Why Meditate?
by Gopala Amir Yaffa
Meditation means many different things for different people, but the purpose of meditation is like the purpose of life. What is the purpose of life? Why do we do the things we do? Why are we all here today?
Meditation means many different things for different people, but the purpose of meditation is like the purpose of life. What is the purpose of life? Why do we do the things we do? Why are we all here today?
We want to be happy; that’s why we do everything that we do. If someone told you that by coming here today you would suffer, you wouldn’t have come, right? Every step, every action, every word, every breath is toward happiness. Sometimes we are willing to suffer on the way for some final goal… but that goal will always be something we think will make us happy.
How Meditation Works
So, the purpose of meditation is like the purpose of life… simply to be happy. Here is a story that explains how meditation works:
A student approached his teacher and asked: “oh, my teacher, my master, please tell me what is your secret? How is it that you are always so happy, peaceful, relaxed, energetic, healthy…? How do you do it?”
The teacher answered: “it’s very simple; when I walk I walk, when I eat I eat, when I talk to someone I talk to them, when I work I work, when I do yoga I do yoga… that’s all”.
The student said: “but I’m doing the same; when I walk I walk, when I eat I eat…”
The teacher replied: “that’s not accurate… when you walk, you think about your work. When you work, you think about your vacation. When you are on your vacation, you think about your home. When you are at home, you think about yoga. When you do yoga, you think about food. Whatever you do you are not really there, your mind is somewhere else and that’s why you are missing out on life, that’s why this happiness slips away from you”.
“Happiness is right here and now inside of you and outside of you and all around you… you are just not here to experience it.”
Then the student understood the secret of being happy, which is nothing but being in the here and now. And if we’ll look at our own experiences of happiness we’ll see the same thing… think about the happiest moments of your life, or any happy moment… what was the state of your mind at that time?
In these moments of pure happiness, we are present. Not thinking about other things, not wanting something different. When we are present, we are happy.
But at other times, when our mind is all over the place, this happiness slips away. So the secret of happiness is simple; just be in the here and now.
Being Present
Meditation is many things, but first and foremost it is simply being present. Thinking about what has happened or what will happen is exhausting, but being in the present is not just energizing, it is also the essence of having fun! Real fun can happen only in the present.
Meditation is training the mind to be focused on the here and now. In order to have strong muscles, we have to use them again and again, and in the same way, to train the mind to be one-pointed we need to focus it again and again.
This kind of concentration training is not taught in schools, although it is the basis of successful studying and successful living. Whatever work you do with a focused mind you do twice as fast and ten times better than if you would do it with a distracted mind.
The following is a fun way to quiet the mind and become present. Don’t take any exercise too seriously. Take a deep breath, do your best and enjoy!
Are you ready to meditate?
Chocolate Meditation
And dude, don’t just read it here, make sure to try it for yourself now!
- Close your eyes and don’t open them, whatever happens.
- Open your mouth just a little.
- We are going to put something in your mouth; don’t chew it… just let it melt.
- Try to experience all the things about it that you might have missed before because your mind was somewhere else.
- Feel the many tastes of it, the texture, the temperature, the softness and the hardness… smell it feel it…
- Don’t chew… breath… let it melt… as it melts, let your mind melt into it.
- After a few minutes; you can start to chew and let the flavors and the sensations penetrate even deeper… swirl it all around your mouth using your tongue and taste it in places you never tasted it before.
- Feel how different the experience is with this new awareness…
- Now you can swallow and become one with it…
- Stay with these sensations for another moment… enjoying the bliss… from within.
Is it hard to meditate?
We all have some special things that our mind naturally gets absorbed in, things that without effort we become 100% present with. It can be walking or swimming, reading a book, writing, painting, playing music or anything else. Explore doing these activities with even more awareness – This is all real meditation!
Meditation should not be hard… it’s easy if you find YOUR meditation.
Don’t hold back! Let yourself dive head first into whatever you choose to focus your mind on. And most importantly, enjoy the journey!
Gopala Amir Yaffa - Rainbow Yoga Kids Yoga
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