Meditation for Beginners: Three Effective Tips to Get Your Mind to Quiet Down When Its Cluttered
Although meditation provides many benefits for us, it can be difficult to get into this habit because we either have too many thoughts and/or can’t concentrate. How can you get back to your meditation inpeace, then, if you’re having trouble with one of the two common difficulties? Test out these easy techniques, and see if your meditation improves:
1. Take 5-10 minutes to write down all your thoughts.
Before you meditate, take 5-10 minutes to write down all your thoughts. This method is widely known as free thinking, and all it means that you write down every thought you have and let it flow. Don’t resist any thoughts, and don’t try to change them. You can also use a word processor to type out your thoughts if it’s faster for you. Let your mind be free during this exercise, and don’t stop to analyze the thoughts either. This method allows you to clear out your mind, which will help you meditate more easily.
2. Start small.
Did you know that you can take less than five minutes to get into meditation mode? If you find that meditation for 10 or 60 minutes is too much for you, start small. Your mind may be resisting the fact that it doesn’t want to take time to meditate for 10-60 minutes because it takes too much time, and you have too much to do in your day. If you start small by meditating for 2-5 minutes each day, your mind will be more open to this new habit and you can increase the time you spend on meditation. The mind likes comfort. It rejects new ideas, new habits, etc., even if it’s good for you. Starting small and gradually increasing your meditation time can help you relax, concentrate, and declutter your mind.
3. Practice movement meditation.
If you’re the type who can’t sit still while you meditate, try movement meditation. In simple terms, movement meditation means you focus on your muscle movement in order to meditate and relax the mind. Moving around and keeping your body busy will also help keep your mind focused on the movement meditation instead of thoughts. Being aware of how your body moves is the main focus of movement meditation. If you’re still having trouble meditating, ask yourself if you truly want to meditate for yourself. Is it truly something you want to do each day for a few minutes or are you doing it because someone else told you to do it? Your mind could be resisting meditation because you really don’t want to do it at this moment and causing you to have too many thoughts. If you’re not sure about meditation, take a break from it and try it again after a few days.
