This article will discuss 13 Myths of Meditation. Talking about meditation as the ultimate key to connecting oneself to accommodate self-knowledge, where divine energy leads to a subtle mind and a healthy body, meditation is meant for everyone and is much easier and more accessible than most people believe.
Let’s discuss some myths of meditation below.
- Meditation Is For Aged People And Saints. It Is Not To Be Practiced By Youngsters. The Process Of meditation is difficult.
- To meditate, you need a peaceful mind.
- Despite meditation, the mind receives thoughts. How is the mind even beneficial?
- Meditation benefits only if done for a longer time.
- Meditation makes life dull and cold.
- Meditation does not provide experience.
- Meditation is a religious belief.
- The purpose of meditation is to focus.
- Meditation is to relax.
- Meditation means to be thoughtless.
- Meditation is the same as visualization and hypnotism.
- Meditation is unnecessary when you are happy and satisfied. Let it be on karma.
- There is no change in the nature of those who meditate.
It answers the essence of one’s life: Who am I? Where have I come from? What is my actual purpose for visiting?
The more you experience it, the better you enjoy it. People who have never experienced meditation are unaware of its pleasure. Meditation has several benefits while some get mixed up with the myths of meditation.
13 myths and reality
Meditation is a practice that we all are aware of. But in this session, we will analyze what meditation is not. The following are the 13 most common myths of meditation and what the actual reality tells us.
Myth 1:- Meditation is for aged people and saints. It is not to be practiced by youngsters. The process of meditation is difficult.
Reality 1:- Meditation does not include age criteria. It is not a complex process. People belonging to any age – young or old, an adult or a teenager; anyone can meditate. Children of 5 years can also meditate.
It is a completely willful practice, irrespective of any factor, not mandatory for anyone. Meditation is the engagement of the soul with God and as we all are God’s children, we have the freedom to connect to the Almighty by whatever means we want. Hence meditation can be performed by all age groups.
Myth 2:- To meditate, you need a peaceful mind.
Reality 2:– The mind is not a switch you can turn on and off anytime. The mind is restless. Meditation is performed to stabilize your mind. The mind is active. There are thousands of thought processes going on in the mind which make you restless.
Meditation provides stability of mind. A stable mind always gives you peace. Meditation is done to attain peace of mind. When you focus on one single entity for a while, your attention is automatically driven to your focal point and the thought processes going on in the conscious mind are not attained by your mind.
Hence, your mind is subtle and you attain a complete state of relaxation after you meditate.
Myth 3:- Despite meditation, the mind receives thoughts. How is the mind even beneficial?
Reality 3:- The purpose of meditation is not to control/stop your thought processes. The purpose is enormous. The primary purpose of meditation is to connect to oneself, an act performed for one’s strength.
The mind is the control unit. Thoughts cannot be controlled by meditation, but it helps to ignore them. The motive is to focus on oneself. The mind is also known as the monkey because it is restless. Meditation will help you to be the master of your mind.
Myth 4:- Meditation benefits only if done for a longer time.
Reality 4:- The benefits of meditation are classified into two types: short-term and long-term.
Short-Term Benefits:
- Peace
- Light body
- Interconnection of mind and body
- Mind free of thoughts
Long-Term Benefits:
- Development of soul
- Discover the purpose of life
- Renovation of life
- Maintenance of connection to the purpose
- Awareness about the knowledge of the soul
Myth 5:- Meditation makes life dull and cold.
Reality 5:- Meditation makes you feel every moment of life and accept reality. It provides experience and makes you pious. It kills the negativity of life. Positivity lights you up, you value the present and live in the reality of life.
Myth 6:- Meditation does not provide experience.
Reality 6:- The experience of meditation varies from person to person. It is the cosmic energy that rejuvenates the body. The actual purpose is to relax. A Comparison should not be followed.
Myth 7:- Meditation is a religious belief.
Reality 7:- Meditation has no religion. Everyone can meditate; theist or atheist. Meditation has no boundary.
Myth 8:- The purpose of meditation is to focus.
Reality 8:- Meditation is a mere practice where you focus on breathing which is natural for all. Breathing does not require concentration. Meditation is a process where individuals focus on a particular entity to develop a stable mental ability.
Myth 9:- Meditation is to relax.
Reality 9:- Meditation is a cleansing process that is to be experienced as it helps in rejuvenating. It provides peace of mind.
Myth 10:- Meditation means to be thoughtless.
Reality 10:- Meditation, in reality, means to be unblemished. It is not a technique to avoid thoughts but it is only meant to make a subtle mind. Through meditation, you can be the master of your mind. Meditation gives you the power which you are unaware of. The process of meditation is deep.
Myth 11:- Meditation is the same as visualization and hypnotism.
Reality 11:- Meditation is not to be confused with visualization and hypnotism. These are different topics. Meditation is a technique practiced to provide peace of mind.
Myth 12:- Meditation is unnecessary when you are happy and satisfied. Let it be on karma.
Reality 12:- Meditation has no substitute. The law of karma is powerful and it has its own function which is different from meditation. Meditation is to connect to oneself. It is a process where the soul meets the Almighty.
Myth 13:-There is no change in the nature of those who meditate.
Reality 13:- You never enjoy the fruit as soon as you plant a seed. It is a gradual process where the tree needs to be nurtured well and religiously after which you enjoy the fruit. Similarly, meditation is not a technique where results are all sudden. Self-realization takes time. Meditation is a lifelong process. It has been scientifically proven that regular meditation for 8 weeks can do wonders for a man’s behavior.
About the speaker: Dr. Ritu Agarwal, a senior pyramid master and co-founder of The Healing Hands, Guwahati explains to us the complete technique of meditation and has cleared all the myths related to it in her video. For further reference, watch the video on youtube.
