From Arggh! To Ahhh! – 5 Steps To Successful Meditation

Does meditation feel like a kind of torture to you? Is the act of sitting still to ‘silence’ your thoughts worse than getting a root canal? If you’re answer is ‘yes!’ then I want to assure you right now: you’re not the only one. Lots of folks give up meditation before they’ve even really begun for one of 2 reasons: 1). They’re aiming for the wrong goal; and 2). they’re expectations of ultra-bliss are, let’s say, a tad too high. If you want successful meditation – a practice that stills the mind (not to a dead & continual silence, but to a calm and steadfast place) and soothes the soul, then have a look at these 5 steps.

The 5 Steps to Successful Meditation

Step One – Commitment & Frustration

Commitment and frustration are the 2 words to keep in mind when you first begin your meditation practice. Why? Because you’re more than likely going to experience a whole lotta mental distraction, which feels totally frustrating. This is where plenty of peeps give up even trying to meditate. The antidote is to make the commitment to sitting there anyway. Also, give up on the idea that you’re going to clear your mind of thought, because it ain’t gonna happen – not yet, anyway. But, when you make a commitment to sitting anyway, you open a door to, as Eckhart Tolle describes, ‘spaciousness’ of the mind.

Step Two – Become the Watcher

After you’ve spent a few days or weeks dealing with the ‘monkey mind,’ you start to simply watch that neurotic, internal chimp. This watching is a very different thing than the getting ‘hooked’ which happens during step one. When you begin to actually watch your thoughts, you become more ‘neutral’ about them – and about your life! You start to experience a greater sense of equanimity and peace within. Will you still get ‘hooked’ from time to time? Sure – and sometimes more than others. But the more you sit, the less frequent or intense these bouts become.

Step Three – Spaciousness Begins