Anwika Palle Week 12 - Meditation
There are many different forms of meditation. A simple one is closing your eyes as you breathe in and out, with the intention of tuning everything out and relaxing solely on your breath. Some other forms of meditation include guided meditation and non-concentrative meditation, when you focus on a particular physical object. There are many other forms, but in each type, there is a common result. One that meditates regularly is able to focus their attention more clearly and eliminate the stream of thoughts that overtake their minds, as well as enhance physical and emotional well-being. Even meditating occasionally can lead to an observed state of relaxation.
Since I was a child, my parents have always encouraged meditation. When I was a child, we would gather once a week as a family to meditate for ten minutes. When those five minutes began, it felt like an eternity had gone by and a flurry of random thoughts flooded my mind, ultimately disrupting me from actually meditating, before it ended. I never found value in the practice, and saw no use to the ‘waste of time’ that just seemed to make me more distracted.
As I grew up, I decided to start to take meditation seriously. It took me a long time to grasp the task, as focusing on my breath and tuning out all other thoughts is definitely easier said than done. Although I am not a master of mediation now, I can say that it has helped me through many parts of my life.
I am surprised I didn’t write about meditation for my blog post any sooner, because meditation is truly one of my greatest depictions of power. In my opinion, the only power we need in our lives is personal power, which can mean different things to different people. Despite the various definitions personal power can have, this power can be accomplished through one’s own state of mind and well-being, and meditation is a great outlet to achieve that myself. Seeing meditation in a new perspective has been meaningful to me, and maybe it affects/will affect you in a similar way.
Hi Anwika,
ReplyDeleteLast year, during online school, my P.E. teacher constantly made the class do yoga about once a week. After each session she would have us sit on the ground and meditate. To be honest, I was half awake each time she told us to meditate. I have never been very good at meditation because every time I am given that time to myself, I get distracted by every little thing. Your blog had helped me realize that is normal. I believe I should try meditation again sometime, since it seems to really help.
I think I might be misconstruing the definition of meditation, but the closest experience I had to that was the mindfulness exercises that we did during elementary school. A teacher would come to our classroom with a bell and a bowl to make sounds while she directed us to think of different things. I definitely agree that personal power is the most important power to possess, but I think its something that's taken too far sometimes. There's a certain amount of faith you should have in yourself, and a certain amount you should give to other people—having the power to stay rigid in your beliefs should only go so far as to conserve the integrity of character rather than extend to the point of stubborness.
ReplyDeleteHi Anwika,
ReplyDeleteMy AP Psychology teacher (the same as yours) has been trying to get her students to meditate/develop mindfulness by showing videos about it on Mondays. A curious observation, however, is that almost all of the videos she shows us are targeted towards elementary school students. Perhaps this shows that meditation guidance is a subject that is traditionally thought to be a child's topic, not teenagers or adults. Do you think that opening up meditation guidance for both teenagers and adults would help society?
Sincerely,
Raymond Yu
Hi Anwika,
ReplyDeleteI can't help but feel like meditation is kind of useless. Granted, that might be because I'm only taking 10 seconds out of my day to do so, but a few deep breaths only momentarily takes away the stress, only for it to come back like a wave. Furthermore, I find that in some cases, too much meditation can result in me forgetting what I have to do, resulting in my grade consequently dropping. Nevertheless, I understand that meditation is an effective coping mechanism for some; it just does not work for me.
Sincerely,
Sean Wang
Hi Anwika,
ReplyDeleteMy parents are also meditation fanatics, and they take time at the end of each day to meditate together. They've tried to get me into meditation for years, but it's always been tough for me to sit down and do nothing for 30 minutes, as my mind is always racing. However, after reading your blog post on the many benefits of meditation, you have inspired me to give it another go.
Sincerely,
Krish
Hi Anwika,
ReplyDeleteI think the idea of meditation can be very broad overall. I personally believe that meditation can be anything used to clear your mind and give it a fresh start. For me, running is a very therapeutic way of doing so. When I know I have alot of work I need to finish afterschool, I will always go on a short run to clear my mind. While traditional meditation does not really help me much, I do agree with you that everyone should have their own sort of ritual to get in a right state of mind.
Hey Anwika, I've been very curious about meditation for years, and I will meditate occasionally, but I haven't really made a habit of it, as I've seen recommended. It's always fascinated me, but I always felt like I never had time, or life was just too stressful and it would be impossible to calm my mind. After reading your blog, I now have a better understanding of why it's so important, and I think I'm going to try to make it a habit, maybe even try it without following a video on YouTube. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Anwika,
ReplyDeleteI rarely meditate, but when I do it is always before things like AP Tests or SATs/PSATs. These tests really make me freak out and panic, and meditating before them helps calm my mind down. I am usually stressed when it comes to things this year, including POAS (I don't want to see my grade, I probably ddi so bad), Tests that prior students said are super hard, and much more things. As you can see, I am writing this comment half an hour late because of all of the stress I am under because of the SAT this weekend.
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Hey Anwika!
ReplyDeleteMy parents have also always told me to meditate. They extent they push it to is hilarious even. I remember telling my parents that I wanted to see a therapist a year or so back, and they simply told me to go meditate. I used to shun this idea and wonder why my parents were offering a solution that was so insanely unhelpful. But maturing over the past year has made me realize there could be merit in meditation. I have always been really hyper and distracted, and the thought of having something to calm me and center my thoughts seems really refreshing. I might look into it more, thank you for sharing:)