What is Meditation?

Meditation is by no means a new phenomena yet many people ask themselves “what is meditation?” It is an excellent question because it is the first step to learning about a new, more fulfilling life that a person can reach through the practice of meditation. If you are curious as to what is meditation, then you should explore its meaning further.

Meditation has been around for centuries and quite possibly for as long as there have been human beings on earth. Many think of Buddha Siddhartha sitting beneath a tree completely enlightened and believe that this is what meditation is in a nutshell. However, to discover for yourself the answer to “what is meditation” you may have to overcome a lot of the information that you may have received regarding meditation because a lot of what is presented to us is a misconception to what meditation is. And misconceptions and preconceptions can be a hindrance to discovering for yourself exactly what is meditation.

Meditation is a natural and normal experience that every human being can experience. It is a state of consciousness that every person can reach with sincere effort and dedication to the practice. Daily practice is necessary for you to understand what is meditation. When you begin to experience real meditation, one of the things that you will notice is how natural and normal meditation feels. When you meditate, you are approaching your true existence, which is your soul. You will learn for yourself what is meditation by practicing it every day. Undoubtedly, you will discover that you already knew what meditation is to some degree, because it can never be something that is foreign to you.

Meditation is important to discover one’s true existence and to put one in touch with his or her spirit and soul. By asking yourself “what is meditation”, you are beginning to enter a new stage of your life where you realize that we are not our bodies. There is something else inside of us that makes us who we are. That spiritual being can only be truly experienced through the corporal body via meditation. That is why it is so important to ask “what is meditation” in order to access this spiritual level in this lifetime.

The only way for you to learn the true meaning of what is meditation is through daily practice. But if, when you try to meditate, you are thinking various thoughts such as: “What do I have to do to meditate? Am I doing it right? Is this what I have to do to meditate? What is meditation? Is this it? Am I doing it now? I probably wont be able to do it right. No, this isn’t right. I have to start feeling peaceful. No, now I feel tense. This isn’t working...”, and so on, unfortunately, that is not meditation. At that time your mind is racing and actually closing rather than opening you up to a new experience. With practice, however, you will learn techniques to control and quiet your mind and then discover what meditation feels like.

Beginners should try to not even think about meditation. If you really want to meditate, then you may have to let go of your preexisting thoughts about what is meditation or what you should feel when you meditate. When you sit and enjoy the sunset, do you have to instruct yourself to relax? Of course not because feeling good inside is something that simply comes naturally. When you feel relaxed, as you do when you’re enjoying the sunset or looking at the ocean that is a more accurate description of reaching a level of what is meditation. The first step to learning what is meditation is to set aside a time of the day and simply sit quietly and not do anything. Tell yourself you are not doing anything at all. Simply sit quietly for a few moments.

In order to learn what is meditation, you must not try to force yourself to meditate or try to pull an experience of meditation into you. Nothing will happen if you are continually pressuring yourself to start thinking, to stop thinking, to visualize something, to experience something, etc. You must relax while trying to discover “what is meditation” and you must control your thoughts by concentrating. The more at ease you are, the easier it will become for you to alter your state of mind to a meditative one without you actually realizing that you are meditating.

To meditate correctly, what is required is a calm and quiet mind. For this, it is necessary to concentrate, which is the next step to learning how to meditate. You can concentrate on a candle flame, a flower petal, your heart center, your breathe, or even a dot on a wall. You can concentrate on anything that inspires you. First, you should tell yourself that you are doing nothing. Then you should tell yourself to remain with the object of concentration. If you’re concentrating on a candle flame, for instance, instruct yourself to do your best to not look away from the candle flame. Unless beginners practice concentration, it is almost impossible to reach a meditative state and even less likely to discover what is meditation. By listening to your intuition and letting go of your thoughts (without fighting with them to leave), you will be one step closer to discovering the answer to what is meditation. When you feel a serene and relaxed energy flowing through your body then you will begin to discover what is meditation. However, you may also discover that you must continue to concentrate so that your thoughts do not make your good feeling go away. Many beginners do not even realize that what they are doing is meditating until after they have ended their meditation. Those people then realize the answer to “what is meditation.” Over time and with continual practice, you will soon learn your own personal secrets about to how to meditate and what is meditation.

When your mind is vacant and serene, your whole existence will become an empty vessel. At that time, peace and bliss will enter into the vessel and fill it. We fill ourselves with all types of negativity and stress that even the beginning steps to learning how to meditate may be difficult at first. However, you will learn quickly how good it feels to discover what is meditation because you will no longer be filled with these negative or counterproductive feelings and thoughts. Once you reach a basic level of understanding and feeling of what is meditation, you will gain some momentum and the practice of meditation will become easier. The answer to “what is meditation?” or “am I experiencing meditation?” comes only through daily sincere practice.

What is meditation? You will learn what meditation is through inspiration and aspiration. From inspiration you develop aspiration. From aspiration you get peace in abundant measure. Aspiration is the secret of meditation. What is meditation? It is food for your soul, and it is the most wonderful thing you can do for your life.

Meditation Tip #1: Get a Proper Amount of Sleep

It is important to get a proper amount of sleep every day if you wish to learn how to meditate. Beginners generally need about 7 or 8 hours of sleep each night. Meditation, for beginners, can become very difficult without at least 7 hours of sleep per day. If you’re not getting enough sleep, the tiredness of your body will be too much of an obstacle for you to be able to meditate properly. However, people who have been meditating for some time will require less sleep. After you learn how to meditate, you can very gradually reduce the amount of sleep you need each night. A good meditation is like giving your body the kind of nourishment and rest that it requires. For most people who are able to meditate everyday, 7 hours of sleep is more than enough. In fact, too much sleep is not good for progress with meditation. To help you learn how to meditate, there are a number of other meditation tips throughout this online meditation guide.

What Is Meditation?

Meditation Tip #1: Get a Proper Amount of Sleep