In a recent survey, Tim Ferris, an American entrepreneur, interviewed 140 people who were at the top in their fields and almost everyone shared one common habit, MEDITATION.

Being a meditation practitioner, I get questions like how shall I meditate? Is there a procedure? How shall I control my thoughts? I can’t stop my mind from wandering when I close my eyes, what shall I do.. and so on.

These questions stand like a roadblock between most of the people and meditation. And my answer to all of them is- Stop trying too hard.

Because Meditation is as easy as Smiling. It is so effortless that even the laziest man on Earth can do it. Just stop trying to STOP everything. Instead, let everything FLOW- you, your breath, surroundings, thoughts, sounds, past, future, all of it!

Do you stop your heart, lungs, muscles or blood while meditating? Then why stop the poor, marvellous brain from doing its work? Let is flow too!

Meditation is not concentration. In concentration, we narrow our mind and a narrow mind is a limited mind. 

You need concentration to solve a problem, fly a plane, learn a new language, etc. 

If you try to meditate by concentrating on fighting all the thoughts, negating them and focusing on the mind you’ll be tired by the end of it. 

Because to control the mind you lose all the energy.

So what exactly is meditation if it’s not concentration?

Meditation is freedom. You just be there and with complete awareness welcome each sound and thought that reaches you. It is the art of listening to everything outside and within without judgement, criticism, liking or disliking. And, finally becoming a centre of it all.

Remember, meditation says YES to everything and concentration says NO to everything.

One method you can opt for to start practising meditation is:

Empty Bowl Meditation

This meditation is called Empty Bowl because it is believed that God is always seeking an empty bowl to fill with his love but he finds the bowls full of desire, ambition, business, success and failure. His journey hasn’t ended yet.

Steps for this meditation-

• Sit comfortably with your palms up and open on your knees like empty bowls
• Start breathing effortlessly and simply watch the movement of inhaling and exhaling
• Now, start following your breath from nostrils to the back of your throat, trachea, lungs, heart, diaphragm, the belly button till the root chakra.
• Stop for a few seconds and simply exist. Without body, mind and breath.
• With complete awareness, let everything flow.
• While exhaling, follow the breath and stop outside the nostril.
• Again wait for a few seconds at this stop. At these two stops, you’ll be empty.

Have you tried meditation? Share your experience in the comments below-