The benefits that spill over into the rest of my day as invaluable. Everything just seems to unfold that little bit better and smoother. Meditation doesn’t make life effortless, but it’s like as close to a “magic pill” as we are probably going to get in terms of how many facets of life it helps with

Social anxiety reduced, better ability to think critically and find the right words, heck I even look like less of a space cadet when I look in the mirror. Because I’m calmer, my voice is more controlled and slightly deeper.

I've seen a lot of questions here from people just starting on their meditation journey, and being someone who has been practicing regularly for years now, I thought I would share some tips that may help others get the best out of their own practice. These are things that have directly impacted me over the years, so I am speaking from direct experience and not theory.

Meditation has become a regular part of my daily routine. I meditate for 45 to 60 minutes in the morning, and even though it's usually a struggle, I try to meditate for 30 minutes in the evening before bed. I've been practicing regularly for over 15 years now. There are moments in life when I get busy and may miss a couple of days, or even weeks, but I always return to the practice because there is a noticeable difference in my life on the days that I sit versus the days that I do not.

I also want to stress that for me, meditation is only one part of the equation. The real work is done in the mindfulness practice I try to maintain throughout the day. If you are only sitting in meditation and not incorporating an actual mindfulness practice, you are not getting the full benefit of your meditation sit. While there are definite benefits to practicing meditation alone, you can look at the two as partner practices if your goal is a more well-rounded life. Think of meditation as the mental gym session, and mindfulness as the game. What you gain on the cushion carries with you through your day.

That being said, here are 5 tips I recommend to beginner meditators that will hopefully make starting your practice a bit easier. I would also love to hear from other seasoned practitioners and see what others recommend!

1. Lose all your expectations

This is going to be difficult for a lot of people, but to me this should be rule number one, not just for beginners, but for anyone practicing meditation. We all have our own reasons for wanting to meditate. Some are looking for ways to lower stress, some are looking for enlightenment. What we know is that everyone's experience on this planet is unique to them, and the results you get from meditation will be based on your own unique experience. So while the outcomes may be similar across people, they won't be exactly the same.

To this day, any time I sit with the intention of achieving a certain outcome, it rarely happens. In fact, the opposite is usually what I get. If I sit with the intention of quieting the mind, my thoughts somehow seem to get louder, because now I am seeking something and the brain has gone into overdrive trying to solve the problem. My best insights have come when I've sat with a "Beginner's Mind," the Zen concept of temporarily letting go of any learned ideas and concepts so that you can approach a situation from a fresh perspective.

2. Try different practices, then choose the one that challenges you most

This one may be a bit controversial, because we all tend to gravitate toward the easy path or the one that feels good. When I first started meditating, I had the hardest time just sitting and observing the breath. I hated it. I didn't know what I was supposed to be watching, and most of the time I couldn't even feel my breath. So I stuck with things that felt more comfortable: sound meditations, listening to chanted mantras or the natural sounds outside my window. I enjoyed those, but eventually realized I wasn't actually practicing meditation as much as I thought. I was doing something pleasant and giving myself an easy anchor, but I was daydreaming and letting my mind wander more than actually training it to stay focused on the present.

What I came to realize was that as much as I disliked observing the breath, it gave my mind a challenge that was easier to measure. It was much easier to notice when I had drifted off than when I was passively listening to sounds. It also made me work harder to train my focus. The difficulty itself gave the brain a problem to solve, and the brain is a problem-solving, prediction machine. When it has a puzzle to work on, most of the background noise thoughts fall further into the background and become less noticeable. Hence, a quieter mind.

3. There is no such thing as a silent mind

The heart pumps blood, the lungs pump oxygen, and the brain thinks. If any one of those functions were to stop, you wouldn't need to worry about meditation. The idea that your thoughts are going to stop completely is a myth, and one you should let go of when you follow tip #1.

What is most likely going to happen is what I described in tip #2: the mind becomes so focused that your thoughts recede into background noise. Sometimes less loud than others. Sometimes so far back that it seems like they've disappeared, but they're always there. To this day I never know what to expect when I sit, but whether my mind goes seemingly silent or is as loud as a New York City street, I always find benefit by the end of the sit.

A reminder though: this is my own personal, direct experience. Take everything I just said and go back to tip #1.

4. Your mind is a wild place to be

The majority of us go through our entire lives not paying real attention to what's going on in our own heads, or actively avoiding it. When you sit and turn your awareness inward for the first time, it can feel like walking through a forest in Wonderland. The strangest things may start to appear. Some of us have experiences we've never dealt with and have been suppressing. Some of us just have completely untethered thoughts with no anchor in reality. Most of us have some mix of both, and it's just a mess in there.

Your meditation sit is not an inner therapy session. The purpose of your practice is not to work through hidden issues. It's to focus your awareness on your object of meditation, not to conduct a self-psychoanalysis.

On the flip side, some things may happen that feel supernatural. I remember sitting in a Vipassana retreat, and during the question period after one of the sits, I overheard a student rush up to the instructor and say, "I was floating during that sit. I was literally off the ground." The instructor simply replied, "That's not meditation. Go back and sit again." The mind will play games with you. Your job is not to entertain those games, but to notice them and return to the practice.

5. Give yourself time, and be compassionate with yourself

We live in a world of instant gratification. Same day deliveries, groceries brought to our door, apps and devices engineered to produce short dopamine hits so we keep coming back. The practice of meditation is the complete opposite of all of that. It requires you to slow down and be bored. In the beginning it can create frustration, anxiety, discomfort, and sometimes even physical pain. That is the challenge you are meant to work with. You are working with what is, not what you want it to be.

