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3 Reasons To Try Vedic Meditation + How To Stick To It

Author:

Elena Brower

September 03, 2020

Written by

Elena Brower

September 03, 2020

Meditation invokes a quieting ocean of calm, but only with time and consistent practice. But I didn't get that until I really devoted myself to it. The biggest shift was the implementation of a simple meditation technique that I learned from Vedic meditation master, Thom Knoles.

Often, folks will say they've tried to meditate but cannot stop their mind, sit still or stop thinking. That's why it's important to learn from someone who's done their work—a master. Without masterful instruction, we couldn't expect to be proficient in anything.

What's notable about the Vedic meditation technique? It teaches us how to be effortless with our practice. You learn how to sit twice a day and look forward to each sitting, without a sense of fear or dread. Vedic meditation has offered me guidance in correcting the intellect, offering a new approach to evolve beyond my deeply ingrained habits.

A few months of committing to the practice twice a day, things really started to settle in. And now after over a year of regular daily practice, I've softened my stance on many aspects of my thinking. My meditations are now times of real sweetness—when the world melts away and I trust in the space, in the time and in myself.

Consistent meditation helps me to see the sacred, feel the forgiveness and move forward mindfully, so that even when I fall back on some old habitual thought, my practice is right there to catch me within a matter of hours.

Here are three simple reasons to be consistent with your meditation practice, and some practical tools to help you along the way:

1. Daily practice teaches you to be patient and kind.

With time you'll come to appreciate that the most unsavory emotions—like impatience and anger—don't go away for good, but that you can learn to move on from them quickly.

Learning to let go with ease and handle emotions with grace is a product of daily practice. When we spend time in deep meditation, we release what we cognitively know and what we've unconsciously stored in our bodies and minds. All of our haste, worry, anxiety, dread and fear will literally fall away with each time we practice. When we are consistent with sitting twice daily, we become more compassionate and notice those negating states without engaging, letting them go more freely.

Practical tool:

During your day, take note of any unkind or irrelevant thought and ask yourself: "How long shall I allow this thought to unfurl in my mind?"

2. Daily practice unleashes your creativity and helps you to locate imaginative solutions.

Knoles refers to creativity as the capacity to make new connections amidst already existing elements. Meaning, the ingredients aren't fundamentally changing—your ways of seeing are. Once you begin sitting regularly and spending time releasing all of the lower-level reactions from your brain and physiology, your adaptability and creativity increases.

Practical tool:

During your day ask yourself, "How can I look at this (person or circumstance) from a different angle? Rather than close down and react, how can I be more creative in finding a solution?"

3. Daily practice helps you move away from doubt into courage.

Studies by neuropsychologist Allan Schore showed that shame had a direct affect on stress experienced by children (How could you DO that? Are you that stupid? You should be ashamed of yourself!) This actually cuts back the normal neural connectivity in the highest, most imaginative areas of a child's mind—derailing the enrichment of the architecture to the lowest lobes of the brain, where survival is the only imperative, and the emergency systems are in full effect. In shaming others, we bring the most destructive systems to life, and shut down the creative ones.

Each time we're shamed or cut off—as kids or adults—we become more likely to host doubt in our bodies, and move away from a brave, effective stance. Meditation is your way to release those moments of shaming (past or present, perpetrator or victim), and begin to create consistent space and time to rewire, rebuild and nourish our most confident, courageous self. Meditation is how we shift from surviving to thriving.

Practical tool:

During your day ask yourself, "How can I evolve this doubtful thought/action into a confident, courageous choice?"

And if you habitually shame anyone — your kids, friends or colleagues — Dr. Schore recommends that you immediately apologize, and that with children you immediately take on a nurturing stance. You'll see that each time you meditate, noticing this will become easier, and you'll be less likely to perpetuate that shame any further.

The bottom line

For me, what's most valuable about Vedic meditation is the fact that it's a technique. I can hold it close, bring it with me anywhere and allow it to assist my growth every day. It's a concrete way of returning to my simplest, quiet awareness — where all is calm and the mind can rest, if only for a short while.

Photo courtesy of Michael Williams for LOLE