The Experience of Meditation

Hopefully, these blogs have encouraged you to try meditation using one of the techniques that I've recorded on the website or you've found a technique of your own which you were drawn to.
On this last blog of the year I'd like to mention some of the experiences you may encounter during meditation. It helped me enormously to discuss with my teacher what was happening when I first started to meditate so going through some of the common experiences is useful to know what may happen.

Feeling tired or sleepy during Meditation

One of the most common sensations when we first start to meditate is to feel really tired or sleepy. We sit down and start to meditate and then after a while we feel like we’re going to sleep; we are really struggling to stay awake.

What is happening here is your brain waves are starting to slow down from the beta patterns we normally live with during the day. When we are at work, multitasking, answering the phone, replying to emails and so on we live with busy or hectic beta waves which can make us feel stressed and anxious. When we start to meditate, our brain waves start to slow down to alpha waves. This is normally experienced just as we are about to fall asleep.

So, we believe that this is what is happening and therefore we can feel heavy and tired thinking soon we will be asleep. Over time as we recognise that it is just our brain waves slowing down we will be able to stay conscious in meditation without feeling tired.

If we do fall asleep during meditation it doesn’t actually matter. The important thing to remember is once we are conscious again we continue with our meditation practice without judging ourselves. 

Zoning out during Meditation

There will be times for most people during meditation that there is an experience of “zoning” out. We will start to meditate and one minute we are following the technique and then next second we are gone. We only notice this when we are back seemingly having had the experience of disappearing for a while. A short or long time may have passed but we really have no experience of what happened.
This is similar to what happens every night when we are in deep sleep. In deep sleep we are not aware of time or any experience. We are having the experience of no-experience unlike when we are conscious and using our senses to experience everything.

In contrast to this we may sometimes experience being aware of every sound, every thought and every emotion during meditation and not be affected at all by this activity.

These are both experiences and are to be simply noticed and acknowledged and not seen as a goal or a desire to be experienced.    

Thoughts

During meditation we are likely to experience times when the mind is extremely busy and in contrast there will be times when the mind is very quiet when there are no thoughts at all. We may have times when the mind is somewhere in between these two states as well.

It is not a goal or desire of meditation to stop our thoughts. Our thoughts will naturally slowdown of their own accord as we continue our meditation practice. If we try and stop our thoughts we will generally experience more thoughts; it is simply the way it is.
Also, it is not a goal or desire of meditation to train our mind to only have good or positive thoughts. It is so much easier not to label thoughts as good or bad. There are just thoughts and thoughts are a by-product of having a human body and mind.

We may also experience cycles of repetitive thoughts time and time again when we meditate. There may be long gaps between these cycles of thoughts. We may think that the thoughts have been finally put to bed, then suddenly the thoughts are there again as repetitive as ever. We usually like to see some sort of meaning or significance in things like repetitive thoughts. However, they are really just thoughts like any other thoughts and should be regarded in the same way. 

Whenever we are distracted or become lost in our thoughts during meditation, we gently commit to the meditation again and follow the technique. It doesn’t matter how many times this happens in meditation. The important thing is to remind ourselves each time without any sense of failure, to simply follow the technique again. 

More quotes about thoughts are on my website below

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/on-thoughts---ian.html 

Emotions

It is not a goal of meditation to try and stop or control our emotions. It is important to see there are no right and no wrong emotions; there is simply a willingness to be open to whatever emotion is experienced.

When we meditate we can feel happiness, sadness, joy, fear or all sorts of different emotions or we may experience no emotions at all. It is not a goal to try and experience only what we would label as good emotions. It is not a sign of success if we feel tremendous happiness nor is it a failure if you experience extreme sadness.

It sometimes looks as if we are trying to stop and control our emotions during meditation when in reality it is the exact opposite.

We do normally find it easier to allow the positive emotions to be experienced in life. When we laugh we usually let it all out with no hesitation, we just laugh. Therefore, in meditation if we experience joy or happiness we are normally okay with that emotion. The trick here is not to expect these good emotions or seek them out as a goal or start to judge the meditation as a failure if we experience the opposite emotion.

