Our Meditation Guide for Beginners is definitely in your interest if you want to create a healthy and balanced life, with less stress and more awareness, happiness, and fulfillment.
Nowadays, tension and stress are part of everyday life, because the demands of the outer world and excessive responsibilities lead to mental, emotional, and physical overload.
If you are a complete beginner in meditation and you are thinking of starting with its practice, this two-part guide gives you clear and useful basic information, it explains various experiences that can be lived during the meditation practice and recommends simple tips to integrate it easily as a habit in your lifestyle.
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WHAT IS MEDITATION ABOUT?
In recent years, meditation has become more widespread, being known and practiced in every corner of the world. I think there are too few people who have not heard the word “meditation” at least once or have a vague idea of what it means.
The term “meditation” comes from the Latin “meditori”, which means reflecting on something. Meditation is a simple and natural process and has amazing effects when practiced daily, bringing beneficial results in all levels of being: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
Why do you want to meditate?
What would you like to have more present in your life?
It doesn’t matter which of the following reasons are yours:
- less stress and anxiety.
- peace of mind.
- to release and heal physically and emotionally.
- to slow down the rhythm of your life.
- more clarity and intuition.
- deep knowledge of yourself.
- harmony in your soul.
- a deeper meaning of life itself.
- joy, love, and happiness within.
Meditation embodies all these.
Through meditation, you discover that you are not limited by conditioned life, but instead, you have access to endless possibilities with every thought, word, and action. With each moment of meditation, you explore and connect to the peace and silence that you bring to the outer world. This is the magic of meditation. What matters is not necessarily what you experience while meditating, but what you experience in the rest of the hours after meditation.
WHO JOINED THE MEDITATION CIRCLE?
You also can join the millions of people around the world who have discovered through constant meditation balance, fulfillment, healing, and inner happiness.
Besides many well-known spiritual and personal development leaders such as Buddha, Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Thick Nhat Hanh, Pema Chödron, Deepak Chopra, Jack Kornfield, Oprah Winfrey, John Kabat-Zinn, Ram Dass, Lao Zi, Anthony Robbins, George Mumford, etc. many actors, singers, athletes are also practitioners of meditation.
Among them are: Richard Gere, Tina Turner, Jennifer Aniston, Orlando Bloom, Annie Lenox, Madonna, Sting, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, Steve Kerr, and many others.
All these people have in common the desire for self-knowledge, and the expansion of the mind to understand the potential of every moment of their lives.
Lately, the practice of meditation has gained more and more popularity being recommended by physicians, psychologists, and cognitive behavioral therapists.
It was introduced and taught in some schools as a special program, and incorporated in some companies, in the employee’s work schedule as a way to overcome stress and fatigue and increase efficiency at work.
EXPERIENCES DURING MEDITATION
During Meditation, you will live certain natural experiences which are part of the process of awareness through observation: thoughts, sensations, sounds, falling asleep, or a feeling of deep inner peace.
THOUGHTS
We have been taught to have a continuously active mind to function, and to be able to create and accomplish our goals.
Ten of thousand thoughts go through our minds every day, some of them we keep, some we delete, and some we just let pass by. Thoughts want to keep us on constant alert, as an explanation for every moment we live.
When we receive a thought, we give it a first meaning and then we start to build more meaning around it, or we move on to the next one.
During meditation practice, the capacity for consciousness is activated, and the mind, which wants to control and condition, transmits through your thoughts that it is against the new state.
That is why, when you meditate, it is normal for you to have thoughts of boredom, anxiety, and denial. They are silent but have a certain meaning. Important is to know that whatever the thought is, you do not identify with it, you just have it.
Be patient with yourself, and do not give up! You will see that the transition from the active mind to the quiet mind will be much easier with each meditation practice because every thought will dissipate into inner peace and silence.
No matter what thoughts interrupt your meditation, just observe them, without analyzing, them, and return slowly to the object of your attention.
This can be your breath, mantra, chakra, mala (a string of beads used in meditation), a simple word, or a diagram, etc.
Many people have the wrong idea about meditation. They understand that they need to stop, resist, or even block the thoughts that come to them.
That is a mistake. Thoughts come naturally, and they are part of meditation. You cannot stop them, and there is no point in aiming to resist.
If you oppose them, it means that you pay attention, and where you focus your attention, you channel your energy.
So, just let them come, observe, and let them pass, returning slowly to the object of your attention!
SOUNDS
Sounds are a major source of thoughts, and like them, sounds are also part of your meditation practice.
Even if you close your eyes during meditation, your hearing remains very active. You keep hearing the surrounding sounds: voices, the passing car, the barking of a dog, etc. But meditation leads you beyond these sounds.
You do not have to do anything, just stay indifferent to them. Let them come, vibrate, observe how you become aware of them, and how they disappear the moment you return to the object of attention.
If you stop at them, all you do is give them meaning and think more about them. As long as you return to the object of attention, you will always be able to detach yourself from thoughts or sounds.
SENSATIONS
Your physical body is another source of thoughts, because of it you experience sensations. Always choose comfort when it comes to your body. The more comfortable you are during meditation, the more your body will not be a distraction.
If during meditation your legs are numb, just stretch them to relax, and then slowly return to the object of attention.
If you feel pain in the lower back, put a cushion under the buttocks to sit more comfortably. Massage a little the painful area, and then return slightly to the object of your attention.
