Oftentimes, when we first try meditation, our mind is the biggest obstacle. It will tell us all the reasons why we should stop, it will try to distract us the whole time, it will think about what we're going to eat later or what we need to do. It feels threatened when we try to quiet it during our time in meditation.
So how do we use our mind to help us meditate? In this episode, Todd talks about how to do just that. From simple ways of approaching meditation to how to other techniques, you'll learn how to control your mind properly. We can't simply ignore our mind, because the thoughts will get louder and louder. We can't force it not to think a certain thing, because it will only fixate on that thing. But there is a way to work with our mind.
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Welcome to the Eastwesticism podcast where our host Todd Perelmuter shares the lessons he's learned spending eight years living with gurus, monks, lamas, and shamans across 35 countries and five continents. Join in the journey as he brings the best scientifically proven methods for living your best life from the east and the west, straight to you. The path to peace, love, health and happiness starts here.
Hello, and welcome back to path to peace with Todd Perelmuter. I'm your host Todd Perelmuter. Today, I'm gonna answer the question, how to get my mind to fully embrace meditation? It's such a great question. It is only natural when we sit down meditation for the first are many first, you know, many, many times starting out in meditation, that our mind is our ego is screaming, please stop, do anything but this, this is pointless. I hate this. I'm so bored. These are very common.
And it's only understandable the ego wants to be in charge, and it does not want to be silenced. And so the best thing we can do to embrace meditation, in our mind, is to let go of the need for our mind to embrace meditation, because what we're trying to do in meditation is to gain control of our mind, and to have a higher control over our focus, awareness and concentration.
So that we choose what we focus on, we choose what we concentrate on our mind is a thinking machine, and it'll think chaotically, but we don't have to listen to it, we can instead put all of our attention in the present moment where everything happens anyway. And in this way, the mind just becomes background noise. And we don't have to listen to every whim and thought and nonsense that it says most of the time. And the best thing to do is just watch it and pay attention and notice its tricks.
And be extra aware of what it is trying to do and say, so that it's not doing it subconsciously. And it can't control you. bringing awareness to it brings your higher intelligence into it. And instead of being disjointed, between your intentions, your thoughts, your words and actions, everything lines up in harmony, because your higher consciousness takes control back from the unconscious or the subconscious. Most importantly, when we really talk about embracing meditation, what we're typically really talking about is how can I stay motivated?
How can I keep doing it, and in a way that is effective. To do that, I recommend that everybody, when they're meditating, don't focus on the meditation itself. Some days will be very peaceful and easy when you're starting out. And some might be very difficult. And it's easy to get discouraged, you know, if you've had a few easy ones, and then it's hard again, and maybe you thought that was over with. And there may be some very difficult ones, especially during hard times. And you might just want to say to heck with it. And these are what meditation is for these moments and getting through them. And that is the most important time
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to practice.
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So my advice is, rather than focusing on the experience of the meditation itself, focus on your motivations for meditating. What are you hoping to get out of it and achieve? And are you noticing progress, because these things will keep you motivated. And if you focus on
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the rest of the day, meditation is about the rest of the day and our entire lives. It's not about sitting down. It's about how that sitting down, trains our mind to be more compassionate, patient, loving, thoughtful, mindful. And so
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celebrate the little victories and changes. Remember why we're doing it in the first place.
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And just be patient. Be patient with your mind. Don't judge it. Don't risk rate resist your thoughts. Because that creates suffering. Just allow them to be, allow whatever it comes to come with no resistance, no judgment and that is the training for our lives when bad things happen and you know, meditation is a microcosm of our lives. It's like a safe space to practice facing difficulty with calmness, peace, perseverance, so keep it up.
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And let me know how it goes on social media at @toddperel. Thank you so much for listening, peace and love.
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You were listening to the Eastwesticism podcast. Be sure to visit us at Eastwesticism.org to join the conversation and receive enlightening emails. Until next time