There’s a lot of information out there about meditation, and it can get very overwhelming and confusing, to say the least. However, whether you are a beginner when it comes to meditation, or even advanced, you should really know the five biggest mistakes people make when they’re meditating, and some common misconceptions people have about meditation.
Mistake #1 A lot of people don’t truly understand what meditation is.
You know it’s good for you, most people understand it helps to raise your vibration and can help you to achieve a higher consciousness level. However, there’s a bit more to it than that.
When you are meditating, you are achieving spiritual awareness on a conscious level.
This means you are aware of your spiritual body and your physical body at the same time while you’re conscious (not sleeping). It’s very important to understand this, because you’re accessing your spiritual tools when you’re in a meditative state. You quiet the mind when you achieve a relaxed state. This allows you to become more aware of your spiritual body.
Mistake #2 People don’t know what it means to “achieve” a meditative state.
A common misconception is someone thinking that in order to achieve a meditative state, you need to be a in a quiet room, sitting in a certain position, with controlled breathing. What people don’t know is:
Most everyone is meditating every day when they are not even aware they are doing it.
A meditative state can happen when you’re staring at the TV, when you’re staring into space, when you’re daydreaming, or relaxing in a chair, and even right before you fall asleep.
When your body is relaxing, and your mind is quiet, you naturally achieve a meditative state.
Mistake #3 People don’t realize what being in a meditative state FEELS like.
- You can feel dizzy.
- You can feel vibrating inside your body, or even like you’re vibrating outside your body.
- You can feel like your arms are shaking, or your legs, or your body.
- You can feel like you’re being pulled upward.
- You can also feel as if your energy spills into the entire room, as if your spiritual body protrudes from you, almost like you can touch the walls with your body.
There are a lot of different variables on how meditation might feel to you. It’s not cut and dry. Some people think you’re supposed to feel this certain way, and if you didn’t feel that way, it wasn’t effective or you didn’t achieve meditative state. None of that is true.
The common assumption is “I have to feel very Zen and relaxed. My body needs to be really, really relaxed.” As you force your body to relax, your brain is trying to force your muscles to tighten, then to relax again to achieve this Zen state. More often than not, this feels unnatural and causes resistance.
Alternatively, you release all expectations, while pretending as if you’re going to take a nap or go to sleep. Then you allow yourself to approach the edge of falling asleep, and your body will naturally go limp and relax. And your whole body will just chill. It’s more natural.
Mistake #4 Thinking there are strict rules as to how meditation has to happen.
- You must be sitting up.
- You must meditate a certain time of day, each day, and be consistent.
- You must be sitting in a chair.
- You can’t eat red meat.
- You can’t drink soda or have sugars…diets…you know, that sort of thing.
- You can’t fall asleep!
None of that matters. It’s interesting how many rules people want to put on stuff. You’re naturally a spiritual being. You access the spiritual part of yourself every single day. It’s not something you have to work to achieve, it just is. What you should work toward is being aware that it’s happening.
Mistake #5 People thinking one meditation is better than another.
NOT TRUE.
Meditation is being spiritually aware on a consciousness level, so it doesn’t matter how you achieve that awareness. However, whatever works for you, do that! If it’s guided meditation, then do guided meditation. If you don’t like guided meditation and you find your mind wandering, then maybe try being more aware of your meditative state before you fall asleep.
TIP: When you get into a meditative state, it’s the most powerful time to visualize, the most powerful moments you’ll have during the day to create things you want to have happen in the future. It’s the most powerful time you’ll have to create tomorrow…