The purpose of meditation is to quiet down the chatter in your mind, go beyond your physical experiences and experience your true nature, feel at peace with who you are, feel happy and fulfilled.
Most people find hard to meditate because their mind stays in the way. As you can’t do without it, train your mind to surrender and listen.
Here you have three ways to practice passive meditation:
1. Listen without searching in your mind for a reply or similar experiences
It doesn’t come naturally to us to listen. We tend to interpret and give a personal meaning to everything we hear, searching automatically for a reply or similar situation to share. Because listening without drifting away is hard, that is an exercise which teaches your mind to stay present, free of conscious thoughts and focus on the person speaking.
Listening is a form of passive meditation because you are not doing anything other than being present…literally – body and mind.
The most common thing that can stay on your way to practice active listening is an inferiority complex, mild or acute. You might get self-absorbed scanning your brain for things (experiences, knowledge, events, and evidence of how talented you are) that can lift you up in your eyes or others.
Keep your mind still (sort of speak); you don’t have to prove anything to no one. You are good enough as you are! And paying attention to your surroundings is increasing your awareness, power to influence others, and ability to access your deeper self.
2. Take a fast walk with friends (in silence!)
Did you notice that you can’t maintain a coherent conversation when fast walking? That you stop from time to time to rearrange your thoughts?
Your mind doesn’t like to do more than one thing at the time. However, don’t you feel compelled to talk in the presence of people you know?
Most of us have this urge to entertain others, break the silence like is our ultimate duty not to let people get bored in our presence.
If listening is hard, silence is almost painful, but practicing group silence is a fantastic exercise and experience for your mind.
Group silence is not only a meditation exercise but also a way to get closer to people that accept you as you are, free of judgment and willing to offer you support and understanding. You see? Your compulsion to talk is less about the people around you and more about yourself:
- How comfortable do you feel with who you are?
- Do you accept yourself as you are?
- Are you acknowledging your value and worth and don’t need others to do it for you?
- Do you see yourself as the hero of your life and don’t need saving?
- Have you stopped comparing yourself to others and look for validation in words?
3. Play games that put you in a trance-like state
Playing chess is one of those games that silences the outside world and gives your mind the opportunity and chance to rearrange itself, reorganize, and send you the messages you need to hear.
There are many games like chess that don’t involve the use of words and require your attention to one thing only. Choose the one that suits you best.
The point of meditation is to clear your mind of conscious thoughts, be present and allow your inner voice to communicate with your conscious and unconscious mind.
These three ways of practicing passive meditation are designed to give you a start into the art of meditation. In each of them you have something to focus on other than a dot on the wall, don’t need special props (music, space, isolation), and bring you the result you want: a free mind, increased awareness, insights from your deeper self, self-acceptance, and peace.
Carmen Jacob is the co-founder of https://selfimprovement.org. S