How to Meditate – The 6 Greatest Obstacles to Meditation
I’ve struggled with meditation most of my life. More than a span of 15 years, I purchased meditation CD’s, attended meditation classes and read books on meditation, yet was nevertheless unable to incorporate it into my each day life. The meditation CD’s generally put me to sleep and the classes and books produced me feel like a failure! In reality, my 1st meditation was very painful and I usually felt like I was too busy to meditate!
The sad truth is that whilst most of us are aware of the benefits of meditation, pretty few of us truly have a normal meditation practice. There are a lot of obstacles to overcome in order to incorporate meditation into our each day lives. I overcame those obstacles and have been meditating each day for two years as properly as meditating periodically all through the day! Through meditation I have seasoned a lot more peace and joy in my life, I’ve turn out to be much less reactive and less stressed and I have far more energy and creativity! And I know you can encounter these advantages as effectively!
But initially, I assume it really is significant to define what meditation is? A lot of of us have misconceptions about meditation. The most typical misconception is that meditation is about having rid of believed! That would set any one up for failure! Meditation, rather, is about becoming the observer of believed rather than the reactor to thought.
Meditation, pure and very simple, is being completely present in the moment! In this meditative state you are aware of the truth of who you are beyond your body and your thoughts.
Have you ever been in awe at a lovely sunset? So considerably so that you forgot about what occurred 5 minutes ago, and you weren’t considering about the future? You were fully in the moment and had this sense of aliveness inside? Properly, that is meditation!
So now that we know what meditation is, how do we incorporate it in to our day-to-day lives? I knew the causes why I had struggled for years just before I created a common meditation practice, but I was curious to see if other folks had the exact same factors, so I performed an international survey on the greatest obstacles to meditation and received more than 400 responses from men and women in 46 different countries. Below are the Top rated SIX most significant obstacles to meditation, and how you can overcome them!
Obstacle #1: Not possessing adequate time
The biggest obstacle people face in creating a typical meditation practice is TIME. We do not have adequate time to meditate! (Interestingly adequate this wasn’t just an “American” phenomenon. People today from all across the globe mentioned they didn’t have enough time to meditate).
But there are four basic techniques to incorporate meditation into your life devoid of taking ANY time out of your existing schedule!
First, I invite you to convert your waiting time into meditating time.
The typical person waits 45-60 minutes a day. We wait for appointments, we wait in traffic, we wait in line at the grocery store and we wait on hold on the telephone. But those valuable “waiting times” can be converted into meditating instances.
So next time you are waiting for an appointment, take a moment to notice your breath. Or subsequent time you are waiting in line at the grocery store, take a moment to smile from the inside.
Second, have a daily activity be your meditation. You can incorporate meditation into any of these day-to-day activities:
*brushing your teeth
*emptying the dishwasher
*showering
*consuming
*walking
*folding laundry, ironing
As you brush your teeth, notice your breath. Or notice the aliveness in your hands and mouth. As you empty the dishwasher, feel the aliveness in your hand as you place every single dish away.
Third, have your dog or cat be your meditation! Have you ever noticed when walking your dog how your dog is fully in the moment, taking in its’ surroundings? Well you can join your dog in this blissful state. When walking the dog notice the aliveness in your feet with each step. Notice the aliveness of the trees, birds, your surroundings. When petting the cat, notice the softness of the fur. Be entirely present with your dog or cat!
Four, meditate although driving! Now, of course, do NOT close your eyes and meditate although driving. But you can be fully present whilst driving, with your eyes open. When driving, notice the aliveness in your hands as you touch the steering wheel. Or at a quit sign or in visitors, notice your breath.
These are very simple approaches you can incorporate meditation into your everyday life with out taking ANY time out of your existing schedule. If we all did these straightforward factors, we’d have a daily meditation practice!
Obstacle #two: Lack of Self-Discipline
The second most significant obstacle persons face in incorporating meditation into their every day life is lack of self-discipline! Meditation requires discipline. I know several of us commence out with terrific intentions to meditate day-to-day or to physical exercise every day and we could do it for a couple of weeks, but then we lack the discipline needed to continue.
That is why life coaches, personal trainers and other professions have been produced! To hold us accountable and to retain us focused!
So if you lack self-discipline, locate a meditation partner! Ask your spouse, partner, pal, coworker to join you in incorporating meditation into your everyday life. Hold each other accountable.
Or even if you cannot come across somebody that desires to meditate with you, tell your spouse/pal/companion/coworker of your intention to meditate daily and ask him/her to verify in with you and ask you how you are performing.
Just as an exercise companion is valuable and productive, a meditation partner can be also!
www.snapreads.com/books/meditations-by-marcus-aurelius-summary/ #three: Not obtaining the proper spot or space to meditate
The third largest obstacle folks pointed out is NOT having the right location or space to meditate! This is a “perceived obstacle.” You can literally meditate anywhere whilst driving a auto or walking through a crowded mall.
Men and women generally use not having a specific location or distinct location as an excuse to NOT meditate. If we continually wait for the proper circumstances to meditate, we’ll never ever meditate.