Important is for your back to be straight, and to feel comfortable all the time.
During meditation, you can feel other natural sensations such as:
- boredom
- anxiety
- a general soothing sensation
- complete peace of mind
- tingling
- accelerated breathing
- dizziness
- constrictions in the head
- headache
The last three sensations generally occur if you force yourself to meditate. In this case, to relax those sensations, just take slow and deep breaths to calm down.
All these sensations that you may experience during meditation are normal, especially as a beginner.
At every moment of life, your body is used to being in a continuous activity. The moment you change its status, it needs time to learn to stay still. Just be patient and give it time to adjust.
FALLING ASLEEP
When you meditate, your mind and body enter a state of relaxation, which may make you fall asleep.
“Sleep is an unconscious way to withdraw energy from the body and senses and refocus it to the brain. Sleep is refreshing primarily due to this interiorization of energy.”
For the first time as a beginner, falling asleep is an excellent thing. It means that you allowed yourself to calm down, and relax enough to leave yourself in the state to recover your body and mind. This is a major indication of authentic meditation.
But, if happen to fall asleep every time you meditate, it means that you do not have enough rest, and you should devote more time and attention to this issue.
All thoughts, sensations, sounds, emotions, and sleep, are experiences that are part of meditation. You will see that the more you practice the art of meditation, the more you will reach another level of your existence, much higher than you had when you started.
These experiences help you evolve and will be the best confirmation of your transformation.
RELEASE STRESS
The tensions accumulated over time in each part of the body leave their mark and influence your emotional and physical health.
Also, your repressed feelings, expectations, or unsatisfied needs, turn with time into emotional or physical disorders, and if you do not change the way you relate to them, they will continue to manifest at the deepest level.
But with the help of meditation, you can get rid of these negative aspects.
For beginners, stress relief during meditation practice can be manifested through yawning, sighing, crying, smiling, laughing, moments of revelation, intense emotions, or visual experiences.
On the physical level, you may have a feeling of heaviness or lightness, a feeling of cold or heat, tingling, or waves of energy in certain parts of the body.
During meditation, you can also visualize colors, shapes, symbols, and faces of loved ones, or of those who passed away (which happened in my case). But don’t get scared, because it is part of the awareness process.
Each person lives differently from the experiences during meditation because it also depends on the emotional baggage they have.
I had a case among my students, in which after a few minutes of hysterical laughter, a student went into a state of uncontrolled crying. After which there was total silence, and she finished the session with a smile on her face.
Others begin to fall asleep right after the first few minutes. The same thing happened to me in my first meditation practice.
I also experienced some of them, and it is not excluded that you will also live many of those experiences.
But keep in mind that all of them, are natural manifestations, which indicate that you become aware of your unconditional self.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Well, my dears, this has been the first part of the insights from the Meditation Guide for Beginners.
In the second part, you can learn how to prepare and develop a daily meditation program, how to overcome the excuses that condition you not to meditate, and to apply all the information from the guide to start with a first meditation session.
If you are a meditation practitioner feel free to share with us your personal experiences. Every piece of information adds knowledge to each of us. So, are more than welcome!
You can continue reading the second part of the guide by accessing the link below.
MEDITATION GUIDE FOR BEGINNERS PART 2
Prepare and Develop a daily Meditation Program
Till next time…
Touch Your Inner Space And Become More Curious About Yourself.
~ Diana O. Debreczeni ~
Founder of Dare & Be.
A very useful article for those interested in reducing stress in their lives. But not only that, meditation has many values. But you have to do it right. That’s why I especially appreciate your article. Especially since you give information about the normal phenomena that take place during meditation. I did not know that each person has different reactions during meditation compared to other people.
Hi Carmen,
Thank you for stopping by. In meditation there is no “you do it right” or “you do it wrong”, because meditation is you, it is your natural state of being. The moment you allow your body and mind to relax and you are no longer conditioned by the existential layers, you can see and listen to your true self.
Each person is unique in its own way. Some people may have more intense emotional load than others. And as meditation is self-discovery, the experiences lived during it can be different.
What an excellent post to help first timers like me try mediation. I have tried to do it in short bursts, but felt all the things you said like boredom and anxiety. I am that person that is trying so hard to shut off my brain that this then becomes the whole time spent.
The other tough part is to try for the first time and be successful, I think I just haven’t given it enough of a try. Thank you for the post and I will definitely give it another try.
Hi Coralie,
Thank you for appreciation. If you haven’t read the second part of the guide, in which I explain how you can integrate meditation into daily life, and how to do it practically, I attach the link to have a look. https://dareandbe.com/meditati…
Also, if you want to have a better understanding of what meditation means, I think the information in the attached link will give you an explanation from another perspective. https://dareandbe.com/the-art-…
Thank you for stopping by.
Enjoy reading, as well as your meditation practice.
To be honest, I found this article really helpful. For a long time, I’ve heard about the benefits of meditation and why we should do it regularly, but I never knew how to do it properly, and what to expect from it. So, I am glad I found your Meditation guide. It was very useful. I am willing to try to incorporate meditation into my daily life. I hope I stay consistent in my decision.
Hi Jon,
I’m glad that the information in the guide came as a plus to what you knew about meditation, and that it motivated you to consider trying the practice. If you have read the second part of the guide, you can make use of the tips provided there, on how to make from meditation practice a habit.