Mindful Musings.
Anyone who has experienced the stillness of mind will never cease to wonder at life itself.
Emotions are a turmoil, as plenty of thoughts uncoil. Leading to more inertia, and a sense of blah.
Is there a way I can rise out of this? To nothingness and pure bliss. Gently came along a slight breeze, to put my throbbing mind to ease.
So simple, yet so deep, a breath that seeps into the very pores of our being there is nothing else so freeing.
If we look at our mind as a machine, it is an extremely complex one. More so than an airplane, a jet, a rocket, or a nuclear reactor. The mind is made up of so many different layers and entities, each of them functioning on their own as well as together to constitute a system that makes us think, feel, act, in short, live and experience life.
“The mind is not a book, to be opened at will and examined at leisure. Thoughts are not etched on the inside of skulls, to be perused by an invader. The mind is a complex and many-layered thing.” — JK Rowling
It is a machine that is constantly at work, except for a few hours when we sleep. Even then it hardly has stopped working, it is merely resting, digesting information from the day, and categorizing them into different buckets to influence our perception.
Is it even possible for the mind to get deep rest then?
Our brain along with the thoughts and emotions is like a tornado, swirling, and twirling about within the chambers of our skull. Some thoughts are so powerful that their vibrations reverberate within for a long time. While others come and go in fleeting seconds.
And if thoughts indeed do create reality, then we need a way to calm this tornado, and “mindfully” pick and choose the thoughts we want in the catalogs of our mind. That is what meditation does to us. A sense of complete equilibrium and tranquil.
In the book Ikigai, the authors say that “meditation helps us get to a place of flow more quickly.” Imagine having to reach a destination with no GPS, map, or direction of some sort. We would be a lost ship amid an ocean. Similarly, if we do not seek to silence the plethora of thoughts that we experience in a day, we can easily be buried in the depths of them, and miss out on living lives to our fullest potential.
What is Meditation?
Whenever I search for what is meditation online, I see a picture with someone sitting cross-legged and still. That hardly paints the complete picture. Yes, meditation is about calming the mind, but it is not a destination in itself. It is a journey. It is not something to attain, it is something to experience, to simply be and let be. And as we continue to do it, it becomes our very nature of living.
The thing is thoughts are a constant in our lives. We are going to have 60000 thoughts every single day. Some days even more. Which ones we choose to entertain, and which ones to discard, that switch is what meditation gives us.
We sit down in a particular position and close our eyes to prevent further distractions from entering our minds. We deal with whatever is inside so far before we let anything else from the outside penetrate in. That is the only objective of closing our eyes. I wish it were as simple as being able to close our mind when we close our eyes.
The default activity of the mind is to have wandering thoughts. We only need to support this default activity and not influence it with our conscious thinking and sensory perceptions. Once we close our eyes and sit still, the mind is like a screen, thoughts are being projected onto it from the many different layers. Our only job is to simply observe and watch the screen. Not exclaim at it, not fight it, just simply be with it.
When I sit down to meditate, I experience good thoughts and bad thoughts. Sometimes the bad thoughts are so overpowering (like fear or anger) I want to open my eyes and distract myself to regain a sense of calm. Other times I am so elated that I can hardly sit still.
Continuing to sit still during both these times is what we aspire for during meditation.
Our brain has billions of neurons that communicate with each other through electrical pulses. And thoughts, emotions, feelings all contribute and attribute to the different kinds of electrical signals generated.
The signals or waves that are generated in our brain are broadly classified into 5 types (source):
- Alpha waves — the most common form of brain waves during meditation. We experience them during the beginning stages of meditation when we passively observe our thoughts. Alpha waves serve as a reminder for our brain to be in the now, thereby reducing the signal communication between the different neurons in the mind.
- Beta waves — all about logic and planning. Any goal-oriented task generates beta waves like perhaps in my mind now as I write this. Beta waves are known to improve our logical thinking.
- Theta waves — these are most dominant during sleep or deep meditation. They help with learning and also intuition. Theta waves are also where we hold our memories, thoughts, deepest impressions.
- Gamma waves — gamma waves are associated with cognitive brain function and focus.
- Delta waves — generated in deepest rest(without dreams) and meditation. These waves are known to promote healing, compassion, and empathy. Studies have also shown these waves to increase the production of anti-aging hormones.
Theta and Delta waves are essentially what we experience after a deeply relaxing bath or a vacation to our favorite place. The same sense of equilibrium and tranquil.
Meditation helps us experience these theta and delta waves from within the confinements of our home.
We, therefore, need it even more now because our external distractions are minimized. We are left with our thoughts for company and thereby need some control over it for us to be sane and peaceful.
As we continue to practice meditation and mindfulness, we also amplify the amplitude of our other waves at will. Like if we want to try hard and focus, we will be able to do that easily and effectively. Essentially what I guess we refer to as compartmentalization.
Benefits of meditating are immense, my top 3 would be:
- Reduce the chatter in mind, thereby reducing stress and tension.
- Increased ability to focus.
- Live in the present moment.
There are a lot of meditation tools available these days. My best experience has been to learn it the right way preferably from someone experienced and able to teach. Only because the mind can throw up a bunch of stuff, and we may not always be equipped with the right things to deal with them.
Also, there is no outcome for meditating. Expecting thoughts to dissolve, mind to be a clean slate only initiates more electrical pulses thereby deviating us from our purpose. Wanting nothing, just continuing to be, and observing the mind silently gives a more enriching experience. Thereby as the authors of Ikigai say — “Rituals over goals.” Or consistency over getting it right.
How has your experience been with meditation and mindfulness? I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Cheers!