The easiest way to meditate
Are you in a rush from the moment you wake up, feeling anxious to get things done, multi-tasking and over-thinking? This is not surprising because a human being has around 60,000 thoughts per day, and most of these thoughts are repetitive. This heavy onslaught of thoughts burdens the mind and makes life challenging. We feel stressed out and mad about everything. So, how to calm down and relax our mind? I have learned an amazing technique from my Masters, and it greatly helped me. Today, in this article, I will share with you this easy, simple, and fun technique to calm down your thoughts and enjoy life. Anyone can practice this techniquefrom anywhere without investing an additional amount of time.
So, what is the technique? It is meditation. The moment I say meditation, you may think it is not your cup of tea because you have tried it in the past and fell asleep. You are not alone. It happens to many of us. We want to meditate and search youtube videos or read online about how to meditate. We then close our eyes and try to stop thinking. But funnily, when we try to stop thinking, we get many more thoughts than normal times. We either fall asleep or go crazy. When this happens multiple times, we give up meditation. But does meditation always mean closing eyes and struggling, or are there any easier forms of meditation? Yes, there is a simple and easy way of meditation. Today, in this article, I will take you through it.
The easiest way of meditation
The easiest way of practicing meditation is mindfulness. Mindfulness is a Buddhist practice that can be practiced anywhere and anytime. It is a simple practice that can be done while looking after your child, completing your office work, or even while you cook. I practice various types of meditation, and mindfulness is one of them. This practice helps me stay in the present moment. It calms down my thoughts and emotions and helps me be mindful of my actions, words, thoughts, and emotions.
How to practice mindfulness?
Let me show you how easy it is to practice mindfulness even on days you are busy. I remember one such busy day in my life.
It’s 8:00 AM of a working day, and it’s a peak time. I hurriedly started eating my breakfast, thinking about the different meetings scheduled in the day, my work, Janu, Sanjay and wondered if I can complete everything I planned. I did not notice the breakfast on the plate, and I ate mechanically, planning my day. In the middle of this fast-paced thinking, I realized I was in an unnecessary hurry and stress.
It’s not like I have to catch a train or anything. For no reason, my mind was anxious and creating a rush. I noticed this rush. I took a deep breath and relaxed.
Then, I started eating my breakfast by being mindful instead of getting hurried. I put aside all my planning and brought my focus to the present moment.I started chewing my food properly, feeling the texture, enjoying the aroma, sensing the taste. As I ate mindfully, I noticed how colorful my breakfast plate is. It has different shades of mother nature –vibrant orange, soothing green, bright yellow. I smiled, thinking about mother nature’s beautiful creation, and continued eating.
Immense gratitude filled me. I felt thankful to God and to all the people involved in bringing this food to my table. I felt refreshed in just a few minutes of eating. And the best part is that every bite of my breakfast, which I ate by being mindful, felt super delicious.
7 Benefits of mindfulness
I was eating the same breakfast earlier, too, but there is a huge difference when I ate it with mindfulness and a positive state of mind. Mindfulness practice helped me enjoy the breakfast. I could appreciate the breakfast and feel gratitude. This calmed my thoughts, relaxed me, changed my whole mood, and helped me start my day with happiness and gratitude. This is how mindfulness empowers us. Life is a series of moments, and we forget to enjoy these moments. By being mindful, we cherish each moment and savor it.
There are so many amazing things, experiences, and people in our life. But these can be fully appreciated by us only when we start becoming mindful about them. We live truly only when we live in the present moment. The present moment is all we have. That should be our focus. Otherwise, it is just existing, and life becomes a meaningless hurry.
Below are thetop 7 benefits of practicing mindfulness.
- It reduces stress and relaxes the mind.
- It enhances relationships and helps us enjoy them.
- It brings joy and improves the quality of life.
- We develop better control over our actions and words.
- It helps us stay in the present moment and enjoy life.
- It brings a deeper sense of peace.
- It brings clarity of thinking.
So, how to practice such a beneficial tool in daily life? Worry not! It’s simple and easy.
Some ideas to practice mindfulness
The key to practicing mindfulness is to bring your mind from the past or future to the present moment. Give your total attention and focus on what you are doing now. Here are some ideas that help you practice mindfulness in daily life.
- Mindfully eat your food: When you are eating your favorite food, try eating with mindfulness. Notice different colors of food, feel the texture and chew every bite consciously. Relish and savor your food. Switch off all your gadgets and just be with your food.
- Walk mindfully: When you are walking, be mindful of your steps and the way your feet touch the floor. Be aware of every step you are taking.
- Talk by being mindful: Be mindful while you are talking to others and in your conversations. This changes the quality of your interactions. Your speech becomes attractive and impactful.
- Be mindful when going through various emotions: It is normal to go through various emotions like anger, sadness, fear, etc. During such emotions, we lose control of ourselves and end up saying words or doing actions which we regret later. This can be avoided by adding mindfulness. When you are angry, just be mindful of your anger. Observe your emotions and the way you are feeling. Funnily, this calms you down.
- Practice mindfulness on Social Media: When you are on Social Media, be mindful of how posts are impacting and influencing you. Also, be mindful of the time you are spending. When you are mindful, you cannot waste time on unnecessary stuff.
- Work mindfully with a positive state of mind: When you are doing your office work, notice how you are working and your working style. Be totally present in your meetings, your work and give 100% to what you are doing. By doing this, you become much more productive, and you enjoy your work.
These are some ways to incorporate mindfulness in busy daily life.
So, you have learned the importance and benefits of mindfulness, and now, you also know how to practice this in daily life. It is so easy to relax the mind, isn’t it? Once you start your journey of mindfulness, you will find many more ways to incorporate this beautiful practice in your life. As we practice more, we realize that every moment of life can be lived with mindfulness. It is our natural state. So, this is the simplest form of meditation that I want you to try right now and ease your life because ‘now’ is the moment.
I encourage you to read a fascinating book about mindfulness named ‘Mind full to Mindful’ by my favorite author Om Swami. Here is the link – https://amzn.to/3oRkg78
I wish you love and peace!
