White Polar Bears and Meditation

Ted Talks

6/9/2020

Debunking the 5 Most Common Meditation Myths | Light Watkins | TEDxVeniceBeach

The physics, the mechanics, and the biology of meditation are offered as a positive experience.  Yet many people find it too difficult because they can not sit still and they do not have the time (:57.)

Myth 1: I’m a bad meditator if I can’t quiet my mind (2:42.)

Wandering mind = MORE REST—even deeper than sleep (4:40-4:56!)

Myth 2:  There is no correct way to meditate (5:18.)

Myth 3: The way to sit.

Best practices in meditation include sitting comfortably without any strain on the body so that the body does not hinder the process (8:17—8:26.)

Positive aspects of meditation:

What you put into meditation will be returned to you via chronological aging versus biological aging

30 years old Biological Age after 5 years could equal 1) Without meditation + 6 = 36 or 2) With meditation practice—7 = 23 years (8:56-10:25!)

Myth 4:  Meditation will solve all of my problems(10:44.)

Myth 5:  Success in meditation is based on the stillness of my mind (13:28.)

The touching story about the type A lady learning to meditate, persevering with no obvious results, and then in a year and a half was able to improve her relationship with her spouse (15:33.)

Concentrating on the breath is an excellent practice for meditation (16:52.)

Ten minutes a day of meditation cultivates peace on many levels as we are part of a collective (17:18.)

This talk was incredibly inspiring because it taught the person viewing the talk about meditation through a straightforward experience of meditation. The experience supported the study of the ‘relaxation response.’  It made me want to meditate more!