5 Obstacles to Meditation and How to Overcome Them

This was written by King Sidharth for Meditation Rocks. It really is excellent! 

5 Obstacles to Meditation and How to Overcome Them 

When idea of writing this post came to my mind. I thought, “Boy, this is gonna be an endless list” but it was not. Obstacles might seem too big or too many to start with. Once you genuinely start doing it, all obstacles are lost. Here are 5 of my all time favorites:

But How? 

This is so human, we want to know ‘how to do it’ before we could actually do it, otherwise sounds illogical to us. But I don’t remember how I breathe or how heart beats, but still I am breathing and my heart is beating. Meditation is natural, it comes from inside. For starters, to make it easier for you, sit with eyes closed, relaxed body and focus on your breathe. Feel yourself breathing in and out. Methods like Zen Meditation etc. are some developed ways of meditation which can enhance your own or can help you reach a specific state of mind. But the way you meditate is as personal to you as the way you walk, talk, breathe and live.

Finding Time 

This was my favourite excuse. I have school, friends, homework, parents and yes the movies I always wanted to watch (this was the biggest one) and why not, if meditation is all about good, then (I thought) watching movies will do me more good. But little did I know what good it could do. I kept on writing ‘Meditation’ in my to-do list, sometimes I did sit down (only to get up getting bored – we will cover this in next heading). Finally I stopped putting it on list, and stopped bothering myself and found myself sitting in solitude, silence, closed eyes, clam mind and deep silence. I was meditating. I stopped thinking of it as a task, and it happened. Try breathing intentionally, you can’t do it for long – you will get bored. Most important things in life like breathing, heart-beat are natural and happen automatically. So is with meditation, let it happen to you. Don’t force it and all time will come.

Boredom--Oops! I Slept! 

I try to motivate my friends to meditate, and most of them try (Yeah! I have good friends). Many of them complain about getting bored and many of them say that they dozed off to sleep. And guess what? It’s a good sign! It might seem boring in beginning, stay on the line… you are headed in right direction. In time you will find, in this boredom, the treasure – yourself. Put on some light instrumental music (not Bon Jovi!) on very low volume to help a bit. Emotional Storm As soon as he closed his eyes, all his extreme good or bad moments replayed in his mind. Emotions started to surface and soon it was a storm. This is story of my friend who was going through a lot in life and whenever he meditated, often cried or laughed loudly. Are you experiencing something similar? Does your mind suddenly becomes an emotional chaos and you just want to leave the world? If this happens during meditations, it’s good. Meditation is providing a safe outlet to all that emotional energy. Let it flow out… in time you will learn to direct your emotions, in the direction you want!

Can’t Focus/Can’t Concentrate 

Once in a month I make a group of people who are interesting in exploring meditation and invite them to a park or garden. We sit there and talk about meditation and then, obviously, meditate. Having learners by your side helps a lot when you yourself are learning; schools also function on same principle (don’t they?) This time a friend’s friend got excited and joined us. He was so excited that when all of them were meditating (and I was guiding if you are wondering) he kept on popping up with questions. It happens to the best of us. Sit in meditation and mind starts making grocery list, or the important phone call we always forgot to make and we almost forgot about the assignment which is due tomorrow. The biggest mistake people make here is to get frustrated, blame themselves for not having being able to concentrate or simply give up. Think of your mind as a little kid whom you take out with you (walking on road) that child is excited and wants to get in middle of road. The child doesn’t know where to go and what to do, but you know. So you lovingly and patiently hold his hands and tell him, “Not that way dear; come this way (we have cookies!).” Do same with mind. Remember to be patient and loving, “Not that way dear; come this way (we have abundance… of cookies!)”. Dare you shout on a child, and he will tell you what hell (frustration) is same is true for your mind.