Meditation: What to Expect and What NOT

 

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Meditation, in my understanding, is a path. It’s a path to absolute peace. Meditation leads us to the unexplored part of ourselves. While we are always connected to the external world, practice of meditation helps us connect to the inner world within us. It makes us realize that the physical world is not the complete reality. Thus, meditation helps us see the reality that’s beyond the reach of the five senses.

As far as my experience is concerned, I haven't reached that level where I can claim that I have the authority to give tips and advice on how to do a proper meditation. However, I do have the experience of failing to meditate properly. So, I probably have the authority to share my experiences on what mistakes one could avoid while getting into the path of meditation.

First of all, the experience of meditation differs from person to person. What I experience may not be similar to what you experience. It’s because my level of consciousness may be different from yours. Moreover, people who have the ability to focus on a single point for a longer period of time can experience better and more positive results compared to those who struggle in maintaining focus even for a few seconds.

Another thing I have learned about meditation is that it’s not just about sitting cross-legged for some minutes and ignoring it for the rest of the day. An essential part of meditation is awareness. So, we must practise being aware of our actions each and every moment. Meditation is not done to escape reality. Instead meditation should help us to be aware of the truth and accept it as it is, rather than making up any kind of subjective perception on it. I had to mention this thing because a lot of people think that people who meditate are those who want to escape reality and live in a dreamlike world.

Next very crucial thing I need to talk about is the goal you set when you enter the world of meditation. I don’t know if I should mention this thing or not, and also I don’t know if I’ll be able to articulate it properly or not, but I will try to explain it in a simple way so that everyone can understand the gist of meditation. In a way, you have to know where you are going, in order to achieve success in whatever you do. So, setting a goal is very important. However, when it comes to meditation, you must be able to change this perception. If you are someone who knows nothing about meditation and if I have to explain meditation to you, then I can tell you that you can achieve inner peace and overcome fear by practising meditation. However, if you are really trying to explore the world of meditation, then I must be able to make it clear to you that setting a goal can be a big mistake in the path of meditation. When you set a goal, you have an expectation of achieving that goal. On the contrary, the purpose of meditation is to let go of any expectation. If you keep expecting that you’ll achieve this and that by doing the practice of meditation, then you’ll reach nowhere. Let’s say you are sitting down for a 30 minutes of meditation session. During this 30 minutes, if you are repeatedly asking yourself why you are not experiencing anything wonderful or different, then your session is not being fruitful. This 30 minutes of your day should be dedicated to meditation without any expectation, and there should not be any kind of feeling of regret once you are done with your session.

I didn’t know all these things when I first got introduced to meditation. I was so excited and was curious to know what I could achieve by meditating. As time passed, I studied a bit more about meditation and I also got more experience compared to my first attempts. And I’m still in the process of knowing meditation better and clearer. I’m still a very ordinary person. I never had an out-of-body experience. I haven’t been able to balance my chakras. I haven’t had my third eye opened. And I never had a lucid dream. However, I’m definitely a happier person now. 

And one thing I must mention once again is that the experience in meditation is not the same for everyone. What you experience in a month can be something I won’t be able to experience even after years of practice. That means you may experience a moment of bliss in a single day or maybe you won’t notice any change even after years of practice. So, you should be ready to accept this fact. This might make you a bit hopeless. However, on the brighter side, you should know that meditation teaches you to live in the present. It’s your mistakes in the past that can make you sad and wistful. And it’s your apprehension about a possible consequence in the future that keeps you anxious. If you meditate and observe your present, you won’t have anything to be sad about. And meditation makes you realize that happiness is a state of mind, which means that you should be happy because you know that you should be; not just because some external force is pleasing you. So, there are three major things I have learned from my experience in mediation - be aware of every single action you do; live in the present moment; and let go of any kind of expectation.  

(I wrote this when one of my friends asked me to write about my experience on meditation for research purpose. Now I'm posting it on my blog after some months.)