Meditation techniques: Mindfulness Meditation

One of the most compatible methods of meditation is known commonly as ‘mindfulness meditation’. This form of meditation is mainly used by people who need some help when it comes to dealing with stressful situations, or who are experiencing a lot of negativity in their lives. Most of us find ourselves veering towards anger, resentment, jealousy and frustration - all symptoms of the competitive and stressful world which we live in, but all equally mere illusions which must be overcome in order to find true happiness and inner peace. Dealing with disappointment and frustration is something we all encounter regularly in our lives, but we must learn to accept disappointment and not allow it to cloud our senses and our judgement. If we allow disappointment and frustration to get in the way of what we want to achieve, we can seriously damage both our mental and physical health, and end up spiralling downwards in a vicious cycle of regret and resentment. 

Through mindfulness meditation, individuals can learn to carefully perceive the truth of certain situations, to be more aware of their surroundings and their place in the world, and especially how to accept stressful situations and difficulties instead of avoiding them or suffering from them. By becoming more aware of our inner selves and the way our mind and body are connected, we can learn how to be more accepting, forgiving and how to deal with disappointment without letting it leave a bad taste in our mouths.

Acceptance and relaxation

All types of meditation require us to firstly relax our bodies and minds deeply, and to get ourselves into a state of inner tranquility and calm. For this, many people are finding meditative music a huge help, as the carefully constructed soundscapes can wash over our consciousness and coax us into a perfect state for meditation based on positive thinking and clarity of vision.

For mindfulness meditation, it is suggested that you sit upright in a cross legged position, and spend some time focusing on your slow and steady breathing, allowing the music to lull you into a state of deep peace and calm. You should allow your thoughts to stream through your mind as a river, seeing the positive and negative aspects of your life and situation as one and the same thing, and feel these thoughts dwindle and shrink until they are simply a flowing of nothingness, in a comfortable, dark and warm space. You need to be able to tell yourself to be non-judgemental, merely to see all things as part of an ever changing, ever transforming flow of reality, and that you can retreat to this simple, warm and comfortable space whenever you choose to.

Focus on your breath for a while, and use your inward and outward breathing as an example of how all things come and go - your inward breath becomes things that you learn, accept, develop alongside. For each outward breath, release your tensions, frustrations and regrets. Understand that just as we need to breathe in and out, we must also fall and pick ourselves up again, without wallowing in self pity or resentment. After some time, you should be able to simply relax and enjoy the detachment and nothingness which comes with deep, peaceful meditation.

Interested to learn a new meditation technique? Try meditation for chakras - read this article.