10 Myths About Meditation

1. Meditation is associated with some Eastern religions and has nothing to do with the Western way of life.
   Meditation is nothing more than a technique that allows the mind to calm down and find itself in a less stimulated state. It does not require any kind of religious belief or specific beliefs or lifestyle.
   It is simply a way of using attention and mental activity. It is a tool that can be used for many purposes, from stress management, calm psychological and mental state to personal growth and spiritual evolution.
2. You need to devote a lot of time to meditation every day if you want results, and I don't have that much time available.
   There are many different schools and systems of meditation, but most experts agree that 10 to 20 minutes daily is generally enough. In fact they even prevent anyone who begins to practice some form of meditation from doing so for too long. The golden rule is better 10 minutes daily and consistent exercise than an hour's meditation every two or three weeks.
3.  To meditate you have to sit completely still in usually awkward and uncomfortable positions.
   Certain schools of meditation may indeed require positions that are uncomfortable for the Western body, but most believe that all that is needed is to be in a comfortable, relaxed, and comfortable position, but not so much that you become drowsy. There are meditation exercises that can be done while simply sitting in a comfortable chair, and others that require lying down. There are walking meditations, observing meditations, or even dance meditations.
   
4. There is no scientific evidence that meditation can benefit a person. There is an abundance of scientific research from the largest and most valid universities, mainly in America and England, documenting the benefits of meditation practice. Among other things, research has shown:
   1. Improvement of mental abilities: increased concentration, improved focus of attention, increased intelligence and learning abilities, improved memory and ability to visualize details, etc.
   2. Improvement of the physical body: strengthening of the immune system, rarer infections and inflammations, faster recovery, improvement of biological indicators, such as pressure and cholesterol, etc.
   3. Psychological level: Increasing self-control, strengthening self-esteem and self-confidence, development of abilities, creativity, contact with spirituality, etc.
5. The only way to learn to meditate is to find the right teacher. For some specific and special practices it is indeed necessary to have an experienced teacher who will show you the correct way to practice. But meditation is for everyone, and one can simply start practicing by reading a relevant book or article on the subject. We don't need to make complex and difficult things that are actually very simple.
6. For meditation to have any effect, you need to practice it for years. This depends on what one wants to achieve with meditation. If you just want to relax your mind, get rid of mental tensions and calm down, you only need to practice it a few times and you will succeed. For an improvement in health or for healing processes, a longer time of consistent exercise is naturally needed. When it comes to personal development and growth, as you understand, however many years are probably not enough.
7. Meditation is essentially nothing more than an escape from reality. The exact opposite happens. Meditation teaches you to come into direct contact with the now. What really is an escape from reality is the way we think and our minds work. We live our lives through our mind's perceptions of it and meditation is a way to understand how the mind and "I" distorts reality.
8. Meditation ultimately makes you a passive person who prefers to meditate rather than take action. To meditate is not to be a passive person. The opposite of meditation is not activity, but the uncontrolled way of using our mind. In fact, meditation can help not only to clarify what one should do, what is the right action to follow, but to give him the strength and energy he needs to act.
   
9. For the Christian, whose means of communication with God is prayer, his meditation is useless. Prayer is, in a sense, a kind of meditation, and meditation can take the form of prayer. As we said, meditation is a tool, a technique. One may well use it to become a better Christian, control one's anger, pray better, or whatever. Indeed, many exercises of the orthodox tradition are nothing more than forms of meditation.
10. I also tried meditation, but it doesn't work in the end. I didn't see any change. The benefits of meditation, as we have seen, are scientifically documented. Therefore, as a practice it has proven its functionality. The fact that you didn't see any change might be because you didn't test enough and consistently in your exercise, or maybe some other factor we can't know. Of course there is also the possibility that meditation is not your path, and you need to find another.

We thank Mr. Vassilis Xipolia
Mindfulness Coach
MBSR Authorized Teacher, CFM/UMASS
http://www.mindfulness360.net/