It is more likely to be the negative emotions we struggle with. We feel we shouldn’t be feeling them or don’t like the feeling these negative emotions brings to our bodies. Sometimes people find it harder to cry for example or allow anger to flow freely. So, it may be a surprise that these emotions come up during meditation. It may be the first time that these ‘negative’ emotions have been allowed to be felt so it can be a shock to the system. It can help if we remember not to resist any negative emotion being experienced. If we resist feeling the emotion we may feel worse. Allow the emotion to be experienced as much as you can without judging yourself in any way.

If you feel the need to cry, then allow yourself to cry. If we allow the emotion to be felt and relax, our bodies have a natural way of dealing with emotions. We may cry, we may shake, we may tremble - our bodies will know what to do if we trust and allow the body to react to the emotion.

For any powerful emotion that is being felt or if there is any sense of feeling overwhelmed then focus on the technique. Simply follow the technique without pushing away or clinging onto the emotion.

Sensations in the body

During meditation we can feel or become aware of many different sensations in the body.

As with thoughts and emotions, we are not trying to experience a particular sensation or a particular feeling in the body. There is no tick list of sensations we should experience, which tells us that we are progressing with our meditation practice. As with emotions, some people may not witness many sensations in the body at all, but this again is not a sign of progress or lack of progress. We are all unique, so we will experience different things. Some people will experience many sensations and little emotions whilst others will experience little sensations and strong emotions, and vice versa and all the combinations in-between.

It is helpful to know some of the sensations we may feel during meditation so that they are not a surprise to us.

Some of the sensations we may feel are (This list is not exhaustive):
· A general feeling of hot or cold
· A feeling of heat or cold on a particular area of the body
· Feeling of pins and needles
· Aches and pains
· Aware of pressure on a certain area of the body like the head
· A general feeling of energy moving around the body
· The body feeling light or heavy
· A gentle presence or stillness around the body

The important thing is to remain open and curious to whatever sensation is experienced in meditation. If we start to desire or wish for a particular pleasant sensation, then we may start to judge our meditation on whether we experience that wished for sensation or not. We can become distracted by desiring sensations rather than retaining our curiosity as to what meditation is.

It is better to remind ourselves that it is simply a sensation that we are aware of; just like we are aware of thoughts and aware of emotions.

Visions and other Experiences

As we continue with our meditation practice we can also experience some quite powerful and profound states. It is not a sign of success or failure if we do or do not have these experiences, but it is good to be forewarned about them, so you are aware of what may be experienced.

Some of the states in particular the more blissful ones can be very alluring. We may start to desire them, as it has been ingrained in our human nature to seek good experiences and avoid negative ones.

This is when we have to remind ourselves as stated previously, that meditation isn’t about wishing or desiring a particular state or experience no matter how pleasurably they seem. Simply be open to observe whatever is experienced without any goal, then meditation naturally happens.

We also don’t have to be hard on ourselves if we do become lost in chasing states for a while. It is a common trap people can be caught in as it can appear as if you are making progress.

Some of the experiences we can observe are listed below as examples.
· A feeling of Oneness with everything
· A feeling of love for everything and everyone
. The whole body feeling blissful
· A terrific sense of energy in the body which can result in shaking
· A sensation of rising upwards as if you are looking down at your body
· Images of people or colours forming in front of you
· A feeling of a presence sitting next to you or looking down at you
· A sense of about to fall into a great void of nothingness
· A sense of falling for a long or short time

If we encounter any of these kinds of experiences, the important thing is not to hold on to them or try to push them away. If it helps we can put our attention more firmly on the technique we are using for a while and acknowledge the experience as something that was seen and does not mean a sign of success or failure. Eventually we will be able to see these experiences simply as experiences not to be chased or avoided, simply to be witnessed.

The Secret Meditator

One more thing to mention on the blog as I realise it's quite a long one. One technique which I love is simply watching a flame or a log burner or an open fire. No one needs to know you're trying to meditate just put your attention fully on the flames. Whenever you are distracted by thoughts, emotions, sensations or people in the room just bring your attention back to the flames no matter how many times you are distracted. Just lose yourself in the fire. A really good meditation with the nights drawing in leading up to Christmas.

See link below to access my website. There are free meditations available.

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/meditate-with-ian.html 

The Sound of the Wind

Signs of progress with our Meditation practice

I have mentioned this topic briefly on one of the earlier blogs, but I thought it would be a good idea to re-visit the subject of progress. 

