Why Your Excuses to Avoid Meditation Are Not Justified
By Ravisha Kathuria
The mind is smarter and quicker in generating excuses, and putting up resistance in case a change is suggested. If you are aware of the benefits of meditation, then your mind bombards you with innumerable ways to run away from practices that can benefit you.
As toddlers, didn’t we cry, yell, and make faces to avoid drinking that hot cup of milk? When we grew a little older, we gave all sorts of excuses to not go to school. A little into adolescence, and we would convince ourselves that last minute study would be sufficient to score well on exams. And this habit seems to continue even as we turn into young adults. Oh, the mind is playing games all the time, and in all phases of our lives. Is there an end to it? Let’s find out:
Excuse #1: “I am too busy to meditate.”
“Meditation is definitely for people who are busy. If you are busy and you don’t have time, you need to meditate all the more because meditation can add hours to your day by enhancing your productivity.” – Ami Patel, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation Teacher. What can be your vested interest in meditation?
- You will be able to study more in less time.
- You can focus better.
- You will feel energetic, and that lets you study more, and enjoy even more.
Did you know that only 20 minutes of meditation everyday can do all this for you? While a first-hand experience speaks for itself, but theoretically speaking, it can raise your energy bar. When your energy is high, your focus is sharp and you are able to study more in less time. Isn’t that enhanced productivity?
Excuse #2: “Early morning meditation is too early for me.”
There might have been at least one thing that has made you jump out of your bed even before the alarm went off, such as you and your friends traveling to another city, or the final match of the ICC Cricket World Cup to be aired early morning. You know what pleasure it brings, don’t you? We don’t want you to disturb your sleep to meditate early in the morning, but if you can try going to sleep earlier, perhaps you will find it easier to get up early.
Just like you are able to take out 2 minutes for dental hygiene, how difficult can it be to take out time for mental hygiene? Now, if you hated brushing and stopped brushing, your teeth would be in bad shape. You would not want that pain. Right? So now, if you want peace, you might want to consider meditating. It might not sound so exciting right now, but once you start experiencing the positive effects, you might actually start liking it.
Meditation does not substitute sleep, instead it compliments it. The rest you can find in 20 minutes of meditation is deeper than the deepest sleep. It also improves the quality of sleep, and helps overcome sleep disorders.
Excuse #3: “Meditation is for older people.”
Why not ask parents to meditate too? They aren’t young. When they’ll meditate, they will notice the difference that it brings to their quality of life. They will understand that it is meant for you too, and not designed to suit only a particular age group. “After practicing meditation, I do not get as angry as before,” shares Sandra, a middle school student. Many others just like her have also benefited. “Just a few minutes of meditation keeps me calm all day,” shares 19-year-old Karan, another young meditator.
Excuse #4: “I have nowhere to meditate.”
Often, it is not just the noise outside, but also the endless chattering inside the mind that hinders meditation. And if our external environment is not congenial for meditation, transcending thoughts might become difficult.
That’s when Sahaj Samadhi Meditation can help us. This technique helps one to rest effortlessly in meditation, without having to resist external and internal disturbances. “It is said that wherever you can think, you can also meditate. Sometimes I’m on a bus where there’s loud music, but it doesn’t bother me. I just meditate and it actually feels nice, and different to experience the silence amidst the jarring noise outside,” shares Zoran Imsiragic, a regular meditator for 23 years, who has had the experience of meditating under water.
———————–
Ravisha Kathuria is a passionate writer. Through her articles, she conveys the beauty of the ancient teachings of meditation in their simplest form, which are easy takeaways for the readers.
Need help learning mindfulness meditation? Check out Mindfulness Meditation Made Simple: Your Guide to Finding True Inner peace (paperback).
If you enjoyed this article, sign up below for the Blooming Lotus Newsletter and we’ll notify you when the next article is released:
0 Comments