SELF-IMPROVEMENT

A lot of people don't really get meditation, and there are a lot of mixed views about it. Some people see meditation as a kind of 'occult' practice, like achieving a state beyond that of normal people and transcending into another 'plane' of existence. Some people think it's a great way to heal, while others don't think much of it and just dismiss it as a waste of time.

Meditation isn't a waste of time, and it's not necessarily spiritual or magical either. It's all very different things to different people. There's not just one kind of meditation, but a bunch of them, and they all have different goals and purposes.

But whatever form it takes, meditation is always useful, powerful and a great way to clear your head and feel good about yourself. This is a great way to tackle any problem with a fresh perspective, without all the usual things that get in the way of us doing our best, living in the moment, or really expressing ourselves.

Meditation can help you reset your mind, both in the short and long term.

Here are some types of meditation to choose from.

There are loads of different types of meditation, and they all have different goals. The most well-known type of meditation is probably transcendental meditation, which involves sitting and then focusing on a mantra. This could be the word 'om' repeated over and over, or it might be a humming sound. The idea is to focus on this sound or word so that you can get rid of all other distracting thoughts.

When it comes to religious meditation, it's all about focusing on a specific part of a religious text, or maybe a prayer. This might look pretty different to transcendental meditation, and it is. They come from and are aimed at very different things. The aim is to focus intently on one thing to get rid of other distracting thoughts.

You can also do moving meditation, like Tai Chi, where you focus on your body's movement in space.

The thing that ties all these different uses together is the simple fact that you are trying to actively control your thoughts rather than letting them be led and controlled by outside factors. It's all about focus. No matter what you're doing – whether you're trying to figure out an answer, understand yourself better, or just take a moment for yourself – this is a useful skill to pick up. It's been shown to help you chill out and lower your blood pressure.

Imagine that whenever you're feeling stressed, anxious, or worried about something, you have the option to return to a place where you'll feel calm and collected.

Loving Kindness and Gratitude

The key to many types of meditation is to focus. If you learn to choose what you focus on, you can choose to ignore the negative or the things that stress you out. You'll feel better more often and be less affected by things that would otherwise upset you.

But what if you focus on something that will actively make you extremely happy? That's basically the idea behind both "loving kindness meditation" and "gratitude meditation".

When you're trying to tap into feelings of warmth, self-love and kindness, that's loving kindness. Put simply, you'll be thinking about the things that make you happy, the people who love you, feelings of love and the things you love about yourself.

The idea is to nurture this feeling and then keep hold of it – to make sure it stays at the forefront of your mind and to allow it to take up all your focus for a while.

If you keep doing this, you'll be able to feel peaceful and loving in any situation, and it'll become the main emotion you feel.

The other option is gratitude. It's very similar to loving kindness motivation, but this time the goal is to focus on the things that make you feel grateful.

So, what even is Enlightenment?

You might have come across the idea of meditation in relation to enlightenment. Maybe you thought you could use meditation to get to a higher level of thinking? A lot of people think this, but if meditation is just about focus, how can it be true?

What's that all about? Just to remind you, when you do transcendental meditation (the kind associated with enlightenment), you use a 'mantra'. This is used to take your mind off your usual thoughts by focusing on the sounds you're making.

So, because you're not using the parts of your brain you usually do, these areas can shut down, just like they do when you're asleep but you're still awake. Some of the brain regions that help us understand the world around us stop working, like the part that deals with contrast or the bit that identifies edges. You even lose the ability to recognise where your own body is in space.

This can then change how you see the world, making it hard to tell where things end and begin, and causing you to lose your sense of self.

This gets rid of the 'filters' we normally use to see the world, and you can say that you're seeing reality in a 'purer' sense.

This makes for an interesting final aim, but obviously it'll take years of practice. This can eventually lead to something called 'ego death' (the loss of your sense of self), which is a really liberating experience.

Flow States: Mediation while doing a task

In the world of productivity and self-help, the term 'flow state' is used to describe a mental state in which you can focus undisturbed on one task after another. When you get to this point, you can really crank up your productivity and get loads more done, even when the tasks are pretty complex.

Basically, a flow state is when you're so into what you're doing that it starts to feel meditative.

But getting into this flow state is no mean feat, especially when our brains are always trying to distract us with other things and getting bored. Especially these days, when we're used to doing twenty things at once and being kept busy with all sorts of entertainment. The idea of the 'flow state' can be a bit of a tricky one to get your head around, and it's something that a lot of people are always trying to achieve, a bit like how someone who meditates regularly might be chasing enlightenment.

To help you get there, or at least to help you concentrate enough to get the job done, here are a few techniques you can use to help you focus and avoid getting distracted and putting things off.

So, first things first: get rid of any distractions. One of the best ways you can help to avoid getting distracted by things is to remove them from your visual field. If you're someone who's always getting distracted by the internet (and let's face it, who isn't?), then the best thing to do is just turn it off when you're trying to work. If you're finding it hard to make yourself do this, you could try going to a café to work without internet.

Remove Interruptions: One of the most important things about 'the flow' is to hang onto it once you get it and not to let anything break it. So, it's really important to make sure you don't get distracted. That means no phones, no chatting and no sudden noises. If you can find a spot that's a bit secluded – maybe an office pod at the end of the garden or something – that'd be perfect.

Ignore any interruptions: One thing to remember is that it's also important to ignore the distractions we create for ourselves. So, for example, if you're in the zone and then suddenly find yourself needing the toilet or wanting a drink, just ignore that feeling or set yourself a target to achieve before you get up. Just think about the flow, and if you're on a high, don't mess it up for a cuppa that you don't really need.

Switch Off from Other Tasks: When we're trying to focus on one thing, it's easy to get distracted by the other things that need doing. You've got to focus on this one task, but it's also a good idea to try and stop thinking about the other tasks and just let them go. One way to do this is to just organise your tasks better by writing a to-do list with time slots for each task. This means you can forget about the other jobs for now, because you'll be dealing with them later on.

Have fun and get creative: You might think this is a bit strange, but actually having a bit of a laugh can sometimes help you focus. We get distracted a lot because we're bored of the tasks we're given to do. If you want to make the workday a bit less boring, you could put on some background music without any lyrics or watch a YouTube video of a music video or someone playing a computer game. This will satisfy the creative side of your brain while the rest of you focus on work.

Psychological Techniques: If that doesn't work, you can always try using some psychological techniques to help you concentrate. You could try using meditation to clear your mind, or even learn self-hypnosis to get more control over your subconscious mind. You can train and develop your concentration skills by practising them, and these tools will help.

The Power of Meditation

Now you know about the different types of meditation and the different ways you can use them to change your emotions and the way you feel at any given time.
Why not try setting aside ten minutes a day to begin with? There's loads of different types of meditation out there, so pick the one that works for you. Meanwhile, have a go at achieving flow while you're enjoying computer games or when you're really focused on a task.

When you're more proficient and it becomes second nature, you can start using meditation for 20 or 30 minutes a day. Eventually, you should try to mix all these different types of meditation together.

Practice makes perfect, so keep going and you'll be able to achieve these different states. It'll then be easier for you to engage in any of them at any given time.

So, what does that look like?

Picture being able to clear your head by focusing on the task at hand, right now. Picture being able to "rise above" things that would usually stress you out by just choosing to focus on something else.
Imagine waking up feeling grateful for your life and full of love and appreciation for yourself.

Just think about how you usually react to setbacks – do you find it helps you cope and feel better about yourself?

That's how meditation works - it clears your mind. Time to get the ball rolling!