As we start our practice of meditation we obviously have at the back of our minds thoughts such as "I hope this helps and makes me feel better". This probably is, for most people the reason we decide to try meditation in the first place. We have come across meditation in some way perhaps the Internet, TV or other source and we have the idea that it will help with our lives in some way. 

Hopefully this blog has encouraged you to try meditation and see what happens. If not, then it is never to late to start! That really is the most important thing. We can read as much as we can about meditation, we can learn the techniques and principles behind it but the most important thing is to try it and give it a go and experience meditation for ourselves.

Anyway back to the subject of progress, say if we have started to meditate; how do we know we are "doing" it right and making progress? It is key to remember here that it is not what we experience actually in the meditation itself, it is how we feel as we go about our daily lives that is important. The meditations themselves may be filled with continuous thoughts, an urge to fidget or some other constant distraction but that does not mean it isn't starting to help you in some way. Most people when they start to meditate experience many distractions which will go on for some time but are we noticing changes in our "normal" lives?    

Are we feeling less stressed at work? Are we sleeping a little better? Are we communicating with our friends and family a little better? Sometimes these little changes are too subtle to spot as we believe what is happening in our meditation sessions is what we should be concentrating on. Be open and honest and see what is happening in the whole of your life not just what is happening during meditation.

It maybe the case that the meditations themselves are going well, with less thoughts and not so many distractions. This is great but if not, simply continue with the meditation practice. Be patient with yourself as people are different and will experience different things. Give yourself a little time and you will feel the benefits sooner than you think. Even meditating for 10-15 minutes a day can be beneficial.

If you have any questions on this section of the blog don't hesitate to contact me via our website.

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/contact-us.html

Sound of the Wind Meditation  

The next meditation in the Secret Meditator series is a Sound of the Wind meditation. 

The technique with this meditation is to simply listen to the sound of the wind on a windy day. 

Sit or stand comfortable with your eyes open or closed and listen. Listen to the wind as the sound ebbs and flows. Just like with the other meditations, whenever you are distracted by thoughts, emotions or sensations in the body, simply remind yourself to listen to the wind again. No matter how many times it appears you are distracted - just go back to listening to the wind again.   
Obviously, you can't control the wind so just let go of trying to manage and control the sound you are hearing. Put your attention on the sound of the wind as it comes and goes. Keep bringing your attention back to the sound again and again.

This technique will appeal to some and not to others. Just like the Watching the Leaves or the Playing with the Bracelet meditation. Find a technique which resonates with you. Experiment and see what happens.

I've added a 15 minute meditation to the website which you can listen to and help with this meditation. See link below.

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/ians-guided-meditations.html     

Any comments on the blog would be appreciated!       

Playing with Beads Meditation

The Secret Meditator : Playing with Beads Meditation 

The next meditation in the Secret Meditator series of meditations is a "Playing with Beads Meditation". Any object we can hold can be used for this meditation as we are simply bringing our attention to focus on the feeling of the object we are touching. In the guided meditation I've uploaded to the website, I've used an example of a beaded bracelet as that is what I use from time to time.

I have always had a tendency to play or fidget with things with my hands such as car keys, TV remotes and indeed bracelets. Instead of resisting this natural inclination and trying to meditate staying still or observing things like the movement of leaves on a tree, we can work with this tendency and meditate. We can put our attention fully on the feeling of the bracelet in our hands. Feel each individual bead as we move the beads through our hands. We can do this as we sit or when we are walking. Next time you walk to the local shops just hold a bracelet in your hand and concentrate on the feeling. When ever you are distracted by anything, simply notice you have been distracted and remind yourself to focus on the beads again. 

Remember we can use many techniques to meditate. The technique we focus on allows meditation to be observed and noticed. 

This technique may not appeal to everyone but it will be beneficial to people who do find it a challenge to sit still to meditate. It also challenges the belief that we have to sit to meditate and hold a certain position. If we did have to sit still to meditate then this would hinder many people who find this difficult. Instead, we can embrace our natural way of being and move and hold beads in our hands to meditate as long as we bring our attention fully to this. I can sit to meditate most of the time but every now and then there's a pull to hold some beads and meditate in this way. 

