Scholars have been trying to define what meditation is for millennia. It is an ancient tradition and many different meditation methods, including 마음수련 방법, exist. The media, meanwhile, has made it look like something airy fairy that only hippies engage in. It is easier to define what meditation is not, than what it is, however. What it is not, is daydreaming or fantasizing.
Understanding Meditation
Meditation is a practice that allows people to quieten the mind. This means it stops our internal dialogue, which is generally a dialogue of judgment, anxiety, and doubt. It sets us free from our own mindset, in other words. It is not, however, a religion. That said, every religion uses meditation as part of their practice. Praying, for instance, is a form of meditation. Meditation is also not airy fairy. In fact, it has scientifically proven benefits. People who meditate are happier, calmer, more patient, and generally more peaceful.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where there seems to be no more place for meditation, when now is actually the time in which we need it the most. We feel as if we don’t have the time to focus on calming the mind anymore, when this is precisely why we should meditate. Buddha himself said that everyone should meditate for 20 minutes per day, but that those who don’t have time for that should meditate for an hour.
How to Meditate
There are no rules that say exactly how someone should meditate. There are thousands of different methods, and you need to give yourself the opportunity to try them until you find the one that works for you. The mind is often resistant to meditation when you first start, because it is so used to constantly thinking and worrying about all the things that are happening in your life. When this happens, it does not mean that you are doing it wrong. It simply means that you need to learn how to focus on your breathing, so those worries and anxious thoughts can leave the foreground of your mind just as quickly as they go there.
You may also find, particularly when you first start to meditate, that you fall asleep. You can get yourself comfortable and get started, and suddenly wake up several hours later, or even the next morning. There is nothing wrong with that, since you will probably find that you wake up refreshed and with a positive outlook. You have trained your body to fall asleep when you close your eyes and relax, and you must now teach it that you want to take some time to just re-center yourself. This may take some time and that is fine. If you meditate, and you end up feeling better about yourself, happier, calmer, more patient, and more peaceful, even if it is just a little bit, then you are doing it right.
Take the time to let yourself be at least once a day.
