Meditation in simple words

What is meditation?

In simple words, meditation is a practise. It is like a workout. Meditation is a practice to pay attention to an object of focus. When we say practice – it is not the final product. It is not perfect. It is not a performance.

You could focus on your breath, your body, your thoughts, your emotions, whatever is the object of focus. But the simplest form of meditation is to focus on the breath.

Meditation may be imperfect. It may keep changing. Even when you practise for years, some days you may have a calmer mind – some days it may run amok. So, although it sounds very simple it is not very easy to do.

You sit to meditate with your gaze lowered or eyes closed – and place your attention on your breath. Just watch your breath – the air coming in through your nose, the air going out. You may observe how different each breath is. That is all there is to it.

But within a few moments, your attention will deviate and shift to maybe some sensation – like some discomfort or an itch or a pain, your emotions like anger or anxiety – if you were anxious when you sat to meditate – say you have an exam the next day – it will distract you.

That is the nature of the mind. It is the default setting. So there is no need to beat yourself up for getting distracted. Once we know this nature – we can train ourselves to focus better. And how do we do that?

There are three aspects when you meditate. It is that that simple:

1. Pay attention to one object of focus – it is easiest to focus on the breath. You pay attention to your breath. There is no need to breath in a special way. Just notice it. Be aware of it.
2. Within a few seconds, without your knowledge, the attention will have shifted to something else – When you notice this – just bring your mind gently back to the breath.
3. Do this action gently without judging yourself – without wanting to do it in a certain or better way – without any expectation and without beating yourself up.

So whether you meditate for a minute, 10 minutes, an hour or a day, principally this is pretty much what is there to know about meditation.

To get an idea about meditation and mindfulness, you might want to checkout the FREE Five-days Introduction to Meditation and Mindfulness here.