The western world is finally catching up to some very important and ancient techniques for vitality and health. For millennia, the eastern world has been using meditation for everything from stress relief to increasing strength and power of workers.
Meditation is a powerful tool that can be used by anyone, anywhere. All you need to do is focus on what you desire, see the path, and put your thoughts into action.
What is Meditation?
Meditation is the practice of mindfulness and spirituality, originally sourced from the Hindi traditions of Vedantism around 1500 BCE. The more modern form of meditation has stemmed from the 5th century version from Buddhist India.
Meditation is the practice of nothingness.
When you meditate, you let go of all worldly tethers in order to find freedom in thought. In meditation, you become the source of happiness, success, and anything you desire.
How to Meditate
In popular movies you’ll see monks and other meditation practitioners sitting in a particular way. Of course, this is tradition, but meditation can be completed in any position and any location. Many modern meditation practices have users sitting in chairs, lying down on a comfortable mattress, or even walking.
Here is a simple 3-step guide to meditating:
- Find a comfortable position. Most meditation sessions last about 30 minutes. In the beginning this may be less, but the idea is to be as comfortable as possible, so your focus moves to the nothing. Sitting, standing, walking, lying – all are acceptable, as long as you focus.
- Breathe easy. The breath is the most important aspect of your meditation journey. The main cue is to focus on the cool air coming in through your nose, and the warm air leaving. Many early meditators will focus only on the breath, connecting to the most primal aspect of our physiology.
- Eliminate distraction. In many cases, meditation isn’t about thinking about your future. It’s about release from the world around you. Eliminating your distractions will help you to focus on yourself.
Increasing Motivation and Productivity
Increasing your motivation is one of the most important aspects of your life. Without motivation you struggle to wake up, to be productive, and to find purpose in your work. Lack of motivation then becomes the source of your downfall.
Meditation is a useful practice to increase your personal motivation and productivity.
You can use meditation in two main ways:
- Attraction. The first method is to use your time during meditation to attract what you desire most. This will enable you to visualize your goals, find sources of motivation, and increase your productivity in order to achieve those goals.
- This is a new form of meditation that has risen from an adaption of Kadampa Buddhism. Your goal is to visualize your future, and without forcing the situation, live the visualization in order to become more motivated and productive.
- Release. This might sound counterintuitive, but this is the way Buddhism has been taught for millennia. Releasing your ties to all things superficial is one of the best ways you can find personal motivation to achieve what matters to you most.
- Many times, we get caught up in trying to force our motivation, trying to find something that isn’t there. Meditation can teach you to find motivation through the simple idea of letting go and only viewing what is most important to you.
Motivation can be a tricky thing to come by, but with the help of your own mind and useful meditation techniques, you can find greater motivation and increase your productivity.