Day 8: Meditation Challenge ~ Debunking Meditation Myths

Welcome, to my 28-Meditation Challenge.

If you have joined us late, that is just fine. If you'd like to "officially" join in, simply leave a comment here that says, "I'm in!" and I will add you to the Challenge Roster. Or, send me an e-mail through the Contact Box at my website: awakenedliving.com. You may want to catch up by reading the previous posts. We are glad you are here!

Each day we come here, even if we have not meditated as we'd hoped, we begin again.
Start where you are ...

Today, I have a special guest "meditation expert." Please welcome Nadia Ballas-Ruta. You may know here as Happy Lotus, from the blog of the same name. She is a long-term meditator and a trained mindfulness instructor. Enjoy her wisdom!

Meditation Myths Debunked

By Nadia Ballas-Ruta

Unfortunately, there are a couple of myths that people hold about meditation. Two of them that come to mind are:

~You are supposed to have no thoughts while meditating

~Mystical experiences will occur when you meditate

When I began to meditate, I fell asleep every single time for two weeks. When I was finally able to stay awake through it all, I was amazed to see how my mind was a constant monologue of thoughts. I truly felt that I was doing something wrong because wasn’t meditating supposed to mean having no thoughts?

My teacher laughed when I shared my fear and told me that there will always be thoughts. He went on to tell me that I should observe my thoughts and hold no judgment about them. If you give a thought too much power, it will persist. So the idea was to observe thoughts like observing waves of the ocean.

The more I followed this advice, the more I began to detach from my thoughts and observe them as if they were another person. The simple act of doing this over time made me realize that there was a source of wisdom deep within me that was waiting for me to pay attention to it.

The more I meditated, the more I was in tune with this inner source (in Buddhism it is referred to as your Buddha Nature) and as I listened to it, I was guided as to how to live my life. I noticed that I became more conscious of those around me. My love for life just blossomed.

Of course, there were days when it was more challenging to deal with all the thoughts but therein lies the beauty of meditation. There is no wrong way to do it. There are many forms of meditation. I highly recommend reading Journey of Awakening: A Meditator’s Guidebook by Ram Dass in order to learn more about various types of meditation.

As for mystical experiences, they do happen but it takes years and a lot of intense spiritual study. To be candid, the mystical experiences are just a form of becoming more in tune with your Buddha Nature.

It has been over twelve years since meditation came into my life and it has been a blessing. In order to attain happiness, you have to cultivate inner peace and meditation provides you with a means to do that.

Often people give up on meditation because of the two myths I mentioned. In order to fully benefit from meditation, you have to keep at it and by all means, be gentle with yourself. It is okay to have an off day or to skip sessions.

There is so much more I could share but then this article would be really long. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at admin@happylotus.com.

And thank you, Jan, for letting me be a part of your 28-Day Meditation Challenge!

Nadia Ballas-Ruta writes and runs her own blog, www.HappyLotus.com. In addition to her blog, she is a regular contributor at Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal. She is a free spirit who believes in being happy, green and eating as natural and healthy as possible. You can also follow her on Twitter (HappyLotus).

Thank you, Nadia! In my view, you remind us of two very important "P" words, vital to a successful meditation practice—persistence and patience. May your meditation time be blessed. May peace and joy continue to fill your heart!

Now, Nadia and I welcome your thoughts ...

Does your heart have anything to say?

Read on ...

From Where I Sit — Day 8, My Meditation Experience

Yesterday, I did a full "round" of metta meditation, from self to all beings. It was invigorating and softening at the same time. 

In the evening, I listened to 2 guided meditations by two different individuals (see Resources below) and experienced some of the deepest relaxation sessions I've had in a very long time.

 
Recommended Resources:
"How to Meditate with Dean Ornish," a Wild Divine video was excellent and insightful. Dr. Ornish is proponent of mind/body medicine and a long-term meditator. I enjoyed his book Love and Survival, a holistic approach to preventing heart disease, with a focus on the power of love to heal.  Click here to view.

The Quiet Mind Cafe provides free guided meditations for stress relief, better sleep, relaxation and health. The meditation I listened to used unique relaxation terms, including creating "softness" in the body, "letting go," and body scan techniques, moving toward "gratitude."

 
Inspiration:

"When we have insight into our inner world and what brings us happiness, then wordlessly, intuitively, we understand others. As though we are no longer a barrier defining the boundaries of our caring, we can feel close to others' experience of life. We see that when we are angry, there is an element of pain in the anger that is not different from the pain that others feel when they are angry. When we feel love, there is a distinct and special joy in that feeling. We come to know that this is the nature of love itself, and that other beings filled with love experience this same joy." 

~Sharon Salzberg, Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness


(Image courtesy of fineartamerica.com; "Folly Beach Sunrise" by Moira Gil John)