MEDITATION BY OBSERVATION
Another form of meditation is through observation. Observation meditation includes observing yourself, your thoughts, and the world around you.
Whenever you practice observation meditation, you self reflect and view yourself in relation to the world around you.
What is observation meditation?
Though it is a common myth that meditation requires shutting your mind, many people view meditation as the art of observing your thoughts.
Whenever you observe your thoughts in meditation, you allow your mind to relax and meld with your body.
In short, observation meditation is whenever you meditate to your observational thoughts. Though this may seem odd, it is very common and utilizes your stream of thought for meditative purposes, combatting the myth that meditation requires emptying your mind.
When you observe your stream of thought, you observe the way your body feels and your interaction with the world. You should observe things like muscle tension, breath, the feel of the floor, the feel of the air, and anything that affects your senses. You can make these observations either through mindfulness or positive self-talk.
Either way, observation meditation just entails using your senses to observe yourself and the world.
Benefits of observation meditation
Observation meditation is beneficial for a number of reasons. Notably, observational meditation encourages positive self-talk. Positive self-talk is when you acknowledge your feelings and don't judge yourself for them. Many people get in the habit of ridiculing their own thoughts, but observation meditation does the opposite.
Whenever you practice positive self-talk, you are more likely to have an optimistic mindset and view of the world. As a result, you experience a happier well being.
Another benefit of observation meditation is that it sharpens your focus. Humans think all the time, but we seldom think about our thoughts, and we let them aimlessly wander, instead. Observation meditation forces us to focus on our own thoughts, which then increases our ability to focus.
A third benefit of observation meditation is that you get to know yourself better. Everyone knows that the best way to get to know someone is to talk to them and find out what they think about things. The same goes for yourself: you can get to know yourself better by listening to your own thoughts.
Though knowing yourself may seem ridiculous, very few people are aware of their feelings and triggers, which causes them to lash out or feel hurt without ever knowing why. When you get to know yourself, you become aware of these things, giving you the power to make changes and grow as a person.
How to practice observation meditation
As stated previously, observation meditation involves observing your thoughts and feelings in a mindful way. There are many instances in which you can do this, so feel free to practice observation meditation at different points in your day.
Here is a common observation meditation practice:
Begin by sitting in a comfortable seated position. Close your eyes, and place your hands on your legs. Draw attention to your breath, and begin to slow it down. As your breath slows, pay attention to how you feel when you breathe, the temperature of the air, and anything else related to the breath.
As you become more aware of your breath, allow yourself to start focusing on other parts of the body as well. Do your hands feel awkward on your legs? Is the floor cold? How do your knees feel if they're bent? Ask questions like these so that you become aware of how your body feels at the moment.
Once you feel that you have adequately observed your physical body, allow your brain to wander. Take note of the thoughts that come into your head.
Instead of quickly dismissing them, listen to them, and then let them go. As your thought goes, you may find that another thought pops into your head. Do the same for this thought as well.
You can think about your thoughts for as long as you would like. Whenever you are finished, bring your attention back to the body. Does it feel any different than it did at the beginning? If so, note how.
At this point, you may want to move your body a bit. You can extend your legs out, raise your arms, lay down, or stand up. Just do whatever feels right to your body. If you feel any tension, for instance, you may want to stretch out that muscle.
No matter what movement you choose, pay attention to how the body feels. Take note of how the muscles contract and move and how differently they feel then they did when you were seated. Do not just move around. Truly think about how your body feels and observe the way it moves.
Once you feel that you have adequately moved, you should gently bring yourself back to a seated or laid position. Close your eyes, and begin to focus on your breath again. Observe your breath and your thoughts one last time. Gently begin to open your eyes bye cracking your eyelids open a little bit at a time. Observe how the light feels.
Once your eyes are completely opened, the practice is finished. Even though the practice is over, you can still incorporate observation meditation Into your day or night. Whenever you feel a pain or are letting your mind wander, check-in with yourself.
Checking in throughout the day is a fast and easy way to practice observation meditation without rearranging your schedule. You can do this whether you're sitting at your desk, waiting in line, or driving to work.