Once you begin your journey into meditation, you’ll soon discover the power that it has to reveal truth and peace in your life. In a fast paced world where everything keeps getting faster and more complicated, it’s important to deepen your practice with meditation.
With regular practice you’ll find that you’ll be able to go deeper into meditation without much effort. As you practice, you’ll be better able to deal with distractions and achieve a certain depth of meditation in a shorter period of time. If you practice for just 30 minutes per day, you’ll be able to go deeper each time.
Deepening Your Practice
You may be wondering what it means to deepen your practice. It’s definitely a topic that’s difficult to put into mere words. It’s similar to talking about how to deepen your love. If you’ve been in love you’ll know in your heart what it feels like to experience the depth of love. The same is true when you meditate, you’ll know what it feels like as your practice deepens.
Tactics For Deepening Your Practice
If you want to go beyond regular practice to deepen your meditation skills, you can try these other tactics.
Consider these suggestions as you deepen your practice:
- Focus. A big part of deepening your practice is working on an improved focus. Find something that works for you.
- First try experiencing eyes open meditation. Meditate with a small focal point and don’t let your gaze go astray during your session. You can also try eyes open meditation without the need for a strict focal point; this may help you to keep your focus within.
- Alternatively, you can explore the option of eyes closed meditation. Many people enjoy the aspect of shutting out the visual sense, while others think it’s too much of an escape from true life, so do what feels right.
- Your breath. Your breath is also a part of your focus. It’s how you break up your life into a series of moments. Take a moment to breathe in the good and a moment to exhale the bad. In order to deepen your practice, experiment with different breathing techniques.
- Work on the length of your breaths. Some people decide to work with their moods when they work on breath length. It’s a way to just go with how you feel, instead of deciding on a set pattern of breathing.
- Use a mantra. There are many mantras to choose from or you can even create your own depending on how you feel or what you like.
- Your posture. Your posture also has an impact on how deep your practice will go. Choose a position that’s comfortable for you.
- During sitting meditation, it’s always a good idea to maintain good posture. This means: Don’t slouch! The location of your legs usually doesn’t matter as much.
- If you maintain a good posture without hunching over, you tend to maintain your alertness and you’ll be less likely to fall asleep. Remember that your goal is to remain in the present moment and not merely to relax.
Keep Up Your Practice
The most important thing you need to do is keep up with your practice. You can then tweak any other aspect of meditation that you feel needs adjusting. However, you may find that you simply evolve without much effort as you continue your meditative journey.
You may have been advised to spend more time in the “present moment,” but what does this really mean? Present moment thinking has been the concentration of eastern religions for thousands of years.
Religion And Philosophy
Some people are tempted to turn away immediately when Eastern philosophy is brought up just because they think it might threaten their core religious beliefs. There are no religious impositions though; the present moment is available to everyone in every moment no matter who you are. In fact, most religions, in one way or another, agree with the belief of living in the moment, not in the past or future.
Eastern Religions And The Present Moment
There are many different divisions of religion in the East, just like the West. Many of them differ with certain beliefs and philosophies, but many agree on the importance of the present moment.
In recent decades, the West has been picking up on these ancient philosophies and many people use these lessons to help cope with modern problems. It works and it proves that the human condition has always been the same.
The Present Moment Defined
The present moment can be defined as your attention being solely on what you’re doing right now. It’s when you’re not thinking of “other things.” If you’re washing the dishes, your mind is fully aware when you start the faucet, grip the sponge, and wipe the plates clean. There are no other thoughts in your mind other than what it is you’re doing in the moment.
While staying in the present moment may seem boring at times, you’ve probably already felt its true power without really knowing it.
Have you ever been outside enjoying nature and a feeling of peace flooded over you? Have you ever stared up at the sky and stars and contemplated the meaning behind them? The past and future wash away, and the only thing that’s important in that moment is the “now.”
Staying in the Present Moment
The process of staying in the present moment may take some practice. If you try for any length of time to stay fully present, your mind will likely try to bring you out of it. This is because thoughts about the past and future are constantly creeping up.
This can be a source of frustration, but you must fight the urge to judge yourself since that negative emotion would defeat the purpose.
Be aware that your mind will reach for the past and future; yet be ready to let go of those thoughts when they come up. The more you practice remaining present, the easier it’ll become.
Practicing Meditation
Meditation is an art that’s not only reserved for Eastern religions. It’s a method of bringing yourself into the present that’s available to you at all times.
Here are some tips to follow when beginning meditation:
- Choose a time of day when you can relax and be alone.
- Sit in a position that gives you good posture.
- Concentrate on your breathing.
- Take deep breaths in and out and focus only on your breath.
- Try to meditate for at least 30 minutes each day.
- Fight the urge to fall asleep.
You’ll find that you get better at meditation with practice. Don’t give up on yourself! Every session may not feel as good as the last, but it’s important to stick with it.
Meditation will enable you to get to know your mind and body better. You’ll maintain awareness for when your mind is in an agitated state, and you’ll be able to place better focus on fixing your problems and moving toward your goals.
All in all, developing a present moment mindset can bring you more peace and fulfillment in your life. Isn’t that worth a little practice?
