New Way To Meditate?

 

Woman image by Kellepics @Pixabay

Beginning |  21st Century Meditation |  Benefits | How to

My Beginnings

I used to think that meditation was for monks, new age gurus, and martial artists, until I found a forum where I discovered that this practice is for everyone. Images of limber, slender, yoga masters came to mind, sitting cross-legged, with their thumbs and middle fingers touching. Once I realized, I didn't need to sit in any particular position or do anything with my hands, if I didn't wish it, I began my journey. 

    My meditation journey has come in starts and stops. It began at least a decade ago and probably laid dormant for half of that timeframe. Somewhere in the back of my mind, that little voice said, "You should really meditate again." And my naysayer would answer, "Yeah, yeah, I know."     

21st Century Meditation?

So, imagine my surprise when I was browsing the pc games on Steam's summer sale -- always a dangerous thing for your bank account -- when I came across this lovely little program called, Playne. It teaches you how to meditate (although you really don't need a teacher, just persistence) and encourages you through "in-game rewards" to return to continue your journey. 

    A cute red fox, Sensei Fox, instructs you on how to begin. He is there in the game should you have questions or need inspiration or encouragement. As you return each day to meditate you are rewarded by leveling up. Leveling up grows your world, your Playne. For instance, I leveled to a whopping level 1! Yes, thank you, I'm a pro now. 🤣 I can access a different "scene" in which to meditate: the wind. When I reach level 2, I may see fireflies in Playne. 

    One tool that this program offers is a timer that gently alerts you when your meditation is ending. You can choose from a variety of chimes, bells, and a gong. They are soft, which is superbly helpful. Since the goal of meditation is to quiet your mind, thoughts WILL pop up during your attempts. 

    In Playne, you can choose to use your mouse/keyboard to indicate when you recognize a thought invading your silence. I haven't decided whether to continue this practice, as personally, I find the clicking itself prompts a whole slew of thoughts. [e.g. I imagine my husband coming down the stairs to interrupt my meditation *click* I clicked the mouse *click* I heard the noise made by the mouse *click* Should I keep using this mouse *click* Dangit *click* You get the idea 😆] Before I know it, I'm up to over 100 thoughts in 15 minutes. Now, it is useful to get you to pay attention to your thoughts, because we have them all the time and rarely hear them playing in the background. So, that is good. Yet, when I meditated previously, I found gently reminding myself to, "Let it go", was more productive. You don't have to use the "thoughts" counter, it's there if you like it. 

    I react positively to reward and I love technology. When I get that achievement in Skyrim or The Hunter: Call of the Wild game, it gives me a little serotonin boost. Therefore, I suspect Sensei Fox and the rewards he offers by consecutively using Playne to meditate might work for me — and you too if you enjoy gaming and rewards!

Benefits of Meditation 

But why meditate at all? Sitting around trying to quiet your mind seems silly. Well, meditation has physical and mental benefits and costs $0 to do. You don't need a guide. That's baloney! You can use one if that's your thing. You don't need special incense or positions or equipment. All that is fluff — And fine if you want to use them. Playne isn't necessary either, but, if it is the tool that gets you to try and then sustain a meditation practice, then wonderful! And here are some of the benefits you might experience: 

• Reduced Stress
• Enhanced memory
• Increased attention
• Improved willpower (better able to resist bad habits)
• Better sleep (Personal experience with this one)
• Less pain (I can personally attest to this!)
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Less anxiety (less stress = less anxiety)
• Less depression
• Greater compassion
• I would add - greater patience

    Every single day for the last — oh, ten plus years — I wake in pain and go to bed in pain. I fixed it with diet for a while, but then reverted to bad eating habits. However, for the last three days that I've meditated my pain is all but gone. It doesn't currently last all day, but it is gone for many hours and upon waking. Of course, correlation isn't causation, however, if the trend continues, and my results are reproducible, I will say the meditation is most likely the cause of my improved pain level. 

    If you'd like to try Playne on Steam, it's around $14.99 (US). I got it on sale and it was around $11 (US), I think. You don't need it to meditate. All you need is this: PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE.

How To 

How do I meditate, then?

• Sit or lie down some place comfortable and preferably quiet. Outdoors if fine if the environment doesn't distract you. 
• You can use headphones or not. Play music without words. I think words will cause you to naturally think more. Binaural beats are very helpful during meditation but aren't necessary. You can find them on Spotify or YouTube or download them on Amazon or elsewhere.
• Set a gentle timer to prompt you when you'd like to stop meditating that way you won't need to worry. (Whether 5, 10, 20, 60 minutes, it doesn't matter. Whatever works for you.)
• Close your eyes, although some manage to meditate with their eyes open. I wouldn't recommend it for a beginner.
• You can either listen to the music or ambiance (ocean, stream, rain, jungle etc.) or pay attention to your breath. 
• You will think and that's natural. When a thought occurs, acknowledge it, and let it go. Redirect your attention to the music or your breath. If you daydream, same applies. Simply refocus your attention. 
• Repeat this until your timer goes off. 

    That's it!

    As you become more proficient, you may want to increase your meditation time. Most likely you'll find your thoughts become fewer and far between until eventually you'll be in silence. And that my friends, is magical. You'll understand why when you arrive.

    Happy journey!