Busting the myths of meditation: Self-improvement made simple
Published 20 January 2024
When you think of meditation you might conjure up an image of a guru perched on a mountain top in a deep state of focus. But it doesn’t have to be this grand. Anyone - anywhere - can approach this practice of mindfulness. There are plenty of myths about meditation. Luckily, Kadampa Meditation Centre Brisbane is here to bust them!
1. Meditation is hard
Our minds can be overwhelmingly busy and distracted places - we get it! But this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to meditate. Meditation is like everything else we learn to do - it becomes easier with practice.
It is very normal to experience some difficulty when we first begin to practise, and it may even seem that meditation is making our mind even busier. In reality though, we’re just becoming aware of how busy our mind normally is. Gradually we become able to calm this mental busyness and our meditation practice becomes easy and enjoyable.
2. Meditation takes hours
Fortunately, we don’t have to meditate for very long each day to experience its benefits. By meditating for just 10-15 minutes each day we will be able to reduce feelings of stress and tension, cultivate positive states of mind, and overcome negative ones.
Once we begin to experience the benefits of meditation, both for ourselves and those we spend time with, we’ll be encouraged to make at least some time for meditation every day, even if we are very busy.
We take time to clean our body each day and make sure we’re physically ready to face the world. Why not incorporate a little meditation into our daily ‘hygiene’ regime? We guarantee it will help you clear your mind and make you mentally ready to face the world.
3. You must be sitting to meditate
It is helpful to be sitting in a comfortable posture with a straight back during our meditation session, but we do this in any location. Regardless of whether we’re sitting on the floor or in a chair, a nice upright posture will help to prevent our mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy.
Fortunately, our meditation practice doesn’t need to end when we rise from our meditation session. There are lots of ways we can continue our practice during our ‘meditation break’. For example, whatever positive feelings we experienced during our meditation session, we can carry these into our day so that they influence our interactions with other people in positive ways.
4. The goal of meditation is to clear your mind
The goal of meditation is actually to make our mind peaceful and calm. Rather than trying to make our mind go blank, we should always be focusing on a single ‘object of meditation’. This can be neutral, such as our breath, or positive, such as love or compassion.
There are two types of meditation: analytical meditation and placement meditation. Analytical meditation involves deeply contemplating the meaning of a spiritual instruction until we reach a definite conclusion, or cause a specific positive state of mind to arise. We then concentrate single-pointedly on this conclusion or state of mind (the object of placement meditation) to become deeply acquainted with it.
5. You’re not “good” at meditation
With practice, anyone can become good at meditation. Each week at Strathpine (Wednesdays) and North Lakes (Thursdays) Libraries, we practice a simple 15-minute breathing meditation. Even though this meditation is only a preliminary stage of meditation, it can be quite powerful. The purpose of this meditation is to still our mind.
When the turbulence of distracting thoughts subsides and our mind becomes still, a deep happiness and contentment naturally arises from within. This feeling of contentment and wellbeing helps us to cope with the busyness and difficulties of daily life.
Through this simple meditation we gradually understand through our own experience, that we can enjoy greater peace of mind and happiness, just by controlling our mind, without depending upon external things.
Ready to have a go? Kadampa Meditation Centre Brisbane are holding Lunchtime Meditation sessions at North Lakes and Strathpine. Find the next session here: mbrc.link/guidedmeditation.