8 Things They Told You About Meditation That Are False (According To A Famous Neurologist)

There are many benefits of practicing mindfulness and all are positive for physical health and mental health. The practice of meditationn guided is really a useful and effective tool to have less stressmore attention span, more mental calm, and face the day to day in a more serene way.

But there are many topics about what is really meditating and what is not. Dr. Steve Laureys, a Belgian neurologist internationally recognized for his clinical and scientific study of the neuroscience of consciousness, has just published the book Meditate. A scientific and useful guide to practicing meditation” (RBA), where he demystifies many topics about what is said to be meditating.

Drive away intrusive thoughts, relax your mind and not think about anything, leave it blank, practice the lotus position… Is it necessary to do all of this to be in the right mode? mindfulness? This is what this famous neurologist specializing in meditation tells us in his new book.

8 things you thought you needed to meditate (and didn’t)

There are many topics about what is said to be meditating. Doctor Steve Laureys clarifies what do we not need to meditate (and what not):

1. You don’t need to adopt strange postures to meditate

The first topic that Dr. Laureys addresses is the posture we are supposed to adopt while meditating. Although the lotus position is the most famous (the one in which we sit cross-legged, hands on knees, palms up, thumb and forefinger forming a circle and looking ahead, towards the horizon), forget about her

The expert tells us that meditation does not require any ideal posture, nor does it require it. Although the lotus position is the classic one in the Buddhist tradition, it is not required to meditate. You can choose to be sitting, lying down, standing or even walking up and down. Choose the one that best suits you.

2. You don’t need to think about nothing to meditate (just the opposite)

The goal of meditation is neither disconnecting from the world nor not thinking about anything, but quite the opposite: is to be completely focused, Even if it’s just for a few seconds.

Meditation teaches us to be mindful and to be more aware of what is happening around us, focusing our attention on an object and opening our minds to all the stimuli we are experiencing at the moment. In this article you can read how to do it.

Here is a guided meditation video to get into Zen mode:

3. You don’t need to follow a religion to meditate

Dr. Steven Laurys tells in his book Meditate. A scientific and useful guide to practicing meditation” (RBA) that when he met the Dalai Lama, he asked him what seemed more important to him: praying or meditating. His answer was very clear: “Meditate, of course,” because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t know who or what to worship.

Buddhism offers us no god to guide us; we must discover our own way. The modern forms of meditation that we most often practice today are inspired by Eastern traditions but have been adapted to fit Western goals. Therefore, You don’t have to be a Buddhist, Hindu or mystic to reap its fruits. We can practice meditation regardless of what beliefs or religious convictions we have.

The author concludes: “Meditation is not something to be believed in, but something to be done.”

4. You don’t need to daydream to meditate

For a scientist like Laureys, terms like “energy field”, “aura” or “cosmic consciousness” need a meaning, a scientific basis, and when he discusses these issues with the monk and doctor of genetics Matthieu Ricard and his colleagues at India or China they always distinguish very well between these different definitions and meanings.

Meditation can add an important ritual to the spiritual experience that each person lives The film director David Lynch put it very convincingly when he told me, “The good thing about meditation is that you become more and more of yourself.” So you should not worry about meditating in the way that suits you and you like.

5. You don’t need a routine to meditate.

An old Zen proverb says: “If you don’t have time to meditate for twenty minutes, then do it for an hour.” However, Dr. Laureys points out that, in his view, this does not mean that you should spend as much time in daily meditation, nor does it mean that you have to meditate in a certain way, or at a certain place or time; and that sometimes he meditates for ten minutes a day and other times he goes to retreats in which he meditates for several hours in a row. In fact, there are even months when you don’t have time to meditate—or rather, let’s say you don’t take the time to do it—as so many of us do.

Meditation is a personal journey that each one must design to their own measure. You can practice it where and when you want, and in the way that suits you best. And five minutes is always better than none!

“In the same way, I am a passionate advocate of “informal” meditation, says Dr. Steve Laureys. “At any time of the day you can inhale and exhale with full awareness several times and thus take a short break without doing anything special. You may want to reflect on what you are doing and fully enjoy it; you may want to observe what you are experiencing without passing any judgment; or that you simply want to assess your emotions”, he concludes.

6. You don’t need to worship gurus to meditate

It is clear that there are a good number of people who inspire admiration, such as Matthieu Ricard and the Dalai Lama. Their lives are their messages, as was also the case with Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa or Father Damián Veuster.

But letting these people inspire us does not mean we follow them, trust them or blindly love themsays the author of the book Meditate. A scientific and useful guide to practicing meditation” (RBA). And he adds: “Meditation is also about knowing how to think critically. Don’t get carried away! Trust your instincts and don’t follow a guru without questioning what he does. Be the owners of your thoughts and your mind.

7. You don’t need to be a specialist to be able to meditate

We all face meditation at some point, even if we are not always aware of it. We tend to forget about the ability to concentrate that we developed during our childhood, but recovering it is a fundamental pillar of the mindfulness.

Not all of us sit in the lotus position to breathe with awareness, but many of us do mindfulness exercises daily without realizing it. think of him gourmet who enjoys his gastronomic dinner, in the music lover who lets himself be carried away by his favorite piece, or in the swimmer who gives his strokes completely concentrated.

Think of the child you were when you discovered and observed the world with all your attention. All children practice meditation mindfulnesss in a way: everyone is extremely aware of what is happening in the moment. The meditationTherefore, it is not only for specialists who follow mystical rituals and do complicated exercises. It is inherent in all aspects of life.

8. You don’t need to know much about meditation to meditate.

Guided meditation books, videos, and apps can guide you, tell you about the benefits of meditation, or provide you with some tips and tricks. So much has been written about the contemplative life that you could spend yours reading about it! But Maybe the smart thing to do is to put all that information aside and put all your attention on your breath.

This is how Dr. Laureys puts it: “I myself have observed that experiencing mindfulness has nothing to do with reading about it or talking about it with others, just as reading about the last few kilometers of the marathon does not seem nothing to run in it. You have to try meditation and experience it personally to realize it!

So what do we need to meditate?

To explain in words what meditation is, the author of the book Meditate. A scientific and useful guide to practicing meditation” (RBA) resorts to a comparison: Meditation is like exercise, but it is a type of exercise designed for the brain. In the same way that “exercise” is a name that refers to different types of sports, such as running or weight training, “meditation” is a common name that refers to different types of mental exercise.

As a consequence, as occurs with physical exercise, it is possible to choose a form of meditation and practice it at different levels. So my way of meditating seems quite recreational to me, while the meditation practiced by Matthieu Ricard puts him in a totally different league (that of an Olympic champion).

So, in practice, sometimes a few light physical exercises will suffice, while other times we will need to do intense training two hours in the gym to sweat the fat drop. One day we may be satisfied with a simple informal meditation exercise that lasts no more than a few seconds, but another we may need twenty minutes of mindful meditation.

Meditation is paying attention to the exercise, development and health of the brain and mind in order to better understand how they work and to enjoy a greater sense of mental well-being and happiness. Simple as that.

Meditate, a scientific and useful guide to practicing meditation

As a neurologist, Dr. Steven Laureys’ goal in the book Meditate. A scientific and useful guide to practicing meditation” (RBA) is to show how meditation can complement your medical practice as a preventive and curative therapy.

The book provides a comprehensive introduction to breathing meditation.mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation.

In the words of Matthieu Ricard: “The goal of meditation is to soften the mind and make it more manageable so that we can decide to focus or relax and, most importantly, to free ourselves from the tyranny of anxieties and mental confusion” . Happy practicing!