Meditation is the age-old technique of enhancing focus and achieving a peaceful state of mind. The root of this practice is linked to religion and faith, but today it is more about recognizing your ‘self’. Modern life is hectic and full of tension and stress. Meditation is a great way to release all negativity and relax your mind. There are different forms of meditation. One of them is self-enquiry meditation or the practice of gaining self-knowledge. The attainment of self-knowledge is a higher form of meditation that needs years of patience and practice. Once you achieve that supreme stage, you will be in complete power of your mind and reactions to situations.
What Is Self-Enquiry Meditation?
As it has already been mentioned before, self-inquiry meditation is a higher form of self-awareness. The person behind this concept is Ramana Maharishi. It is the process of coming in terms with your true self through regular practice, self-discipline and guidance. You must seek for guidance from a master to lead you in the journey of self-enquiry meditation. He or she will help you to discover all the answers relating to your ‘self’ and purpose of life. As you are close to your answers, you will have a whole new perspective on life. Your mind will be free of any baggage of stress and anxiety.
How To Practice Self-Enquiry Motivation?
Self-enquiry meditation is discovering your inner consciousness that is enclosed beneath layers of feelings, thoughts and fears. You will keep on shedding each layer with time to reach your goal. When you are finally there, your life will no longer be the same. But to reach the highest stage of self-inquiry meditation, you need to follow all the steps in a disciplined manner. The steps are as follows:
1. Make yourself easy and comfortable in a space where you are undisturbed for a maximum of 15 minutes.
2. Sit in a correct posture while relaxing your muscles. If you experience strain in any part of your body, try relaxing it till you are entirely comfortable.
3. Pay attention to your flow of thoughts. Identify each thought but stop your mind from getting submerged in any of them. , be aware of what and how you feel.
4. With each thought flowing in your mind raise two questions to yourself: Who is thinking that particular thought? Where does it belong? Repeat the same process with each thought. Gradually you will have the realization that the sources of your thoughts are external. None has to do anything with your inner being. Hence, spending your time and energy over them is futile.
5. Do keep in mind that the answers to all your questions should be the voice of your intuition. Do not engage in a mental discussion and forcefully convince yourself about anything. Be calm and try to listen to your inner voice.
6. The motif is to make each thought appear irrelevant and unimportant in your mind. For this, you must treat your thoughts with detachment or lack of interest. Never allow any thought to overpower your mind.
7. As you follow the above mentioned steps, you will find yourself at a tricky place. The more you try to push your thoughts away, the more they keep coming back. You may feel irritated and impatient. But do remember, perseverance is what you need at this moment. Stick to the instructions and give yourself the time to adjust and align your thought in the right way.
If you are persistent enough to continue with this practice, you will surely learn the art of detachment. You will no longer suffer from anxiety and restlessness. You learn to honour your true self and be in your power about what you feel though self-enquiry meditation.