Meditation Demystified

Who?

Meditation is for everyone. It doesn't cost anything, can be practiced anywhere and at any moment. It doesn't require to follow a religion, dogma or guru, to believe in an external deity or to have read dozens of wisdom books. If you are alive, you can meditate.

Why?

Meditation helps us to detach from our thoughts and emotions, not to escape a painful reality or access  "higher plans of reality", but in order to see with more clarity what is. With a regular practice, we don't react anymore to all the thoughts that go through our mind but develop an ability to observe objectively. We are then less dependant on our exterior environment while at the same time present and centered. As we get used to the presence of the void, just being by ourselves, we learn again to know – and thus to love – ourselves. In addition, stopping our inner dialog gives space for our unconscious to manifest and increases our ability to act creatively.

Where?

Anywhere where we will not be disturbed is an excellent place to meditate. The ideal is at the top of a mountain, away from the psychic and electromagnetic pollution of civilization, but of course few of us have regular access to such places. Doing it at home works very well, even if we live in the middle of a city. The different disturbances we may face are great opportunities to learn not to let ourselves be distracted. Once the practice integrated, we can even do it while walking, dancing, cleaning, waiting for the bus, etc.

How?

Meditation starts by sitting and doing nothing, by simply being here. We can close our eyes or look at a blank wall. To sit crosslegged with our back straight helps to center our energy, but it's not necessary to force a complicated position if it is painful. The goal is to find a balance between comfort and discipline, because no matter the position adopted, our ego will always complain to interrupt the meditation. We can start by observing our breathing, without attempting to control it. Over time, it should become slower, with more emphasis on the exhalation. When a thought goes through our mind, we observe it without getting attached to it, then we return to our breathing. If we notice that we have been thinking for  the past 10 minutes, we just tell ourselves "thoughts" and go back to our breathing, without anger. At the beginning there is a lot of thoughts but little by little the clouds clear up and we fully enter into a meditative state.

When?

The practice should be as regular as possible. It is better to meditate 5 minutes daily than 2 hours per month. In this way, it has a marked effect on our life. 24 minutes, that is one minute of meditation for every hour of the day, is a nice choice. It is about finding a rhythm that fits us. Over time, it can become more spontaneous, but at the beginning it is a good idea to fix a time of the day, such as when we wake up or go to sleep. What is important is to do it even when we feel bad, otherwise it is impossible to keep this discipline. Meditations under these conditions are less pleasant but extremly beneficial.

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