Meditation: What to do (if you are new to meditation)?

If you do meditation or have done and have experience in past, then you know how beautiful, life changing it can be for any person. If you haven't realized this then probably you haven't have the grasp of meditation yet.

It can be tiring, painful in the sense that you body parts might get numb by sitting in a specific posture for a long time and sometime it can also be irritating. These are the things you might face during meditation in the beginning. But these are also the same thing that will start disappearing when you will start practicing, when you will get the hang of sitting regularly and start accepting these changes as necessary part of doing meditation.

I have once read a saying of Swami Vivekananda, and it might not be his exact words but it goes as "What appears during meditation, also disappears in meditation".

What to do during meditation?

If you search "What to do in meditation?" you might come across a lot of thoughts and sayings of different people. But as far as I think, the answer of this question can only be found when you start doing meditation. For starters, people should start with How to prepare for meditation? And, then it will take you ahead by itself.

How to prepare for meditation?

When you do meditation, you should try to sit still and try to relax. You might have heard that a person's mind can never be still (means, you will always have something on your mind). If you don't understand what it means, then you will know now. When you will be sitting for sometime doing nothing, you will see that you mind is still busy with the thoughts of whatever you have done recently or watched recently or in the past or something else (note that this will only happen if you are a beginner and have never done meditation before). If you can realize that your mind is still busy with different thoughts while you are doing nothing then you are ready for next step in preparing for meditation.

If you realize and whenever you realize that your mind has become busy in its own thoughts and you have got involved unconsciously then you should try to let go of those thoughts. Try to bring yourself in present moment. One way to do this is to try to focus on your body. When your mind becomes busy your body starts to strain and you start to feel pain in your body parts. Try to get hold of where your body is in pain and in strain. Try to release the strains and accept the pains as the necessary part of life because that is what it is. Try to relax and become conscious of your body. When you do all this, you start to get hold on your thoughts in your mind. After some time you may realize that your mind has become busy again without your knowledge. If you realize this then repeat the above process and again try to relax and become conscious and aware of what's going on in your body.

Should you close your eyes during meditation?

One should keep their eyes open during meditation if you are beginner but if you can't help getting involved what are in front of your eyes then you can keep your eyes close. Anything is preferable however you want.

But note that focusing on forehead is not recommended when your eyes is closed during meditation for beginners. When you should be able to sit for a long time in single posture and remain conscious of yourself then you should focus on your forehead.

Points to remember

1. When you start doing meditation as beginner and sometime irritating but if keep on sitting and accept every changes as necessary to move ahead it will disappear over days (if you are regular).

2. No one is exceptional on their first day, you mind will be busy in thoughts of actions. This is good; if you can realize that your mind is busy even when you are doing nothing then you can move ahead, let all the thoughts go.

3. Try to relax, aware and be conscious of your body and yourself.

4. Do not concentrate on your forehead if you are just beginning meditation, it can be painful if you do it and if you do it for long time. You can do it when you have got the habit of sitting still and become conscious of your body for relatively long time.

5. Be regular in your practice. If you skip for just one day, you might have hart time pulling yourself for another day.

Conclusion

If you do this regularly, you see the effect of meditation. You might just start to feel its effect from your first day. Many people wonder what they should do in meditation. It might not be correct answer but start from trying being conscious of yourself; it will definitely take you to the answer.

Note: I am not any kind of spiritual master or sage. I have been in contact of some sages but what I have said above is all my experience and my thoughts. If you are doing what has been said then do it at your own will and without expecting anything.