how to quickly find your way to inner peace.

In this huge world with billions of people on our planet, you get millions of opinions on how to meditate, which can seem quite confusing at first.

Meditation is a very intimate activity, therefore it is crucial to find your way of doing it. In my opinion, there is no right way of doing it, but I can present to you some types I’ve tried out for myself.

ONE. In the beginning I was overwhelmed, because from what I understood, meditation was about clearing your head to the point, where you don’t think about anything anymore. Have you ever tried thinking about nothing? Under no circumstances think of a pink elephant! So, what did you think of? Exactly. Thinking about nothing is about just as hard, because that’s what our brain was instructed to do — think. I’d learned in self-help-discover-who-you-are-books that monks could actually focus on nothing. They’d somehow reach a point when really nothing was on their mind and they could cherish the present moment with all their senses.

TWO. By now, my understanding is that monks can only reach that point in a specific way. They’re not trying really hard to think about nothing. Quite the opposite actually. When you let your thoughts flow free, you’ll reach that point of complete silence too. Sounds quite confusing at first, right? Let me explain.

Imagine this: if you sit on the dock of a bay from sunrise to sunset, you’ll see a lot of ships passing by. At first, you’ll watch the fishermen get on their boats and onto the great ocean, to catch fish. You’ll scent the ocean breeze that will be accompanied by the smell of dead fish. The waves crashing against the rocks form a calming white noise, that lets you breathe slower naturally. Now imagine yourself meditating there. One whole day. With all the fishers on the water, the port will turn quiet and all the noise will be far away from you. You solely focus on the waves rushing to shore. Over and over and over. They move at their own rhythm and after a while you’ll notice a pattern in the apparent chaos.

Your thoughts are the same. They rush to the front of your brain, just to say goodbye after a while again. Then they make space for new ones to come. It’s a cycle that repeats itself minute after hour after day. Now you have the power to either jump into the waves trying to stop them, or continue to watch from the shore. What do you choose?

We all know water is unstoppable, and so you’ll probably choose to stay dry. Apply this knowledge to the thoughts spinning in your head. They’re only returning because you’re trying to engage with them instead of watching from a distance. Let go of them. We’ve all tried to catch running water in our hands when we were kids. Did it work? Your mind is just as free as water, so let it do its thing and float along.

THREE. Now of course there’s different types of meditations too. Many will be guided ones, whether by a guru, your favourite podcaster, a yoga teacher or your mentor. And then there’s meditations you do alone. I personally haven’t found my meditation guide yet. Earlier this year I recorded some meditations from books, to be able to listen to them. It worked out great, until I realised that I wanted to choose when to stop. Sometimes it helps, when a voice is guiding you on what to do, especially when you’re a beginner (there’s hundreds of videos and recordings on YouTube, spotify, etc.).

Don’t enter this activity with high expectations in the beginning. Consistency is key and you’ll feel long-term changes only if you practice regularly. I had to find my way into meditation and am still trying out new stuff. It’s necessary to give yourself time, to find your own path. There’s guided meditation on any struggle you’re having somewhere online and others will focus on breath work only. It utterly depends on your mood too and naturally this will vary from day to day. Sometimes letting peace enter your system by just searching for a calm place is all you need. On another day you might want to focus on a specific topic like thankfulness. And on the next, you might want to explore your deepest emotional wounds, to finally work on what you’ve been carrying around with yourself for too long. You can be your own therapist, if you truly take time to listen to yourself. I’ve witnessed thoughts spinning in my head for days and only when I permitted myself to truly listen, I could within minutes calm myself, because I realised how surreal and theoretical my thoughts where.

FOUR. I still didn’t quite answer the question I promised to. How do monks and regular meditators reach that point of feeling pure peace?

Watching your thoughts from a distance is the goal. But how do you get there? From my experience, to easily indulge in the present moment I had to pay attention to my senses. All of them. Listen to what’s happening around you. Are there any sounds? Can you distinguish between background and foreground sounds? What do you see? Look at all the colours and shapes that surround you without judgement. Do you smell anything? Is there a freshly cut tree near to you, or did someone just mow their lawn? Do you taste anything, are there spices in the air? And are you sitting? Or are you standing? What does to ground feel like beneath you? Is it hard? Is is soft? Just observe. Observe the situation, the whole situation around you. What’s going on, right now in this moment that cannot be relived?

You’ll notice how you naturally calm down. Your breath will go slower and your heart won’t feel like jumping out your chest anymore. After you’ve focused on the outside world, shed a light on your inside. What does your body feel like from the inside? Which parts are touching the ground beneath you? How do your toes feel? How does your left foot feel? And your leg? Continue to scan your whole body from inside. It’s not about touching your body parts, but actively paying attention to every single part of your body. Thank her/him/them for always being there for you. Thank your body for carrying you where ever you want to go and listening to your brain which movement to do next. Thank your body for functioning properly. It’s helpful to be thankful at any time, not just critique it, whenever something’s not working the way you want it to. Gift it the love it deserves. It’s been serving you for many many years.

FIVE. Congratulations! You just went through your first meditation! How do you feel now? More balanced? Does it feel like peace entered your system? To fully enjoy this meditation you could record this and listen to it whenever you want to. You could also ask someone else to record it for you, if you don’t like listening to your own voice. Be creative!

Like anything in life, meditation too is about trial and error. I’m convinced you’ll find your path. Have courage and be open to try out new things! When you send the universe open, positive vibes and feel like you’re ready to learn something new as a student, it will reward you with what you’re looking for. Have patience and don’t give up.

Just like flowers don’t grow in a day, meditation takes time. You’ll be able to watch the seeds grow as you water them consistently.