The 5 Biggest Myths Of Meditation

Are you someone who says “Meditation is not for me”, or “I can’t meditate”, “I’m not doing it right”, or “I’m not Zen enough”, “I can’t quiet my mind” and the list goes on...well, then this show is for you! Or if you know anyone who says these things, this show is for them too, please share it with them once you listen to it.

There are several Guided Meditations in my Insight Timer page, so tune in if you would like to start your practice or just add it to your playlist.

Transcript

Welcome to the Soul Art Podcast.

I'm your host and guide,

Will Caminada,

And it is my mission to help you become more in touch with your soul,

Expand your consciousness,

And shine your light brighter and brighter so that you can live a life with more purpose,

Inspiration and love.

My intention for this show is to create a safe place where you can find support and guidance on your spiritual awakening and healing journey.

Hello beautiful soul.

I'm so glad that you're here.

I'm grateful and honored that you chose to listen to the Soul Art Podcast.

Today I'm going to talk about the five biggest myths of the practice of meditation.

Myths that I've encountered over the years as a meditation teacher coming from my students and clients,

But also myths that I myself had years ago when I started my meditation journey.

Now before I get into today's episode,

I just have a small little favor to ask of you,

And that is to take a moment of your time right now and leave a rating review on my podcast,

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So are you someone who says meditation is not for me or I can't meditate?

I'm not doing it right or I'm not Zen enough or I can't quiet my mind.

The list goes on.

Well,

If you are someone who says these things,

Then this show is for you.

Or if you know anyone who says these things and this show is for them too.

So please share it with them once you listen to it.

Allow me to debunk the biggest myths that I've encountered over the years as a meditation teacher.

And also,

Like I mentioned,

Some of them I had before I started my meditation,

My daily practice.

And let me tell you that the very first time that I tried to meditate more than a decade ago,

I felt like I failed big time and mostly because I carried these myths with me.

And that's why I gave up then.

That's also why many people give up or don't even give it a try.

So one of the most important things that I've learned from the practice of meditation is that we must not judge the practice.

We tend to live in duality and judge good or bad,

Calm or chaotic,

Deep or shallow.

And that's exactly the opposite of meditating.

When in meditation,

We must practice acceptance of our thoughts and of our feelings and the acceptance of the present moment.

But let's dive right into the five biggest myths now.

Number one is I need to quiet my mind.

I need to stop thinking.

It's not impossible to stop thinking,

But for us mere westerns,

Having this as a goal feels very far-fetched.

Just the thought of you sitting down and telling yourself,

I can't think might already make you feel stressed.

It's like me telling you that you can't laugh and laughing will be the first thing that you want you will want to do,

Even if you resist the thought or the action itself.

Meditation is the opposite of resisting.

It's staying in a state of complete acceptance of what is and of how you feel without suppressing it or rejecting it.

You allow your thoughts to come and go.

And actually,

When we're talking about meditation for performance,

Meditation for creation,

You might want to focus on a specific intention or you might even want to hold on to an idea that pops up in your consciousness.

And going to number two is I can't do it right or it's not for me.

There is no right or wrong.

There is only I practice it or I don't practice it.

As with any practice,

You might learn new techniques or styles that resonate more with you.

But moreover,

After a while of practicing meditation,

You may be curious to try different styles.

The rule of thumb is that if you manage to dedicate some time to stay with yourself,

Whether for two minutes in silence or for 20 minutes with a guided meditation,

You already did it.

You meditated.

So this myth is also connected to the previous one.

Some people think that they're doing it wrong because their mind is busy or because they forget to focus on their breath.

But the practice of meditation is a journey,

Is a lifelong practice.

And every day it will be different.

It will be a different experience.

Remember not to judge it and just keep going.

Going to number three now.

I need to meditate for at least an hour every day for this thing to work.

I need a very zen space filled with crystals,

Incense,

Palo santo,

Sage,

Essential oils,

Etc.

Now,

Don't get me wrong.

You can meditate for hours if you want and you can have a wonderful sacred space if you want.

I love some crystals,

Palo santo.

But you don't need those things.

Sometimes 10 minutes of meditation might be as effective or more as two hours.

In fact,

If you're not used to meditating for that long,

The experience will most likely be overwhelming,

Which will lead you into quitting the practice altogether.

As for the space,

I do think it's nice to have a space designated for meditation,

Even if it's a corner in your room or a specific chair.

