In recent years, mindfulness and meditation have come to the fore. Even professionals now recommend options like these for addressing stress. There are apps for it, magazines about it, and endless resources online.
The trouble is, you don’t think you’re a ‘meditation person’. You’ve tried it, and you can’t get along with it. Meditation isn’t for you. Or, is it? It does look tempting when you watch people on television. So, you try again. And, again you fail. Bear in mind, though, that there are usually common reasons for these difficulties. Keep reading to find out what they are, and how you can change them.
You have too many thoughts
You try to clear your mind but, no matter what you do, your thoughts start to wonder within seconds. This can get frustrating, and it’s easy to feel as though you’ve failed. In reality, though, that’s far from the truth. Feelings like these come about as a misunderstanding of meditation. No one claimed that you’d be able to sit down and become clear-headed just like that. At this early stage, you need do nothing more than monitor your thoughts. Your mind WILL wander. The point is that you notice this and bring yourself back into the moment. It’s annoying but think of this like training a dog. The more you repeat the action, the closer you’ll be to your goal.
You don’t think you have space for it
Remember in Eat, Pray, Love when Elizabeth Gilbert spends her practice thinking about how to decorate her meditation room? It’s easy to assume your practice would improve if only you had a room to for it. Imagine those mats and candles. Then, forget about them. Thoughts like these are nothing more than distractions. Even in a meditation room, you’d distract yourself with something else. The joy of something like this is that you can do it anywhere. The only benefit of a specific room is that it signals to your mind what’s about to come. There are other ways to achieve that, though. You could invest in something like these scent diffusers by AromaTech to turn on whenever you come to meditate. Even just wearing the same outfit could bring these benefits.
You find it boring
This is an incredibly common issue, yet few people speak about it. The fact is that sitting and doing nothing can be tedious. Forget life-changing revelations; you spend the whole time wondering when it’ll be over. Again, you’re not alone. People may speak less about this, but it’s as common as a chattering mind. We’re programmed to be on the go all the time. Your mind is sure to rally against the idea of doing nothing. The good news is, that does change as your practice grows. To help you get past this initial hurdle, though, it may be worth using guided meditations. These ensure time passes faster, and help you to stay seated instead of wandering off when you can’t take the boredom any longer.
