commandments
You don't have to sit cross-legged on a mountaintop to get the calming payoff of meditation. Here's the truth behind the trend.
5. You don't have to empty your mind.
Thinking doesn't have to stop, but the attempt to stop thinking does.
"There's a difference between thinking and getting caught up in your
thinking," Bodian says. As thoughts about work, kids, and chores go
through your head, concentrate on following your breath. If you find
yourself planning and obsessing, just come back to your breathing. "The
good thing about your breath is that it's always present," Bodian says.
"Just hook up with your breath again; your mind continues to think, but
you're not involved in thinking."
6. You'll never achieve a permanent state of bliss and unshakable peace.
Unless you're on drugs, a feeling of pure bliss and serenity isn't
something you can create, though it may arise from time to time while
meditating. "What tends to happen if you're present, open, and relaxed
in the moment is that you'll be more peaceful, more content, and more
open — it's a by-product," Bodian says. But if you try to manipulate
your mind to produce these feelings, you're not letting your mind
relax. "If you try to achieve it, paradoxically, you won't," Bodian
says. You spend your whole day pushing yourself to be better — at work,
at home, in your relationships. Meditation is meant to be a break from
that. Stop wrestling with your thoughts, body itches, and tics, and
just . . . be.
7. You don't have to chant.
Not really. In fact, inner peace has no sound. So turn the TV off and
listen to the quiet. Don't speak or think or move. Just relax. Chanting
is just one of many techniques you can try to quiet yourself down.
"Different mantras are used for doing different things," Finger says.
For example, you can repeat the word "ram" (pronounced "rum") to help
alleviate anxiety and slow down. "I trust in God," is an example of a
religious mantra. There are hundreds of mantras, but they aren't
necessary for all meditations.
