How to Meditate Like an Autodidact
Although I value traditional educational settings, I’ve found that certain practices such as mediation do not require a classroom. Many skills cannot be learned through reading books or taking exams. Becoming an autodidact provides a myriad of skills, which are not typically found in lecture halls or textbooks. For example, those who teach themselves develop self-discipline and are more able to independently create structure in their lives. Many more forms of intelligence are made available in this process as well. Autodidacts are able to continue to teach themselves after leaving an educational setting.
I learned that meditation helps us to detach from our thoughts and emotions. At the beginning of the pandemic, I tried to meditate once a day for 5 minutes. Learning a new skill takes consistency. At first, I was easily distracted by my cat’s meow or text messages from friends. In the past couple of months, I’ve been re-teaching myself to focus on the present moment for a few minutes once or twice a day. Ironically doing nothing takes a lot of effort!
Here are some tips to get started :
Eliminate distractions: Put your phone on Do Not Disturb and find a quiet place to sit.
Be prepared to make mistakes: Meditation is about endurance. It takes time to be fully present and master this skill. Forgive yourself for having a wandering mind.
Let go of thinking: Practice seeing your thoughts without reacting to them. Listen to the sounds around you. Focus on your breath by counting inhales and exhales.
Do what works: Begin meditating with your eyes open if that’s easier. Make it a pleasant exercise as opposed to a chore.
Take it easy: Download the Headspace or Calm apps, which have many meditations for the day and night time.
Don’t judge, observe! How do you feel? What do you see, hear and taste?
Practice makes progress: Perfection isn’t in the cards. There are no medals for meditating but regular sessions can change your thinking.
Set goals: begin with a three-minute meditation and increase the length week by week.
Make a schedule: Pick two or three days and times to meditate during the week. For example, just before going to sleep or first thing in the morning.
Set a reminder: write it down on a notepad, set an alarm on your phone or put your meditation days on your calendar.
Meditation is not a quick fix. The effects are similar to taking an antidepressant. After a week or two, you notice your stress levels beginning to decrease, your attention span lengthening and your mood becoming more stable. Meditation has also been shown to increase self-awareness, improve sleep and reduce impulsive behavior. In my experience, the most rewarding benefit of meditation is a quieter and more organized mind. As a result, I have fewer insecure thoughts about myself. I’ve opened my mind to my friends’ problems, writing projects and perspectives besides my own.