It takes time to sit with this. It takes time to get used to it. It also takes compassion for yourself and an understanding that when the mind drifts and you find yourself lost in that Wonderland forest of thoughts, that's okay. The fact that you noticed is a good thing. In fact, it is the practice. Most people never notice at all. All you have to do is gently, and compassionately, bring yourself back to your object of meditation and let it lead you out of that forest. You'll end up back there again, but for now be grateful that you have a tool and a practice that makes you aware enough to even realize you were there.

Bonus tip: Refer to tip #1.

That's it. I hope this is helpful to some of you. And like I said, I would love to hear from others. If you have insights or tips to share, please do. And if you're just starting out and have questions or challenges, share those too, and let's see if we can help each other.

This is a message to my younger self.

Why you need to meditate.

You have an overactive mind. You’re constantly over thinking.. Hell, you think about thinking. YOU OVER THINK ABOUT OVER THINKING.

You think that overthinking is something to be proud of.. That’s why you’ll happily play the ‘over-thinker’ identity.. Because it makes you feel like you’re intelligent.. As if you’re some genius in society and you just need to think and think like a mad scientist..

No. Stop.

You’re not overthinking as much as you think you are.

You’re RUMINATING.

There is a big difference..

You’re not over thinking and analysing mf.. You are literally thinking over the same things over and over again.

(Below are real thoughts I just could not stop thinking no matter how hard I tried)

“When will I get a girlfriend”

“I feel so lonely”

“Are people looking at me? That guy is staring at me on the tube”

“Is he going to come and attack me as we jump off the train”

“Where is the nearest exit? if he came at me now how would I escape? Do I run to security or do I just run like a mf as quick as I can?”

You have these thoughts often, you’ve somehow convinced yourself of this ‘’over thinker’’ identity feeling that it’s both a blessing and curse.

It is.. But mainly it’s a curse. It stops you from being present. It stops you from enjoying the current moment. You’re distracted enough without bullshit thoughts coming into your head and taking you away from the present.

You lack so much self-awareness that you don’t even realise how repetitive your thinking actually is..

It’s boring.

But due to your lack of awareness.. It feels like your entire mind is consumed with the same things but they feel like ‘’new thoughts’’ even though it’s the same cycle of thought again and again.

You can’t see the wood for the trees.. You need to step back.

Why meditate?

Meditate because it’s the only way you’ll escape this.

Meditate because you need self-awareness.

Meditate because unless you do, you’ll be trapped in this cycle for MUCH longer than needs be.

Meditate because people around you deserve your full attention and focus. Quality attention.

Meditate because it will help you focus on the things most important to you so that you can live a good life.

Meditate because it’s literally going to the gym.. But for your mind.

Meditate because everyone is trying to steal your attention in this day and age that we live in, and social media and smartphones are literally KILLING your attention.

Meditate because you want peace of mind and clarity.

Meditate because the person who you ‘THINK’ you want to be, is most likely bullshit and you’ll save yourself a mid-life crisis when life has passed you by and the regret will run deep.

Meditate because it’s a tried and tested formula.

Meditate because I’m telling you from the bottom of my heart. It WILL change your experience of life.

You have to be consistent to see the results.. Like anything. But meditation is a meta skill which will help you in EVERY area of your life.

Why meditate?

It will change your experience life for the good.. That’s why.

I've been meditating on and off since I was a kid, but last week I decided to give mindful meditation a try for at least two hours. After just one hour, my mind felt completely different – so calm and peaceful, a feeling I had never experienced before in my life. I continued meditating for a total of four hours, and after that experience, my mind felt completely transformed. Even my girlfriend noticed the difference. I used to feel angry almost all the time due to my ADHD diagnosis, but now everything feels different. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

https://www.reddit.com/r/Meditation_Music/

Over the past month I’ve been meditating a lot — usually 25+ minutes a day, every day.

Lately I’ve been feeling this weird sense of being too happy / calm / content to go back to work. Before, my stress/anxiety/pressure used to push me to grind and get things done. Now that those feelings have gone down a lot, it feels like I’ve also lost the drive to work.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Did your motivation come back? How did you deal with it?

Would love to hear personal stories or advice.

Today I’m celebrating three years of a daily meditation practice. This was the most life changing decision for me on so many levels. I’m a completely different person in ways I never dreamt possible. My magical life is just getting started. I can’t wait to see what I’m saying/feeling in another 3 years. I’ll never stop. Daily meditation for life.

I have been doing a daily practice consistently for a couple months now and am seeing amazing benefits. Some days on my cushion are easier than others, but recently I have started to look forward to my time there!

I am 31 yo and have never been able to sit in a seated cross legged position, even as a child. As silly as it may sound, this depressed me and kept me away from a consistent practice as I could never get comfortable in any type of “proper” meditation position. I would try sitting in a chair, lying down, and kneeling, but my desire to sit on my cushion prevented me from fully immersing in those positions (cue the phrase “desire is the source of suffering)!

So, after having several years of a few weeks here and there I finally decided to buckle down and just sit. I flipped my cushion in its side so I could sit higher and put pillows under my hips and knees. This was a great start and helped me stay focused on practice rather than the pain i was experiencing. Slowly, over the course of a few weeks I flipped my cushion to its normal position and the pillows became smaller. It still takes me a minute to adjust when I first sit down, but once I get in tune with my breath, I relax and pain subsides.

I still at times experience slight discomfort in both my hips and back, but I have noticed a profound difference over the course of 2 months. I know and have accepted my body’s limitations, but also am aware that my body has never been used to this position so it needs time to adjust and I now have faith that over time it will be easier and easier.

So if any of this sounds like you, don’t give up! Listen to your body and respect it. If something is bothering you address it, make it comfortable, and slowly tour body will start to respect you back. Do not FORCE anything on yourself or your body!