Meditation and Mindfulness

Understanding Meditation and Mindfulness

Lets talk about meditation.

Although one cannot talk about meditation because strictly speaking, it's, it's very difficult to explain an experience of meditation. Describing your meditation experience seems illogical and worthless moreover understanding meditation is something like understanding the techniques of an instrument without playing it.

In our daily life work, we cannot explain our simple experience in a proper way. We might have a lot of words to express for example, we cannot fully explain in words, a simple gesture of happiness. Although we can say that happiness is what exactly one is feeling. But can we really explain the phenomenon? Words are just the directions towards our experience but words fail to express the very basic experience of life.

So in the same way, meditation is so much vast experience, some enlightened people have experienced the last and the highest state of meditation. They say that it's inexpressible and they are incapable of explaining the one-tenth part of what is meditation. Still they try to explain meditation, try to explain their experience throughout their whole life.

Lets subtract of what meditation is not and then try to explain what meditation is:

1. Meditation is not concentration.

We try to stress out ourselves while concentrating. It is true that meditation improves concentration and there are guided meditations for concentration but it is not concentration. Concentration is royal stress.

2. Meditation is not lying down and feeling relaxed and sleepy.

There is a difference between meditation and relaxation. Relaxation is destressing our body and because we have been sleeping our entire life and we are 100 % sure what sleeping is. and sleeping is not meditation.

3. It's not sitting in a posture and doing pranayama (breathing).

Because it's just an exercise. Breathing is an exercise. Sitting in a particular posture for longer hours is an exercise. So, meditation is not doing pranayama or exercise. Meditation is very close to a feeling of wonder. Musicians, painters and artists have felt the deep meditation experiences many times while they practice their art.

People have experienced it many times, the feeling of stillness and calmness when they were doing some kind of pranayama of breathing exercises or simply seeing nature in its vast form. For some beginners, the first time meditation experience gives them a feeling of awe and wonder.

Meditation is feeling of that silence and practicing meditation creates more silent space and silent atmosphere Inside our mind.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a state of no-mind. It's not that people have become mindless or idiots. It is the highest state of meditation practice when in the mind, thoughts have disappeared and our actions are not driven by any thought. We are in control of our mind. Its a state where one is simply doing his/her daily activities and living a life full of awareness.

I have tried to explain meditation in my own way. if you feel it is right or wrong or something else can be added, please message me in the comment box below.

I am a student of spirituality and walking on the path of meditation. Your inputs can help me and a lot of people who might see this post one day.

Thanks