Hello and welcome.
In this talk,
I'd like to discuss how meditation works and how it strengthens the muscle of your mind.
So when it comes to meditation,
I've always found it helpful to understand what you're doing and how it works in simple and tangible ways that will help you.
Now,
If you decide that you want to become fit and healthy,
There are many ways that you could do it.
But if you choose to go to the gym,
For example,
And lift weights,
Then you understand the function of lifting weights is to strengthen your physical muscles and your body.
Now the mind is also like a muscle.
The more you exercise it in a particular way,
The stronger you get at doing that thing.
So if you want to learn mathematics,
The more you practice it,
The better you get.
Now,
If you want to quiet your busy and noisy mind because you want to overcome stress or anxiety or emotional reactivity,
Or you just want to have more peace and clarity,
Then meditation is a training for your mind.
Because your busy and noisy mind,
That constant stream of thoughts,
Emotions,
Stories,
And dramas running through your mind,
It's really just like a bad habit that you've cultivated over your whole lifetime.
But it's not really your fault because you've never really trained yourself to be another way.
But through meditation,
You're strengthening the muscle of your mind.
You're strengthening your mind to be present in the moment.
And that's important because a wandering mind is an unhappy mind,
Or a mind that is present is naturally happy.
Now,
This is something I'll discuss more deeply in another talk here on Insight Timer called Happiness is Now.
So let's look at how meditation strengthens your mind in simple terms.
So whatever meditation techniques you choose to use,
The principle is essentially the same.
To start with,
You have the object of your meditation.
That's the thing you're going to rest your awareness on,
The resting place for your awareness.
Now,
That could be your breath,
Maybe your heart,
It could be a circulation of awareness through your body parts,
It might be an awareness of a particular energy center,
Or a circulation of energy.
It could be a mantra,
Which is a repetition of a word or a sound that you say internally.
So when you sit for your meditation,
You rest your awareness on that object.
And when the mind wanders,
You simply bring your awareness back to the object of your meditation.
That's it.
Simple,
Right?
Now,
I say simple,
But that doesn't mean easy.
It just means the process is not complicated.
Now,
Your mind may try to complicate it,
But that's just your mind.
So you're sitting for your meditation and your mind wanders.
You just bring it back.
Your mind starts thinking again,
And it will.
You just notice it,
Recognize it,
And bring your awareness back to the meditation.
That's the strengthening of the muscle of your mind,
Kind of like weightlifting,
This back and forth.
Your mind starts thinking.
You let it go and return your awareness back to the object of your meditation.
Now,
It could happen that you're sitting for your meditation,
Your mind is slowing down,
You're becoming quiet,
And then at some point,
You realize you're thinking.
But then you realize you've been thinking for a while.
You didn't see the transition from being quiet to thinking,
But there you are,
Thinking.
Now at that point,
You just let it go.
Let the thought go and return back to your meditation.
There's no need to judge your thoughts or your performance.
The content of that thought doesn't matter,
Because if it wasn't that thought,
It would just be another.
So the key is,
The moment you realize you're thinking,
Let it go and return your awareness back to the meditation.
Repeat and repeat.
That's the simplicity of meditation.
But as I mentioned,
Your mind may try to complicate things.
During your meditation,
You may find yourself thinking things like,
Am I doing this right?
Or maybe if I did it this way or that way,
It would work better.
Or I used to meditate like this,
So I should just do that.
These are all just thoughts distracting you and complicating it.
Keep it simple.
Your mind will always find a reason to not follow the meditation.
So whatever the thought is,
Let it go and return your awareness back to the meditation,
To the process of the meditation that you're following.
Now remember,
Like learning any other skill,
It takes practice.
And the more you practice,
The more you will progress.
So over time,
You'll notice that you can stay focused for a little longer and a little longer.
You catch your mind wandering sooner and sooner,
And you're bringing your awareness back to the meditation sooner and sooner.
So be sure to notice these things,
These subtle things that help you to realize that the process is working and that you are making progress.
Now I'd like to leave you with this final thought to reflect on.
Remember,
This is not just for meditation.
The skill,
The muscle you're cultivating through meditation is for life.
Now if you go to the gym to become strong so that you can move well,
That's not just for the gym.
That transfers into many aspects of your life.
And the same principle is true for meditation.
When you learn to quiet your mind,
This is a skill that will transfer into all aspects of your life.
It's an essential life skill so that instead of overreacting,
Overthinking,
Creating more stress and dramas in your mind,
You can be calm,
Clear,
Peaceful,
And connect more deeply with the people around you,
The people you care about.
And this also means that you can be more resilient to the drama,
Tension,
And conflict in the world around you,
Which also means you stop adding to it and you can start to anchor more peace and connection into your life and the world around you.
Okay so to repeat the key lesson for this talk,
You start by resting your awareness on the object of your meditation and then when your mind wanders,
The moment you realize your thinking,
Recognize it and then let it go by returning your awareness back to the meditation.
Repeat and repeat.
Just remember to keep it simple.
Alright now if you found this talk helpful and you know someone else who could also benefit,
Then please share it so that other people can receive the benefits just like you.
And if you'd like to know more about what I do,
You can find me at peacekeeperproject.
Com and if you'd like to be notified when I release new talks or meditations,
Then you can follow me here within the Insight Timer app.
Okay that's it for this talk.
Thank you for being here.
I appreciate your presence and until the next time,
Quiet your mind and live from your heart.
