There are a lot of misconceptions about meditation. I’ve listed some I’ve come across teaching Vedic Meditation. Here they are:
Misconception: I can meditate once a week to experience a shift in consciousness.
Truth: In order to reap the full physical, mental, and spiritual benefits, meditation must be practiced twice daily for 20 minutes. At first, students balk at this. “How will I have time to work out? write? paint? [fill in the blank]? I barely have enough energy as it is!” But then they very quickly realize that as meditators, they sleep more soundly and require less sleep because they are resting at a level 2 to 5 times deeper than sleep, twice a day in their meditation practice. Because of this, they wake earlier in the morning, refreshed. The student quickly becomes addicted to their new twice-daily practice.
Misconception: I will become a passive “bliss bunny” if I learn to meditate.
Truth: Yes, you will experience bliss –- how can you help it? When we practice Vedic Meditation, stress production shuts down. The body is playing with a whole new chemistry set containing only those chemicals we associate with “feeling good” -– serotonin, anandamides, endogenous opiades, fourteen different endorphins –- all surging, unchecked, through your body twice a day. But, as we know from exercise-induced endorphins, this process doesn’t make you want to lie on the couch to stare blissfully at the ceiling. Bliss chemicals give you energy and fill you with optimism and a plan of action. There is a famous quote in the Bhagavad-Gita “Established in Being, perform Action.” That is the true aim of Vedic Meditation -– action arising from the experience of bliss.
Misconception: Meditation is a religious ritual -– it will “make” me Buddhist or Hindu.
Truth: Vedic Meditation is a practice, not a religion. It allows you to connect to higher Self. This Self is that which we hold sacred and unchanging, even in its evolution –- you may label it God, Nature, or the Universe. The Vedanta expresses it this way, “I am That. Thou art That. All of this is nothing more or less than That.”
20 thoughts on “Meditation Misconceptions”
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Hi,
Excellent Article indeed…
I agree 100% that the 5-10 minutes of meditation can be very helpful in reducing stress, improving concentration, clarity of thoughts, efficiency and performance….
Hi,
Excellent Article indeed. I agree 100% that the results of effective meditation are extremely empowering. Even with a very busy schedule, meditation is very helpful in reducing stress, improving concentration, clarity of thoughts, efficiency and performance….
Hi Sanora, Thank you for bringing this to light and sharing this reminder that the quality of meditation should not be judged. I continue to notice more and more lately that I have sustained calmness throughout my busy days as well as increased focus and awareness of all things around me. Someone once advised me to pay closer attention to my deserving power. i practice being grateful and appreciative of everything now and it has completely shifted my mood and now I experience a much more joyful and abundant life. I love it! I love meditation, yoga, being in the body and out of the mind. GRATITUDE!!
Thank you all for your insights and wonderful comments! The practice I teach is for “householders” in other words, those who have active, busy, social lives and need a spiritual practice that will support their daily commitments.
I did want to address the “not getting the same results” frustration. When we first learn to meditate, there is such an immediate shift that the change in our bodies and thinking is noticeable but very quickly we normalize the experience and it may not “feel” like anything is happening. The truth is meditation continues to create shifts at subtler and subtler levels.
We should not judge the “process” of the twenty minutes of meditation. Whether or not your meditation was busy or deep is not to be judged. Instead, look at how you feel during the day. Are you staying calm while more quickly solving problems? Do you have a higher deserving power today than you did yesterday? Do you feel more in the flow with nature / daily life? These are questions of value.
namaste,
Sanora
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Hi,
I actually agree with Chandan Bhasin……. There is meditation……and then there is TRUE meditation……I do light meditation out in my garden……
….but once per day, when it is very quiet I go into deep trance meditation…..and I mean DEEP TRANCE. I’m normally under for about 30 to 45 minutes…..when I come up out of deep trance….I feel rejuvinated with a rush of endorphines……( anybody who works out knows what an endorphine rush of energy feels like).
I use a hypno-therapy technique…same one I’ve used for last 30 years…..I totally clear my mind when I go under.
