this post was submitted on 12 May 2024
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Self Improvement
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I use the Insight Timer app, it has a lot of free guided meditations. They are great because you just need to listen to the instructions. Here are some of my favourites:
Breathing Meditation - Jack Kornfield
Time to Unwind - Meg James
Five Minutes Of Self Compassion
I recommend starting with some guided meditations, then when you get the hang of it you can just set the timer with bells in that app and do it on your own.
Pro tip: don't get discouraged when your mind wanders. People think that meditation means that your head needs to be empty and free from thoughts, but that's nearly impossible. The point is to notice that your attention has wandered and focus back on the thing that you were focusing on (usually the breath).
I also recommend listening to the "10% Happier" podcast. It's a great podcast about mindfulness, meditation, Buddhism and related topics. It has a deep backlog and a lot of interesting guests.
My library provides a free headspace subscription. I really like that app tbh although if it's not free it's highly overpriced.
AFAIK, you can count breaths in and out up to an arbitrary number (like 10) or meditate with a mantra that you repeat over and over.
The real secret sauce is noticing your thoughts, literally saying to yourself "oh, that's a thought I just had," then without strongly reacting, let the thought just float away and continue with whatever you were focusing on before.
What we say to ourselves is/becomes our reality unless you take the time to realize that it's not necessarily true just because your brain said it.
Also, meditation is a good time to notice sensations in your body that you may not have realized you're having, or emotions that you didn't know you were having. As benign as "oh my weight is pressing down on the floor/my chair" and as specific as "I've got kind of a weight in my chest" and later you can figure out whether it's because you're lonely or tired or whatever.