Because your brain will quickly identify that it's time to meditate as soon as you make yourself comfortable in your corner or in your space.

Having said that,

The more you practice,

The more you realize that you can meditate anywhere,

Literally anywhere,

Even while walking.

Yes,

Walking meditation is a thing.

You can meditate on the bus,

In the train,

Waiting for someone in a cafe,

At a park,

On the plane.

Oh,

I love meditating when I'm flying.

It's just a matter of connecting within and becoming mindful and just becoming a little bit still wherever you are and not being affected by the external world.

Going to number four.

Number four is,

I meditate once a week and it's enough.

Or,

I've done the scores or this 21-day challenge online and I think this was enough.

I'm pretty good.

I often say that meditation is the sole workout.

So,

In that analogy,

This myth is like saying,

I go to the gym once a week and it's enough.

Yes,

It's better than nothing for sure,

But is it enough to achieve your fitness goals?

Or,

It's also like saying,

I've worked out for 21 days,

I feel good,

I feel fit,

And this was enough.

I mean,

Who says that?

Also,

You don't just get a six-pack and then you stop working out,

Right?

So,

It seems silly,

But it's very important.

The practice of meditation is a lifelong practice.

And just like working out,

You may work to achieve certain goals,

But it doesn't end when you achieve your goals.

So,

Similarly,

You can change up your practice.

Try different classes.

You can lift weight,

But if you don't like that,

You can try a Zumba class or yoga or running or swimming or CrossFit,

Right?

And with meditation,

It's the same.

I think personally that guided meditations and online programs are really great to help you gain consistency and feel like you have someone coaching you.

But again,

The practice of meditation is a lifelong practice.

Be curious.

Find the type that resonated with you.

Find a coach.

Research online.

And don't be afraid to change things up every once in a while.

And now we're getting to the last one,

Number five.

Meditation will make me quote-unquote Zen.

I personally think that the word Zen has been thrown out a lot,

Has been misused a little bit.

So Zen meditation is a Buddhist style of meditation.

But nowadays,

Zen became a synonym for being calm and patient and chilled and soft-spoken all the time.

A lot of people can't be like that.

But who knows if they practice meditation and who knows what's going on through their minds.

Maybe they're super stressed inside and maybe they're just acting like that on the surface.

So first of all,

If being outgoing and loud is part of your personality,

Then embrace it.

The practice of meditation will actually help you embrace more of who you are.

It will help you live more authentically.

Secondly,

And most importantly,

The practice of meditation will not necessarily prevent you from ever being angry,

Irritated,

Frustrated.

For these are human emotions and they have their place within our system,

I believe.

So the main difference is that the practice of meditation will bring you more awareness.

You will be more aware of your reactions to certain situations or people,

Aware of your triggers.

And this awareness can help you make better decisions and potentially and hopefully help you become less reactive.

The practice of meditation will also help you have more self-compassion and self-love.

Whenever you feel like you were too reactive and could have done better,

It's a practice.

We need to remember to love ourselves,

To have compassion towards ourselves.

So you see,

It's not necessarily controlling our emotions or resisting our emotions.

It's practicing being aware of your emotions,

Allowing them to come through and act from this place of awareness.

In other words,

The fact that you meditate doesn't mean you will not feel angry,

Irritated or frustrated.

But with the awareness and the self-love,

You will become gradually a less reactive version.

Well,

There is a lot more I can talk about,

But I believe that these are the biggest five for me.

If you would like to start your practice of meditation or change up your practice,

I suggest that you listen to a guided meditation here on the podcast.

I'll actually post a morning meditation on the next episode after this one so that you can use it every day.

Or you can find more meditations on my website,

Www.

Willcaminada.

Com slash meditation.

You can also catch some live meditations on my Instagram and lots of inspirational and spiritual content there.

My IG is at gi will g u i w i l l.

And as always,

I will leave links on the show's notes.

So I'd love to know from you.

Did any of these myths resonate with you?

Do you have any other myths that you would like to share or any questions about them?

Please feel free to comment or message me and share this episode with that friend that you're thinking about right now.

And if this episode has brought you value,

Please subscribe to my podcast and take a screenshot of it.

Share it to your Instagram story and be sure to tag me so that I know it's brought you value and I'll reshare your story too.

As always,

Keep shining your light,

Keep your heart open and let love lead the way.

I love you.

See you in the next episode.