But…..to develope psychic ability…to connect with your guides and higher self…..as I stated earlier…EVERYTHING starts with meditation. I won’t even train a young budding psychic, I don’t care how gifted they are, until they can learn to meditate properly and totally. Meditation teaches concentration and focus, which is imperative for a psychic.
Blessed Be )O(
Gina Rose ext.9500
Meditation needs first a competent living master then loneliness, less food and less connection with the persons and the best time is 3 A.M to 5 A.M. when there is quiteness, no mobile ringing and noise of the people and vehicles. This is the mantra for meditation suggested by the great masters.
This is the only practice which people of all religion throughout the world since the evolution of man has taken place do not know because they go to the incompetent living masters for meditation practice.
In fact, the enlightened persons in history have adopted the similar practice of “dying daily” which Christ used to do and other masters who are enlightened did and doing. But we all try to find out the religion’s meaning and meditational art in the religious books which is not possible without the assistance of and guidance of a competent living master.
This is very true and superb info, I 100% agree , I experience it myself what is written.
Thank you for you words of wisdom as I am lacking in discipline and not sure actually what meditation meant, and I still am not sure what to do when I start to meditate, is there something to get me so I can leave everything and just concentrate, on my meditation? I really would like to be able to meditate twice a day and also teach my 5 year old great grandson whom I am raising to also do meditation it would make life so much better for all yours truly Vivianna Roberts
The key when you hit a wall – “dont get the same results” – is to keep meditating cause the reluts were not the goal in the first place. The closer you get the sublties of the ego that wants an “experience” dies away as do the karmas!! It was very diconcerting to me in my practice when it seemed nothing was happening. Let go of the judgement and desire. Peace and Love!
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Simply awesome explanations! I have been wondering exactly how long to meditate each day & this is a tremendous help! Much gratitude!
Hello Sanora,
Fantastic article I love to meditate it is so relaxing, it can be so beneficial in shifting your vibrations and helping you come into your higher self, it also can clear energy and you are so right 20 min. twice a day may seem a bit much but you will soon find that you look forward to that time where it is you in this great soothing, space.
Blessings and Big Hugs!
Jacqueline x9472
Excellent post indeed. I agree that the results of effective meditation are extremely empowering. Even with a busy schedule, 5-10 minutes of meditation can be very helpful in reducing stress, improving concentration, clarity of thoughts, efficiency and performance. It’s kind of like bonding your higher self with the collective higher consciousness of the universe, nature or God or whatever people may wish to call it. It helps you become more receptive to this higher self, for we are all part of the larger whole. It’s like recharging the spiritual battery of your soul by connecting to an all giving soul and its consciousness. At the same time the process involves eliminating all forms of distractions and chaos that prevents people from reaching this state of being or mind. And the more you practice meditation the better you train and habituate your subconscious mind to switch into this receptive state of being. Some suspect this to be the source of ‘Creative Imagination’ and divine inspiration, employed by the greatest minds in the fields of art, science, literature, philosophy and business. If it weren’t for such empowerment and inspiration we’d be still living in the Stone Age. Thanks for the Article. Blessings 🙂
Excellent article–very inspirational! =)
When I first began to meditate and was doing so regularly, I felt blissful, light, never angry, and very peaceful. I also began working actively with my chakras at the same time, for about 40 minutes per day.
I did notice though, over time, I wasn’t getting the same results! Aaarghhhh….lol =)
As you can guess, I slacked with those initially effective meditations since the benefits seemed to wane and instead work with Reiki, chants, and tuning forks now. And…even though I don’t glean the same results, this combination seems to be most effective versus others I’ve tried as an alternate.
However…I am going to start becoming more familiar with, and experimenting through vedic meditation as a results of your writings.
Much gratitude to you Sanora, for sharing its benefits and for the (positively reinforced) inspiration!! =)
Hi….
EXCELLENT ARTICLE !!!!!!
It ALL starts with meditation !
Blessed Be )O(
Gina Rose ext.9500