#1 Only for religious people
Meditation was reserved for a long time only to religious or spiritual people having access to this tradition, be it in monasteries or people that have time to do simply “nothing “and devote themself to hours of silence.
Even, especially here in the western world, we draw many inspirations from Eastern religious practices, especially Buddhism, that really cultivated the school of meditation as a tool to ease the suffering and develop compassion. Despite the meditation roots, one doesn’t have to practice any religion or believe in some specific world view to benefit from meditation.
#2 Thinking and feeling nothing
The goal of meditation is not to feel and think nothing, although during meditations, you might enter a state where there will not be popping any more random thoughts, and the monkey mind might feel empty.
Meditation is not about thinking and feeling nothing, but quite the opposite. Being able to think and feel whatever is there in the present moment.
#3 It is completely silent, like punishing yourself
This comes to the previous point, but besides not thinking and feeling, one can feel it is like punishing yourself with silence. It might be perceived like the silence is unnatural, something that we often did not allow for ourselves because then our deepest thoughts and feelings could arise. And we might not be comfortable with that yet.
When we allow ourselves to be silent, we open the door to our deeper minds. When there are no other stimuli, it might feel like punishing sometimes, because that space allows sometimes for some thoughts or feelings that we do not want to feel and want to escape.
Many times we culturally think silence is awkward. Two people meet on the first date, and they might hit an awkward moment when nobody knows what to say. This is the perfect example of being able to embrace the silence for what it is without being affected that something is wrong and start to ruminate.
When you find that stillness in body and mind, even for a couple of minutes a day, you can find deeper insight, a whole new reality about who you are that is very rich.
#4 There is the best way to meditate; meditation as a performance
Meditation is some inner dialogue, but it is not a performance that can be spoiled. A lot of times, we perceive meditation as some “performance, “so we think that there is a good way and a wrong way to meditate.
When we do something, we put not unnecessary pressure on ourselves by wanting to do it right, perfectly. It is entirely natural to feel that way, but if our only thought is not to make mistake, we cannot really enter the relaxition state and still be in disquietude.
#5 Meditation needs a lot of time to be worth it
You might sometimes think that you do not have time for meditation. Do I have 1 minute, 5 minutes? 30 seconds? Three conscious deep breaths? Or even just one conscious deep breath?
Even that tiny matters and have benefits. Sometimes, the proper, more extended meditation is needed, but it is still worth it if you have is a couple of minutes. It shouldn’t be an excuse for not meditating because it wouldn’t be meditation when practicing just briefly.
The point in meditating is instead of having long meditations rarely having short meditations regularly.
#6 It is not meditation when your mind wanders
The mind will always inevitably wander somewhere else. It is essential to know that it is okay and be kind to your mind. Do not think it wasn’t meditation when your mind wandered. The point of meditation is noticing it and not being worried about how long it took or if it destroyed the meditation itself.
The meditator goes back to the anchor of meditation as many times as needed without judging or engaging the thoughts when there will be actual noticing of mind wandering.
#7 Meditation is hard to learn and practice
Meditation is effortless to learn and practice, especially when you do not start with too ambitious goals or expectations, and you can consistently find even little time to meditate regularly.
The only challenging part might be to stick around with the practice, especially at the beginning when the fruits of meditations are not harvested and processed by the conscious mind.
From the growing of this meditation muscle, you are free to explore and go to even more complex meditations and visualizations if you want, which requires even more dedication and focus and might challenge practicing them.
#8 Specific body positions for meditation
You do not need any specific positions for meditation. Or let me put it this way – it shouldn’t be an excuse for you not to meditate in any body position as long as it is comfortable.
Some specific meditations utilize specific body positions (for example, meditation for sleep is better to lay down) or even hand positions (mudras). For simple meditations is advisable to have your spine straight but not stiff. Try different positions to see in which you feel the most comfortable.
#9 Meditation is only for some specific kind of people, elite, or only adults.
Simply anybody can meditate. It is not reserved for any particular kind of people or people who need to meet specific criteria. You can teach your kids meditations. You can use simple mindfulness every day, no matter what is your current occupation or interest. The benefits of meditation can help you be better in any life area you think needs more work.
#10 Needing guide or specific equipment or conditions for meditation
Although meditation could use a lot of different audio-visualization, fancy Tibetan bowls, or any other tools, it is not required at all. You do not even need a guide. You can be your guide and use just yourself and what you have naturally available to meditate.
The only tool that many times is beneficial, especially at the beginning, is to have some timer ready, especially when you are worried that your mind wanders or you will fall asleep during the meditation.
It might help to set a timer for meditation, some alarm for five, ten, or whatever is the time that is available for meditation. You can use apps like Insight Timer or others.