See link below to access the Playing with Beads Meditation :-

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/ians-guided-meditations.html 

Distractions     

One of the most common experiences we have when we start to meditate is distraction. Even if we have being wanting to try meditation for a long time and we finally feel we've found the right Teacher. We will still experience distraction.

The ways in which we distract ourselves is pretty endless. Before we even try to meditate we can be distracted by Social Media or something interesting on TV or just something else we feel like doing like reading a book. Then when we finally meditate, our thoughts can go into overdrive or our next doors car alarm keeps going off or maybe we just can't quite get comfortable. Basically anything you can possibly imagine, we can get distracted by.

The most important to realise is that this happens to everyone who meditates. It is totally impersonal. Everyone who has ever meditated has experienced distraction. Give yourself a huge break and know and accept this. No judging, no self pity, no berating ourselves. The next step is to be kind with ourselves (as most of us are our own fiercest critic), and go back to whatever technique we are following. No matter how many times we are distracted go back to the technique we are following. Whether it's following the breath, allowing everything to be as it is or watching the leaves of a tree, simply go back and follow the technique. 

Keep with the technique and be open and curious about what you are noticing during meditation. 

If you'd like to find out more about what we offer at Peacefulexperience.com see link below.

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/

Please feel free to comment if you have any questions about this blog. 

Thanks

Ian

Watching the Leaves Meditation

The Secret Meditator : Watching the Leaves Meditation 

The next Meditation in 'The Secret Meditator' series is a 'Watching the Leaves' Meditation. This involves a different technique to the technique used in the previous two meditations.

Remember the technique we use is not the meditation, the technique allows meditation to be observed when it naturally happens. Therefore many techniques can be used when we meditate.

All you need to do with this meditation is to find a tree and concentrate on the movement of the leaves as the wind blows. We can do this in a local park or perhaps we can see a tree from the window of our home. Just follow the movement  of the leaves. Whenever you are distracted by thoughts, emotions or sounds etc just notice you have been distracted and go back to following the leaves. No matter how many times you are distracted, go back to following the leaves.

I've recorded a guided meditation using this technique onto the website. This different approach to meditation may appeal to you. Give it go and I'd be interested in any comments.

Click Here to access website page for the guided meditation.

One of the keys to a good meditation practice

Managing or being aware of our expectations is one of the keys to getting the most from our meditation practice. 

Expectation works in many ways. We can have low and high expectations. We can have really high expectations to what meditation can offer especially if we have researched all the benefits of meditation on the internet or we have experienced feeling calm or peaceful during a meditation. Or we can have low expectations such as when we've tried to meditate and we don't think anything is really happening. Therefore, the next time we meditate we have a low expectation or even start to become disillusioned with the idea of meditation.

We can obviously have expectations which sit in between high and low as well.

Everyone has expectations. I'm no different from anyone else. No-one would be drawn to even try meditation if there wasn't an expectation that it would help in our lives in some way.

In knowing this we can simply accept that we will have expectations before we meditate. 

The important thing is how to we use and work with that expectation?

The most important thing to remember, once we have acknowledged that it is perfectly natural and normal to have expectations, is that once we actually begin to meditate we let go of any expectations. Whatever we have experienced previously in meditation has no relation to what we may experience this time or in the future. Allow yourself to be absorbed in what is happening moment to moment. See if you can treat each time you meditate as the first time. If it's like our first time, as with any first experience we have no idea what we may happen next.

Remain open and curious to whatever you are noticing and experiencing without making any judgements. There is no such thing as a good or bad meditation and whatever is experienced is exactly what you were might to experience. Stay with the technique of the meditation no matter how many times you are distracted by expectations or other things.

Simply stay with the technique and see what you notice about yourself. 

You can contact me via our website if you any questions or you can add a comment below.

Contact us here

Where have you tried to Meditate?

Can you meditate travelling on a bus or going for a walk?

In my first blog we explored the idea of meditating as we go about our day. Also, if we were a bit nervous or self-conscious about meditating; we looked at meditating without anyone knowing - "The Secret Meditator".

Before we go any further with the idea of meditating anytime, anyplace and anywhere it would be useful to have an understanding of what meditation is? 

What is Meditation?

