Problems that May Arise When You Meditate
Question: I cannot stop thinking when I meditate. I cannot sit still. My mind is all over the place.
Answer: Thinking is allowed, and when you notice it, you simply shift your focus back to the present moment (back to neutral such as noticing your abdominal breathing). It doesn’t mean you’re encouraging your mind to think and be all over the place while you practice. You want to remain neutral, relax and just observe. Whatever comes up in your mind is okay; acknowledge/accept it and then pull your attention back to noticing your breath so you don’t get caught up in the thinking, but you’re at peace with it. It’s as if you’re observing your mind like you’re observing another person without blame or judgment. You feel at ease because you’re not getting involved with your thoughts, and this (the act of observing through neutrality) allows you to let go since you’re not attached to whatever comes up in your mind. The non-judgment will lead you into calmness. If you find sitting meditation difficult, then please try walking meditation or other methods.
Question: How long should I meditate?
Answer: Well, this is up to you. We suggest you start with a short meditation around 5 to 10 minutes. In fact, you shouldn’t think about time when you meditate because time is simply now. By not worrying about time (just be in the present without judging), it frees you and allows you to enjoy your meditation more because you’re relaxing, renewing and refreshing your energy instead of thinking about other things (fluctuating with your thoughts – up, down, left or right).
When you feel peaceful or centered, you can access clearer ideas because inner peace (being non-judgmental) removes biases/prejudices from your consciousness. Thus, you’re able to gain insight about life problems and see reality from a new perspective, which doesn’t bog you down. Now that your mind is relaxed, uplifted and unburdened from negative emotions, you will feel immensely innovative on how to deal with challenges without doing harm.
Question: Although meditation helps, I still have stress and negative thoughts.
Answer: That is okay. Don’t hate the stress and negative thoughts. When you feel like that, allow yourself to calm down (breathe deeply) and embrace what you’re feeling in the moment. It’s not about fighting with your mind and trying to suppress your thoughts or emotions. It may feel uncomfortable at first to embrace stress because your mind doesn’t want to face or accept it. However, continue to relax (breathe deeply) and just be with the feeling as is. Now, when your mind is at ease (relaxing, not judging and accepting what is), the negative feeling will subside by itself because your calmness releases the tension and not holding on to the lower vibrations. Let this happen naturally and don’t try to force the bad feelings or negative thoughts to go away because when you try to control it, you will start fighting with it, which will create more disturbances in your energetic field. Just relax, be with it and recognize that this moment is good enough. Begin to appreciate and have gratitude towards stress and negative thoughts such as “oh you guys are giving me a reminder to be at ease. Thank you, I appreciate your message. I will now breathe deeply to loosen up and unwind.”
Question: I feel I don’t have time to meditate because I’m far too busy with many other things.
Answer: Your fear & judgment are clever at making excuses for not practicing meditation, which actually will bring you a lot of benefits. The truth is you have all the time in the world to meditate, but you choose not to do it. Therefore, it would be tremendously advantageous for you to make meditation a part of your life since the practice helps you to alleviate stress; balance your emotions; rejuvenate your energy, and gain insight into your unhappiness so that you no longer dwell in the lower vibrations, but start to experience unconditional joy.
Question: If I practice letting go of my thoughts, emotions, and beliefs, won’t I lose my sense of self or identity?
Answer: No, you don’t lose your sense of self. Instead, you will become more of your true self, where you feel unconditionally happy; experience pure joy; have clarity and higher intelligence; able to forgive and make peace with all things; feel kinder and more compassionate; have access to wisdom; feel creative and more inspired; therefore, you live a satisfying life with no regrets. The things you lose are your harmful intentions, unhappy thoughts, stressful emotions, prejudices, fears, the need to control, the need to blame, the need to be right and your limited awareness. You forgo chaos and choose to return to harmony and move with the flow of existence.
Question: How long will it take for me to master this?
Answer: Again, don’t worry about time or how long it will take because if you do, you will feel frustrated or defeated. Don’t judge yourself on how well or how bad you are at practicing meditation because the judgment will push or pull your mind and take you away from your center (the ability to relax). Therefore, just practice meditation and mindfulness as often as you can so that it becomes a habit. Allow yourself to enjoy the practice. Make it into a fun game. Whenever you feel agitated, remind yourself that you know how to relax. Let yourself experience inner peace by focusing only on your breath (be with only one thing). Breathe deeply and slowly and give yourself permission to feel at ease. Stick with simplicity.