We know how to take care of the body. People have different opinions about which food is healthy and which one isn’t, but there is no doubt that some universally accepted norms exist for keeping our body healthy. Nobody doubts that exercise is a great habit. Everyone knows that drinking enough water is good.
But what about the mind? What keeps a mind healthy? What type of exercise will let us create and maintain the best state of mind possible? This is where meditation comes to the scene.
Sam Harris makes a good argument for meditation. He says, our mind is the only tool we have that we take everywhere. So, a well-trained mind means, we will take better decisions on every life challenge. Which will increase the quality of our life.
I won’t go through all the benefits of meditation in this post. I think you already know most of them. If not, you can easily find out with a quick google search. I am writing this post to tell you my meditation journey.
My meditation experience has been very interesting. I went from a total skeptic to a big believer. I went from knowing nothing about meditation to having followed 4 different gurus.
By the end of the post, you’ll get to know all the 4 stages I went through. So read the whole post to find that out where you stand now and let me know in the comments.
My Meditation Journey
When I was a kid, I used to think meditation gave you super powers. I thought it’s something that Yogis use to open their third eye. Yeah, I was a very stupid little kid. In my teenage years though, I got very interested in science. I read everything I could about latest scientific discoveries. Those days have laid the foundation for the rational human being that I am today, and I am forever grateful for that. My affinity with science started to make me question everything spiritual. I became the generic case of the nerd who denies anything that is not proven. For some reason I never even looked for any research paper done on meditation. I just assumed it was a hoax. If I had looked however, I would have seen how famous neuroscientists are big proponents of meditation. I would have found out that a lot of research have found concrete benefits of meditation like regulating blood pressure, increasing attention span etc. I guess I had to learn it the hard way.
In my late teen years, severe depression took me in its grasp. I was so trapped that I thought suicide was the only way out. But, whenever I went to commit suicide, I would think- what if the tomorrow was better? What if all of this was temporary and soon, I’ll have the kind of life I want? One day I just gave up the idea of committing suicide and started to seek help. On my journey seeking help, I found ‘The Power of Now’. This book satisfied my rational mind to some extent. I could see how spirituality was not about the afterlife, but to have the best possible life here and now. The more I got familiar with the work of the writer of the book- Eckhart Tolle, the more I started to trust him. He teaches full body awareness meditation in his book, and that was my first taste of meditation. It felt good. Also, the more I practiced, my awareness burned brighter than ever. Soon the depression was gone. Life seemed worth fighting for. I started to dream about the future.
Dreaming about the future sounds romantic. But done inappropriately, it causes anxiety. Severe anxiety. Soon after depression was gone, I had found a new friend- you guessed it- anxiety. It crippled me. But there was a rush too. It felt somewhat masochistically good! I didn’t want to leave worrying. I thought it made me more prepared for the future. It was supposed to be my great shield against future trouble. Yet, soon I realized all it did was to suck the life out of me. I had lost the joy of simply enjoying the little things in life. My ambition blinded me from my own well-being. I started to seek help again.
I saw a Ted talk. The speaker had one of the weirdest names I ever heard. His name was ‘Dandapani’. He had an ugly white paint in his forehead, which made him look like a freak. The talk was so good though! I was instantly a fan. That talk convinced me that meditation is something I should get serious about. Then I saw the video done by ‘What I’ve learned’. This is a YouTube channel that talks about some very controversial health and well being fads. But his video about meditation is pure gold. I started to meditate for five minutes every day.
Even before a week had past, I saw improvement. I got control over my anger. I worried less. I was happier overall. Since then I’ve never looked back. Now, my daily routine consists of 10 minutes of meditation along with shower, exercise and listening to podcasts.
Recently, I had installed the waking up app in my phone. It’s made by the infamous neuroscientist Sam Harris. His rational and scientific arguments in favour of meditation has made me see the practice in a very different light. It was something that made me feel good, so I kept doing it. Now I know it’s not only a practice for well-being but also a very potent tool to sharpen our mind and harness the fullest potential of human spirit.
I highly recommend you try out the app. It’s very beginner friendly. And if you are a skeptic, this may give you some different perspectives to investigate.
RaihanRiad 