There are many, many techniques we can follow to meditate for example observing the breath, reminding ourselves to Be Still or visualising light flowing through the body. The list goes on and on. What we discover, no matter which technique we follow, is that meditation naturally happens. As we focus on the technique we are not trying to control or manage the moment in anyway. We are in a non-resisting stance. We are simply putting our attention on the technique and discovering what happens when we do this. The more we do this, we find that there is a peace and calmness already here.

In fact, we have all experienced meditation before, such as when we've being reading our favourite book and we get totally engrossed in the words and then we suddenly look at the clock and an hour has flown by! We may have had the same experience when watching a really good movie.

All we are doing when we sit to meditate or when we follow a moving meditation is to really recognise what meditation is. More importantly, we can feel the benefits of meditation relatively quickly. This is good to know as most people would like to feel better about themselves in some way. 

The real sign that you are benefiting from meditation is not what we experience in a particular meditation, it is how you feel as you go about our lives. Are we feeling generally more peaceful and relaxed? Are we handling certain every day situations without feeling so stressed and anxious?   

Discover this for yourself

The important thing here is to discover this for yourself. Otherwise these are simply words on a blog. Really see if the above words about meditation resonate with you!

Have a go and see what happens. Go on a journey of discovery. If you are a bit nervous and self-conscious you don't have tell anyone. Be a Secret Meditator!

Drop or let go of any ideas and beliefs that we may have around meditation. See if we can be open and willing to see what happens when we try to meditate as we go for a walk or when we are travelling on a bus. I've added two free fifteen minute guided meditations to the website for anyone to listen to for these two situations. Just load the free meditation to your mobile device and listen. It'll look as if you are listening to music so no one needs to know.

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/ians-guided-meditations.html

The technique we use on these two meditations is to notice or follow the breath. Simple but very effective.

If you wish to try to sit to meditate there is a free sample "Follow the breathing" meditation as well.

If you found this blog interesting, see our peaceful experience website for what else we have to offer.

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/

Follow the blog if you wish to be notified when a new one comes out!

Introducing the Secret Meditator

You can meditate anytime, anywhere and any place!

The good thing to know is that anyone can meditate and the benefits can be experienced sooner than most people think. Also, if you are nervous or anxious about trying meditation that you can actual meditate without anyone knowing! You don't have worry about being judged by other people and just have a go. I remember when I first attempted to meditate on my own, I would tell my family that I was going to read a book in my bedroom and then I would try and meditate for ten minutes or so. I didn't want them to think I was going a bit weird!

Now, meditation is simply part of my life and it has helped in so many ways that I would recommend it to anyone to help with finding peace and calmness. 

Meditation is becoming more in the public eye these days and there is certainly a wealth of information on this subject if you search for this topic on the internet or on social media. There are still plenty of misconceptions out there which I believe hinders people to try meditation either on their own or going along to a class. There is so much information out there that it is difficult to know where to start and which meditation to try and follow.

Sitting to Meditate

One of the most popular images that most people have when we talk about meditation is the image of someone sitting cross legged and holding our fingers in a loop. If you are pulled to meditate that way that is fine but you don't have to.

You can meditate in any seated position which is comfortable, the main thing is to sit upright as we may fall asleep if we lie down to meditate. The most important thing is to be in a posture easy to maintain with as little as discomfort as possible.

Meditating anytime, anywhere and any place  

  

As well as not having to sit in a particular way to meditate we can also meditate whilst standing, moving and performing any ordinary daily tasks.That is why Yoga, Qi-gong and Tai Chi are popular as they are standing or moving meditations. These are ideal for certain people who find it a challenge to sit still to meditate. It is great to know you don't have to sit to meditate - for some people this is almost a form of torture!

This new blog is aimed at helping people getting over that initial nervousness or reservations about meditation and also to look at some of the beliefs we have around meditation itself. There will be free 15 minute guided meditations posted to the peaceful experience website under the heading of Secret Meditator. Use them on your mobile device to listen to.

You can be a secret meditator as you go about your day - no one needs to know you are meditating as you could be simply listening to music.

See link to website below:-

 https://www.peacefulexperience.com/ians-guided-meditations.html

You don't have to put time aside to meditate, you can meditate whilst going for a walk, washing the dishes or doing the ironing. The benefits will be the same no matter which form of meditation you are drawn to.

Visit our website to find out more about Peaceful Experience :-

https://www.peacefulexperience.com/