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'If you meditate you will find greater happiness than you have ever known. All knowledge will be given to you from within. Aim for high goals. It is a waste to use the power of thought to achieve unimportant things. ''
-Paramhansa Yogananda -
Mindfulness vs Meditation
Let's start by defining the difference between meditation and mindfulness, which has become very fashionable these days.
Mindfulness, is an American term that originated in the 1970s. Jon Kabat-Zinn, a Zen Buddhist student and university professor, who is often credited with having brought mindfulness to the West. His method places particular emphasis on reducing stress and anxiety levels and fighting chronic pain and disease.
Although there is nothing wrong with this, on the contrary, when it comes to meditation in Eastern traditions, a broader and more comprehensive vision is embraced than in the West.
The practice of meditation is a process of concentration on something that allows us to access meditative states, with the aim of achieving enlightenment, Nirvana, Moksha, Samadhi, union with the Whole.
No matter what name you use, your faith or religious orientation, meditation is for everyone.
The benefits
The benefits of constant practice affect all planes, from the physical to the soul.
Let's see them one by one:
- on the physical plane we will be able to experience deep relaxation and the release of chronic tensions.
- on the emotional level we will feel peace, joy and calm and a release of endorphins, neurotransmitters that help relieve pain, reduce stress and generate a feeling of euphoria and well-being.
- on the mental level we will perceive a reduction of troublesome thoughts, we will be able to think better, improve memory and increase the synergy between the right and left hemisphere of the brain
- on the soul level our deepest desires will find fulfillment. We are all here for a reason and not just 'to take up space'; by staying true to ourselves we can make the world a better place by developing our talents and fulfilling our destiny.
Thanks to meditation we will be able to access a transpersonal dimension, which will allow us to experience states of unconditional love and deep happiness and from that space, we will be able to revolutionize our life in all respects.
Moments of impasse and how to overcome them
Meditation is a simple practice, but not an easy one.
Sitting still with your back straight for several minutes can be considered unthinkable for someone and even those who have been meditating for a long time, may find themselves in periods of life where meditating is particularly difficult, but it is important not to stop and not get discouraged.
There are simple preparatory practices for meditation, which will help us overcome these moments.
Before starting the practice, it can help to do physical activity to discharge excess energy that we are unable to channel, run or do aerobic activity, or go for a walk bringing attention to the breath.
Hatha yoga helps prepare the body and spine to sit for a long time and channel energy.
At this point, we can move on to pranayama, breath control exercises, to then prepare for relaxation and concentration techniques that will lead us to meditative states.
The key point is to be kind to ourselves, there is no result to be obtained, but it is a process and every day will be different.