Meditation for Beginners

There are lots of misconceptions about the word ‘Meditation’. Since long time this term is widely misunderstood. Mostly people do something absolutely opposite in the name of meditation. Before knowing anything about meditation, it is important to know about all those practices and beliefs which are often considered as meditation but are not meditation, so that we can save our time by not following fruitless practice.
  
Meditation is not a technique:
The most common mistake beginners make when they start with any technique, they expect some unusual experience to happen and consider it as barometer to their spiritual experience. Such expectations distract their spiritual growth. The techniques of doing meditation are merely tools to assist how one (person doing meditation) can be more aware and mindful of his/her inner and outer world. Meditation is a way of being; it has to be there all the time to experience every moment without any judgments and expectations from mind. That is truly called meditation.

Meditation is not relaxation:
There are few similarities between the outcomes of meditation and relaxation; but there is a huge difference between them. Both makes you calm, serene and peaceful and rejuvenates after the practice. But awareness of ‘the self’ is the biggest chunk missing in relaxation. But Meditation is not Relaxation when you meditate.....its natural outcome is relaxation.

Meditation is not concentration:
Meditation is just one form of concentration is a big misconception.
Concentration can be considered as a runway for the flight of meditation to take off. When you constantly project your attention towards a particular task or activity you are doing concentration where as in meditation you do not project your attention towards a particular task or activities. It is very useful practice to deepen your meditation; but it is not meditation. It can be said that concentration is one-pointed awareness on particular object and meditation is an all encompassing awareness of self without directed towards any object.

Meditation is not thinking:
Our mind is a non- stop chatterbox that continues to create all sorts of good/bad, relevant/irrelevant thoughts incessantly. Meditation is about transcending the thought process and realizing the pure awareness or witness (which is our true being) which is beyond the thoughts. Knowing this awareness is what meditation is all about.

Meditation is not hypnosis:
Hypnosis is reprogramming of mind at subconscious level by reaching altered or trance like state of mind. Hypnosis deals with mental stuff and it takes participation in manipulating mental stuff in some way or the other. In hypnosis the person enters into a state of semi-conscious trance and become unaware of the moment which is not the case in meditation. Meditation is passive. We have to just witness our thoughts without judging or changing them in any way.

What is meditation?
Now you have clear idea of what meditation is not. Let’s see what meditation is actually. Meditation is the way of being present in the moment or being in the present moment. It is the quality of witness we all inherently have as pure consciousness which is our true nature.
Meditation is the way to bring us back to ourselves, where we can really experience and taste our full being, beyond all habitual patterns. In the stillness and silence of meditation, we glimpse and return to that deep inner nature that we have so long ago lost sight of amid the busyness and distraction of our minds.
"Meditation is a systematic way of making our mind quiet so that we can contact our true identity -self, which is the source of everlasting joy, bliss and peace."