Is Meditation Boring? Try This Instead.
Does anyone else remember their teenage years? Those years of angst that you soothed with loud music in your headphones? You can use that experience for a different kind of meditation practice.
We all know that meditation is beneficial. But what happens when it feels like you just can’t meditate? Some people complain that they fall asleep, can’t relax into it, calm their mind, and even find it boring. There are dozens of apps and YouTube videos that try to solve those problems for you hoping to ease you into a more profound experience. There may be a more straightforward way. All you need is yourself, a few minutes, a pair of headphones, and your phone.
Find a few spare minutes and situate yourself where you will not be disturbed. You can lay down, sit, it doesn’t matter as long as you’re comfortable, and can maintain good posture. Find a song, any song that you love. It’s doesn’t have to be anything considered to be New Age. It can be heavy metal, rock, rap, pop, anything you want. Place the volume as high as your comfortable, close your eyes, listen and just breathe. Ideally, you want the music to help mute worries, anger and give you a break from feelings. This experience can be mediation. If you can be only in the present moment, be able to concentrate on your breath and what you are hearing, you are meditating. If worries, concerns, or plans come into the mind, thank them and tell them to return later at a better time. This moment is yours just to relax. There isn’t a lot of hard and fast rules on what meditation has to be. Being able to switch gears and focus quietly on just being in the moment can work wonders.
Most of us did this all of the time as teenagers. We had big emotions and enormous feelings. Funny, we knew what we needed back them by following our instincts. We learned that listening to music helped us get away from it all. There was wisdom there. We learned as we grew that many of our teenage coping mechanisms were not great for us, but honestly, in my opinion, this one should have stayed.
Disclaimer
It has been proven that listening to your headphones loudly for extended periods can affect your hearing. Please use common sense and do this at your own risk.
