Why You Cant Meditate (Even Although YOU CAN!)

“Why can’t I meditate?”

As a meditation coach, I hear this query on a regular basis. And the reality is, I’ve by no means met anybody in my life who actually couldn’t meditate. Not as soon as they obtained correct steerage

However individuals nonetheless say “I can’t meditate” on a regular basis.

Now, I’m not going to provide the typical recommendation that you simply hear on a regular basis. I’m not going to let you know to make use of an app, minimize out stimulants like caffeine, train, or to attempt a unique method.

I’m going to go so much deeper than that. And after you learn this you’ll 100% perceive why you discover it onerous to meditate. And you’ll know precisely what to do about it. In truth, what I’ve stated under is certainly one of my favourite methods to make meditation simpler.

Why Cant I Meditate?… Properly, As a result of…

Okay so that you suppose you possibly can’t meditate.

What I’d like so that you can do for one second is to overlook all about meditation and go deeper. I need to discuss metacognition. That’s, I would like you to concentrate on the essential means wherein your consciousness works. As a result of when you perceive this, meditation will likely be simple.

So, your consciousness is principally your consciousness. It’s your focus.

Now there are three basic items you might want to learn about your psychological focus (the third level is the biggie).

1: Your consciousness is principally like an object you possibly can transfer (simply go along with me on this)

2: You may have autonomy over your focus. You’ll be able to select what to deal with, for the way lengthy, when to maneuver your focus and so forth.

3: That is the biggie. Your thoughts learns habits about how you employ your focus. As an example, in case you’re always shifting your focus, your focus will proceed to maneuver even once you need it to be nonetheless. (This will likely be a recreation changer in only a second).

Like I stated, quantity 3 above is the biggie. And when you absolutely perceive this, you’ll know why you possibly can’t meditate and what to do about it.

So right here it’s. Your thoughts learns habits about how you employ your focus, how typically you progress your focus, and so forth. So in case you’re always altering what you’re specializing in, your thoughts will be taught that as a behavior. And it’ll proceed to carry out these habits even once you don’t need it to. So when you have skilled your thoughts to always be focusing from one factor to the following, it can proceed to do this even once you need to cease and meditate.

Downside is, nearly everybody in 2022 has taught their minds to always transfer.

Let me give one quite common instance of this.

Let’s say that you simply’re on social media. You’re on Insta scrolling via posts. What is going on in your thoughts when you are doing this?

You go to social media. Concentrate on one submit or picture for a pair seconds. Scroll. Concentrate on one thing else. Scroll once more. And so forth. 

You’re making a behavior: focus, transfer, focus, transfer, and so forth.

Now keep in mind, your thoughts continues to do these habits even once you don’t need it to. 

So you then cease and attempt to meditate. You attempt to maintain your focus in your breath. However what is definitely going to occur? 

Your thoughts principally says, “Okay, you need me to be nonetheless now, however you taught me this behavior of focus, transfer, focus, transfer… so I’m gonna proceed to do this”. Your thoughts goes to proceed to carry out the behavior that you simply taught it to do when you have been on social media. It’s going to leap from one factor to the following always, making it unattainable to meditate.

In fact, social media shouldn’t be the one instance of this. Removed from it.

Sadly, we dwell in a society the place all the pieces is grabbing at your consideration. The advertisements, the media, different individuals… they always seize your consideration. So, your consideration is all the time shifting, and this turns into a behavior. So once you attempt to maintain your focus nonetheless (which is principally meditating) your thoughts continues to leap far and wide. And that’s the reason you possibly can’t meditate.

Naturally, one resolution is to scale back distractions so you possibly can focus.

However let’s go deeper.

How You Can Meditate

Primarily, you might want to create a brand new psychological behavior. You need your thoughts to get into the behavior of being nonetheless. And the one means to do this is to scale back the time you spend on mentally “busy” issues (social media, know-how, overly stimulating video video games, busy environments, and so forth). And enhance the time you spend doing issues that gradual your thoughts (studying, spending time in nature, being conscious, listening to stress-free music and so forth).

While you do that you’ll practice your thoughts to be nonetheless. So once you attempt to meditate, your thoughts will say, “Oh, we’re being nonetheless once more. I get that. Certain. No worries.”  After which it is possible for you to to meditate.

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