I’ve been writing for almost 20 years, and I’ve been writing about the art of meditation since 1997, so what I’ve experienced over the past few years is that the practice of meditation has become more popular than ever, in part because it can be practiced at home.
Ive been practicing meditation for as long as I can remember. One of the things Ive come to realize is that there is a lot of information out there about meditation, but people do not generally practice it often. We dont go to the same meditations at the same times, for example. And if we do, we dont always meditate the same way.
Most people meditate for a variety of reasons. One reason is that it is a relaxing form of physical activity. But there is another reason too. It can be as simple as thinking about your thoughts and feelings on a regular basis. Its as simple as this: I know when I get up in the morning I tend to worry about the things I have to do. And I know when I get home from work I tend to worry about the things I have to do.
But the idea of “meditation” has always been a problem for people who are trying to get a good meditation habit in. For the last 60 years we have talked about “self awareness” as the key to our meditation. But this idea is so limited, because it was developed in the 19th century when meditation was practiced by yogis, not ordinary people.
I think the main issue is that the way meditation is practiced has changed over time. The meditations of our past are largely based on the “relaxation” techniques of the 20th century, when the focus was on “inner peace” and not the creation of inner peace.
In the 21st century, the main focus is on calmness. And this is very well documented. We have some very good studies of how relaxation techniques affect the brain. In fact, the effects of meditation are more important than the techniques themselves. Relaxation techniques, as well as the brain scan studies, show that meditation helps us focus our thoughts and regulate our mood.
The thing is, even people with some of the best meditative practices in the world will still have trouble getting into a meditative state. Like most forms of meditation, it’s all about concentration, so it’s no surprise that people who are meditating will tend to have higher stress levels.
The first thing is that as soon as you start to focus on yourself, you also start to focus on the other person. This can lead to a whole host of problems, including emotional instability and paranoia. In that case, focusing on your friend will likely be the first thing you’ll do when you’re in a meditative state.
Well, you dont have to use your friend to meditate, just tell the person youre meditating with to meditate with you. Theres no need to spend time trying to figure out how the other person is meditating. Its just a way to keep each other calm.
The problem is that people are not as good as they think they are at keeping themselves calm. They tend to get very anxious and become overly emotional when their minds are wandering. In that case, meditating with your friend will likely either scare them too much, or not in enough depth, or both.