Learning how to attain peace through mindfulness and meditation essentially means learning to turn your attention away from distracting thoughts and focusing on the present moment. This is a lot more difficult than it sounds. When we’re tiered, stressed, or aggravated, our minds are flooded with unwanted and intrusive chatter, which, unsurprisingly, causes us more stress. The good news is that it is possible to break this cycle. And, it’s really not that hard.
What is Mindfulness?
What most people don’t realize is that mindfulness is not a form of thinking, judging, or interpreting information. Instead, it’s a frame of mind that allows you to be conscious of your experience, without anticipating future events or reflecting on the past. That’s why it’s possible to practice mindfulness while driving, shopping, cleaning, working, or exercising. Because the world works in a way where we’re constantly dealing with an influx of stimuli, both positive and negative, staying aware of our experiences as they’re happening takes a bit of work.
But, before we get into how to attain peace through mindfulness and meditation, let’s first get familiarized with the basics. You can start by incorporating mindfulness throughout the day. Take intentional pauses to be aware of how you’re feeling, what you’re doing, and where you are. Try to stay judgment free in the process, so if you realize that you’re feeling nervous or anxious about something, simply acknowledge it and move on rather than try to rationalize it.
What exactly is Meditation?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, mediation is: ”the act or process of spending time in quiet thought: the act or process of mediating: an expression of a person’s thoughts on something”. Yet, for some reason, a lot of people mistakenly believe that they have to suppress all thoughts so that their minds can rest. This is false. It’s perfectly fine to think, and learning how to deal with your thoughts while meditating is one of the ways you can increase you ability to concentrate.
While it’s always best to speak to a teacher before you start meditating to make sure you get the most out of your practice, there are small steps you can take on your own. Although you can meditate anywhere at anytime, begin by selecting a quiet space where you’ll have few distractions if you’re just starting out. Then, decide on what to focus your mediation, whether it’s your breath, a word, an image, or a sound.
What’s So Important About Silence?
A 2013 study showed that silence is imperative for our creativity and personal growth. You may have noticed how people living in big cities with a lot of noise tend to be more stressed and anxious than those living in quiet rural areas. That’s because noise tends to have an actual physical effect on our brains, causing stress hormones to flood our systems. Silence gives the brain the freedom it needs to process and make sense of our internal and external worlds.
How Do Silence, Mindfulness and Meditation Influence My Inner Peace?
Silence is in many ways integral to peace, since the goal of meditation is to stop intrusive thoughts and random chatter in order to be more aware of your experience as they happen. In order to accomplish this, you need to give your mind a task. This is where mindfulness and mediation fuse together. If you chose to meditate on your breath but are noticing your mind giving leeway to other thoughts, gently but intentionally bring your attention back to your breath.
The fact is, you can practice mindfulness and meditation at absolutely any point of the day, no matter where you are or how much time you’ve got. Studies show that engaging in the practice anywhere between 2 minutes, 30 seconds, or 1 hour quite literally rebuild the gray matter in your brain. This provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day, allowing you to attain and keep peace.
At Merkaela, we are impatiently anticipating the arrival of August. To us, it’s the perfect time for relinquishing anything that steals our joy and sense of inner peace. Because we realize how stress can permeate every aspect of your life, we sincerely strive to provide you with the tools you need to live better, healthier, and happier.
Every person should have the ability to create inner peace. Through mindfulness and meditation, you can and you will.
References
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meditation
http://www.lifehack.org/377243/science-says-silence-much-more-important-our-brains-than-thought
http://www.feelguide.com/2014/11/19/harvard-unveils-mri-study-proving-meditation-literally-rebuilds-the-brains-gray-matter-in-8-weeks/
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