My tips on meditation

Here are my tips to practice meditation to releive stresses.

Meditation has been recognised as a method of putting mind to sleep. We all are having 7-8 hours of physical sleep. But, during physical sleep the mind is still awake and since mind controls the body, the physical sleep does not give the freshness one would expect after waking up. In fact, you may agree with me if I say that oversleep makes one more tired. It has been scientifically shown
that brain waves are more calm during meditation than physical sleep. It has been estimated that 15-20 minutes of proper meditation is equivalent to several hours of physical sleep. So, after meditation one becomes mentally fresh and physically also. In this world full of stresses, meditation will
help one to maintain the mental balance.

Having said all these, one would like to know how to practice meditation effectively. I can tell from my experience of meditating that it can be done any time of the day and in any surroundings even the most noisiest ones. The steps to be followed in meditation are:

1. The best time for meditation is the early morning. But, one can do it even while commuting to office by train or bus. (only one should ensure that he or she does not fall asleep during meditation and miss the stop to alight!).

2. To start with one should close their eyes and try to remove all thoughts that come flooding by for about 30 seconds.

3. After about 30 seconds, one should start thinking of a suitable word which should be unique and not associated with worldly things. (In India, this would be done during initiation into meditation by a Guru who will tell the word into the ear and you should not divulge it to anyone. Mainly, this is done to make it unique, so that during meditation with this word other thoughts do not interfere).

Perhaps, you may pick a word from any religious hymns known to you.

4. It is important to realise that you should only concentrate mentally to focus on the word and one need not have to chant it.

5. Once you are into proper meditation, your breathing will become shallow and you will take deep breadth periodically.

6. At the end of 15-20 minutes (one need not have to look into a watch, but will have an estimate with practice) you stop thinking about the word and keep eyes closed for 30 seconds and then open the eyes slowly.

In my experience with meditation, I get a very pleasant feeling at the end and certainly I feel refreshed.

Wishing you success in all your endeavors ,