Meditation Myths: What Nobody Tells Beginners

Hi,

Welcome to my video about meditation myths.

This is something that a lot of beginners are not told and I really wish they were because this can make all the difference to your meditation.

So the first one is that you must stop thinking.

That when you meditate,

You must have no thoughts in your mind at all.

And that's humanly impossible.

That is absolutely not the point of meditation.

So let's bust that first myth together.

The other one that links with that is that a wandering mind means that you failed.

We call it the monkey mind.

You're sitting there trying to meditate and all these thoughts are popping up in your head and you hear a noise and your mind's taken off towards that noise.

That is normal.

And as you practice more and more,

That will get better.

But that is completely normal.

This is what the human brain is designed to do.

We just need to help it learn to focus more.

Another myth is that you need 20 minutes at least per day,

Sometimes an hour,

To be able to meditate.

Otherwise,

It won't have any effect.

And that is not true either.

Two minutes a day is sometimes all you need,

Particularly at the beginning.

And if you haven't seen it already,

Check out my video called If I Can Meditate,

So Can You,

Because I explain that a little bit more.

Another one is that meditation is only for calm people.

Now this is something that did go through my mind when I resisted meditation over the years.

And that is simply not true.

I have a very active mind.

I'm always thinking.

I'm very busy.

I like to keep busy.

But this is why meditation is so important.

It helps you calm your mind down.

Another myth,

And I think this one's quite dangerous because this is one of the reasons people stop meditating.

Is that you believe the effects must be immediate and your life will change overnight.

Now meditation has been proven scientifically time and time again to have a very profound and positive effect on your mind,

On the brain.

It changes the structure of the brain in a very positive way.

But one meditation is not necessarily going to make everything feel so much better.

It's the consistency of practice that matters.

So just keep that in mind.

Don't set your expectations up here.

Start small and you'll see where it takes you.

Another myth is that you need complete silence to meditate.

Now this one's an interesting one because I find to concentrate I need silence.

I'm not someone who can have lots of music playing and loud noise around me.

So,

For some people,

Silence helps.

But ultimately,

Meditation is not about the environment you're in,

The external environment.

It's about the internal environment.

So you will get to a point,

And even I can do it,

Where the external environment does not have such an enormous impact that it may have at the beginning.

So another myth is around thoughts that come and go.

And that it's not normal to have thoughts.

It's not normal to not be able to concentrate for even a few minutes.

But again,

This is how our minds work.

And when you have a mind where lots of thoughts are coming in and out and you feel that you can't control it,

This monkey mind,

Then you are the perfect candidate for meditation.

So I'd like you to realize a very,

Very important point.

And that is that a really healthy,

Good,

Solid meditation practice can consist of just a few minutes a day.

Believe it or not,

It does not need to be a long practice where you're sitting in the lotus position on a meditation cushion and you sit there for an hour and your mind is perfectly controlled.

That is not what meditation is about.

And I think people get stuck in that thought and it's what stops them really building up a healthy habit.

So meditation can begin with just a few minutes a day.

That's all.

It doesn't have to be saying mantras over and over.

It can just be breathing.

It can be sitting in a chair.

And I've got another video about that to help you get started with some basic practices.

But just keep that in mind.

And honestly,

Start at the beginning.

Start where you are.

Don't try to build something gigantic.

Don't try to build something complicated.

Just start with your breath.

With listening to sounds,

With just anchoring your body.

And I think keep in mind that progress.

Is what it's about,

Not perfection.

Every single person that meditates on a regular basis has a different meditation style,

A different practice,

Different habits.

They meditate at different times of the day to the next person.

There's no right or wrong way to do it.

So just start.

Just begin.

Nothing needs to be perfect.

Consistency is key.

A few minutes a day and that's all it takes.