When you think about meditation, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? You probably imagine a person sitting in perfect lotus position, with eyes closed and hands resting on the laps contemplating on his navel.
But, do you know that meditation is much more than what you see from the outside? Although two persons may be sitting in the same way, they could be doing something completely different on the inside.
One person may be following her breath, while another can be silently repeating a mantra.
There are many forms of meditation and which form you pick up depends largely on your personal inclination as well as why you meditate. There is bound to be one form of meditation that suits you.
But regardless of which method you choose to adopt, I believe all of them lead to the same results and that is, meditation will eventually help to raise your consciousness and lead you to a better understanding of your true nature.
The conflicting mind
In this article, we will explore one form of meditation which focuses on leaving your thoughts as they are without any judgment or intervention. You simply let your thoughts arise on their own and observe them without attempting to analyze, interpret, mull over, or to dwell in them. In short, you do absolutely nothing to your thoughts. How simple can this be?
But simple as it may sound, it is actually not so easy to just leave our thoughts alone. We are too used to engaging and tuning in to our personal melodramas without even realizing. Unconsciously, we feel emotionally for and even physically respond to the scenes playing in our minds. That’s why we find ourselves feeling joyful in one instant, and suddenly depressed the next. With a conflicting mind like this, our energies are wasted on mindless thoughts and emotions, leaving us feeling exhausted and drained.
The art of leaving your thoughts alone
But how can by doing nothing help to curb these incessant thoughts? Let’s look at it the other way. You can try to banish your thoughts, or suppress them pretending they are not there. But, as you might have already guessed, it is a zero-sum game. The moment you thought you have succeeded in overcoming one, you have in effect created another thought in your mind. There is no way you can stop thoughts from arising in your mind.
Since you can’t stop them from coming, then I suggest you save your effort and let them be. Just as they come, so must they go. They will come and go by themselves even without you doing anything to them. In fact, the more you try to control them, the more persistent they will become. Because the very act of control gives energy to your thoughts and keeps them alive.
That’s when the meditation practice below comes in handy to help you become more aware of what’s going in your mind, and trains you to become more mindfully of them.
Do-Nothing Meditation
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Scrap the agenda. First of all, leave what you know about meditation at the door every time you meditate. Put aside any expectation you might have from your practice too. Approach meditation as if it is the first time someone has introduced it to you. Approach it like a curious, inquisitive child.
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Find a quiet spot. It is very useful to find a quiet spot to sit, especially if you are new to meditation. This will reduce the amount of distraction and will help you to focus your attention inward.
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Relax and sit comfortably. If you have problem relaxing, I suggest you do a relaxation exercise first. There is no special pose you must adopt, but do sit comfortably with your spine in a neutral position so that you don’t hurt your back or neck. You can adopt the classic meditation position with your legs crossed in full lotus, half-lotus, or no-lotus. It is after all a tried and tested way to meditate. Close your eyes completely or keep them half-closed. It’s your choice.
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Be aware of your thoughts. Open yourself to the thoughts in your mind and stay fully conscious of them. It won’t be easy at first because some thoughts come and go in a flash. But what is more likely to happen, especially for beginners, is when you first turn your attention on the contents of your mind, you will find your mind momentarily empty. It’s like shining a torch in a dark corner and all the creatures that used to live there instantly scurried away. But of course, not for long.
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Don’t meddle. For any thoughts that arises, don’t mess with them. Don’t try to suppress, run away or hold on to them. It is also tempting to get involved in the scenes that played out in your mind, especially those that get you emotionally charged because we think we have a stake in them.
Instead, maintain a non-judgmental view on them without detaching from them. Understand that they are just thoughts. You have the choice not to react to them. If an emotion is evoked by any images, by all means feel it fully but don’t fuel it further. Soon, the feeling will pass. It’s a delicate balance to strike I know — feeling an emotion and yet not be drawn by it — but be steadfast, it’s possible.
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Extend your consciousness beyond meditation. When you are done, open your eyes and get on with your daily life with the same awareness that you have maintained during your meditation. That means, stay open and aware of what’s going on in your mind as well as whatever tasks you may be doing. Even if you are daydreaming, be mindful of what you are daydreaming about. Being conscious shouldn’t be reserved for the short period that you spent sitting in meditation. It should and can be extended to your everyday life.
This is a really interesting subject, where can I get more information from?
Hi, what sort of information do you like to find out more? If you like to learn more about meditation, there are a number of books and websites, including the one you’re reading now
, to help you. If there’s a specific question you like to ask, feel free to post them. Thanks.
it is possible to control the thoughts for the moment but to control them through out the day when they chase you every moment how it can be dealth with.?
Hi Naila, The point is not so much to control our thoughts, but to live in peace with them. We’ll always have thoughts, both good as well as bad. As what you’ve realized, trying to control them is futile. In one moment, it may appear that you’ve successfully manipulated them to go in the direction that you want, but at the next instant, you found that you’ve total lost control of them.
That’s when meditation comes in handy. Meditation helps us to be aware of the thoughts in our mind and trains us not to go along with them. In other words, we know of the thoughts in our mind, but we are not influenced or become less influenced by them. We’ll selectively engage with thoughts which we find worthy and discard those that are meaningless, frivolous or even harmful to us. As you continue to meditate more, you’ll find that this awareness isn’t just confined only within your meditation sessions, but it’s also present when you are eating, walking or going about your daily routines. Hope this helps.