Meditation FAQs – II

Meditation FAQs – II

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How many minutes should I meditate everyday?

Ideally, meditation should be your living, breathing state. There are two aspects to meditation. One is the daily practice itself. The practice should be a minimum of 21 minutes long, ideally as many minutes as your age.

The second aspect is applying it in daily life, working on a moment to moment awareness. Of course we falter, and this is how we learn.

I cannot meditate for long. I feel too restless and get up. Is this ok?

This is another common reaction of the mind and we have to learn to put it aside. For this reason, I usually suggest my students to use a timer. This way, you are forced to sit through and witness all the dramas of the mind, including the ones that say that it is impossible to sit a moment longer. This desperation is just another game of the mind we must learn to witness and transcend. So feel it and breathe into your desperation.

Why don’t I feel peaceful when I meditate?

It is a misconception that the mind will shut down and you will feel some peace during meditation. Meditation brings peace into your life by clearing out the stuff that’s keeping you miserable, during the practice. So if you’re doing it right, your mind will bring up everything that disturbs you, during your meditation.

When you learn to resist the temptation to run with the mind and gently detach yourself from the drama, you start changing the patterns of your mind and create space for peace and quiet in your day.

People seem to see colors, visions, feel vibrations, etc. during meditation. I don’t feel anything. What is wrong with me?

Meditation is about being in the moment. So whether you feel something or not, you are not meditating if you are sitting there thinking ‘wow, what a great meditation I am having, such a wonderful experience’ OR ‘why am I not feeling anything, I have so many thoughts’. Experiences are no indicator of a good meditation – detachment to those thoughts, is.

Some people are naturally psychic and meditation opens up their capabilities to see more. If anything, this may be a distraction in their path, nothing else. Do not compare experiences with others.

I had a wonderful experience in meditation the other day. But it hasn’t happened again. How can I bring that experience back?

Same thing. Meditation is about being in the present. Even more than anything else, it is understanding that every moment brings something different. If we get caught up in the experiences – whether that is trying to fix something bad, or trying to recreate something good, then we are running with the mind, and not meditating. Whatever happens during meditation, pay no heed.

How do I know I am making progress?

I once read a wonderful reply by Osho to this question. How do you know if you are making progress? If you are sick and you take some medicines, how do you know if you are making progress? If you’re improving, you know it. There is no question. 

At the same time, there are a few external parameters that show progress. Are you kinder to people around you? How are you treating your spouse? How are you treating your subordinates? Are you less angry and frustrated than before? Are you able to feel joy and love for no reason?

Of course, it takes a few months usually, before you start seeing changes. Meditation is a slow process and takes years. Even so, if you are asking this question, you probably need to sit down and meditate on the question and transcend it. The desire to progress is again a desire created in the mind to take you away from the present.

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