World Meditation Day 2024: Five meditation techniques to calm your mind in times of chaos

Why are we in a state of chaos? Why are we agitated, stressed, upset? It’s all because of the mind. What is the mind? M I N D is a source of Misery, Ignorance, Negativity and Desires. The mind makes us miserable by bombarding us with thoughts, mostly negative thoughts. It throws at us 50 thoughts a minute, adding up to a staggering 50,000 thoughts a day! It jumps from thought to thought, like a monkey jumps from branch to branch. It goes into the past and then leaps into the future. No wonder we are in a state of chaos, and agitation. We lose the joy of the moment, of the present, as we shuttle between yesterday and tomorrow, as we jump from thought to thought. 

So, what must we do to make our monkey mind still? How do we move from chaos to calm? We have to be in silence. We have to be still. In other words, we have to meditate. When we spoke to AiR – -Atman in Ravi: Happiness Ambassador, Author, Spiritual Mentor and Philanthropist, he said that meditation is the art of making the mind silent. When we still the mind, we kill the mind. Meditation is not about sitting cross-legged on a special ‘meditation’ mat, with a straight spine. It is not about the body being still but the mind being still. We have to watch the mind, catch it and latch it. We have to distance ourselves from the mind and our thoughts and watch each thought as it comes as if we were watching fish swim in the ocean. Then our mind becomes conscious, and it stops monkeying around. Further, if we cut the tail of this MonkEY, that is, if we cut the EY, which is Ever-Yearning and Ever-Yelling, the monkey becomes a monk. 

When we transcend the mind, when we kill the mind, we reach a state known as ‘Consciousness’, a state of peace and bliss. It is in this state that we experience heightened awareness, and it is in this state that a seeker can attain Enlightenment. Our aim must be to be in a meditative state, a state of no mind, for as long as possible if we want to be calm. Remember, peace, we cannot find. Peace is within. We only have to still our minds.

5 best meditation techniques to calm your mind

Mindfulness Meditation: Actually, mindfulness is like a therapy, through which we can calm our mind and brain. In this, concentration is done on the events or situations happening around us. This is a kind of meditation. Instead of trying to meditate separately at one time, we have to concentrate completely on the present, thoughts, and the place where we are and feel and live that moment and work completely.

Spiritual Meditation: This is similar to praying. To meditate on this, you have to make sure that you sit in peace and focus on your breathing. At this time your focus should be on the breath.

Focus Meditation: Focus meditation, also known as focused attention meditation, is a type of mindfulness meditation that can help increase your awareness of present movement. Instead of attempting to clear your mind, this meditation style focuses your attention on an object or your breathing.

Movement Meditation: If you find it difficult to meditate while sitting in one place, then you can adopt movement meditation. For this, you can do any work. You can walk, but in this, you should focus your full attention on that work. By doing this, your mind and heart can get peace and your mood can improve.

Mantra Meditation: Mantra Meditation Mantra meditation is a technique that involves using mantras to help calm and focus the mind.

ALSO READ: World Meditation Day 2024: What is mindfulness? Know how it helps children in emotional development