Meditation

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FAQs about Meditation:

Do I have to be thoughtless during meditation?

The simple answer to this question is no. Meditation is all about quieting the thoughts of the mind, however, being truly thoughtless is something that very few people in the world ever achieve. For 99% of meditators, meditation is the practice of exercising focus, and as thoughts come into our awareness or distract us, intentionally bringing our minds back to focus. Thoughts will always arise during meditation, and that is absolutely normal. The goal is not to become truly thoughtless, but to change the relationship we have with our thoughts. The relationship we want to change is the importance that we give to our thoughts. By learning how to detach from thoughts in order to return to focus, we are learning how to detach from the meaning and the control that we give to them, which allows us to become more intentional with our focus and our attention.

Do I need to concentrate on my breath while meditating?

Whatever you concentrate on during meditation is called an “anchor”. Whenever you lose your focus and find yourself lost in thoughts or distractions, the goal is to simply become aware that you are distracted again, and re-focus on the anchor. Your anchor does not have to be the breath in meditation, although meditation is probably the most common object of awareness selected as the anchor in many meditations. Focusing on the breath is the key theme in the majority of meditations you will find, as the breath is a consistent source of stimulation to focus on and is body bodily, mental, and automatic in many ways.

How do I start a meditation session?

The best way to start a meditation session is to dive into a state of calm with several deep breaths. By taking 4 or more deep breaths with slightly longer exhales, we can ease ourselves into a relaxed physiological state that will facilitate the relaxed attention that is usually the end goal of meditation. Another popular way to start a meditation session is to intentionally reconnect with the present moment. This often looks like shifting focus after 30 seconds to a minute from the smells of the present, to the bodily sensations of the present, to some sounds you are hearing, and some of the tastes you are experiencing. The goal is to run through the senses and pay close attention to whatever version of those the present moment has to offer up.

Am I actually meditating if I still have thoughts during my session?

If you are intentionally sitting with the purpose of maintaining your focus on the guided or unguided practice of choice, yes, you are meditating. The most important part about meditating is blocking out the time to focus on your own wellbeing, and intentionally taking that step. Everything else is part of the practice. Even if you are distracted for almost all of your meditation sessions, you are still slowly learning how to observe and detach from your thoughts. That is simply part of your practice and it’s where your ability level is at right now, and that is completely ok. You will get better with more time and more sessions. Sometimes sitting through those distracting sessions is the building block of a solid practice where you can identify your thoughts and detach from them more effectively.

Is meditation healthy?

Meditation is very healthy for several aspects of health primarily due to its ability to drastically reduce stress and therefore cortisol levels in the body. Stress is the root cause of +70% of diseases known by modern medicine. As a result, reducing the acidic chemicals of stress directly reduces anxiety, depression, illness, aging, and a wide array of detrimental diseases. Meditation strengthens the mind’s cognitive processes, improves resilience to stress, and facilitates positive mental health.

Can I meditate in a chair or lying down or do I have to sit cross-legged on the floor?

Meditation can be done sitting up in a chair, laying down, or cross-legged on the floor. For the vast majority of meditations, the position you choose is not as important as the mental activity itself. The ideal posture for your meditation is simply whichever allows you to feel calm, relaxed, and alert. The mistake many people make is to lay down, or to find a position that is too comfortable to remain alert, which makes it more likely that they will fall asleep during their meditation instead of exercising their focus, attention, and therefore mind.

Do I have to give up my religious beliefs to meditate?

Absolutely not. Although meditation is a practice that has traditionally and is still often used for religious purposes, the activity itself is simply a mental exercise that does not need to be religious in any way. In the modern world, many people who utilize meditation do so for reasons that are entirely different from religion, such as stress management, cognitive performance, and mental clarity. People from all walks of life, and all forms of different religions are utilizing meditation to take care of their mental health, and they are not giving up their religious beliefs to do so.