What an amazing response you have given for this QOTW on meditation! THANK YOU! It has been SO good to see around 100 of you post on this most pertinent of topics.. perhaps one of the more important themes for the world we live in today! It is really inspiring to see that even though we are spread out over the world, from so many countries that we can unite and find so much common ground on these quite spiritual themes.. Saying that, meditation doesn’t have to be spiritual at all, and i think many of you have posted about what meditation has meant to you and the many ways it has helped. For some of you it has saved lives, rescuing you from incredible stresses and challenges and giving you the strength and balance that you have needed. Meditation is something that is really needed, and it was also very good to see that most of us realise what meditation means and what it doesn’t mean. We have come a long way in our collective spiritual knowledge, and thankfully it seems we now get it! Nevertheless, we all also understand that meditation is often hard, especially at first. For each of us the reason is a little different, but some common themes are there. You can discover them as you read this post.

Meditation does not mean that you are meant to stop thinking and awaken into some Zen like state.. although that can happen if you do it for long enough.. What i have learned from life and reading your posts is that meditation is really just a place in time where you give your SELF some space! You withdraw from the the normal earthly concerns and focus within. It is a time to listen to your inner voice, your thoughts, and to acknowledge them. It is an opportunity to come back to our breath, our self, and wind down the mind into a much more balanced and relaxed state of being. Letting go, giving up the attachments to our many thoughts and worries.

When we do this, regularly, the benefits are felt immediately and throughout the day. We don’t have to work for weeks and months before we feel the changes.. it is instant and the changes are so great that it is hard to deny it.. It is when we have meditated that we suddenly ask ourselves " Why don’t i do this every day!".. of course, its easy to get distracted, but once we have built meditation into a daily practice it becomes hard to give it up. Instead of it becoming a chore, or a challenge, it becomes the thing we need to keep us sane, happy and functioning as a beautiful, positive, shining human being!

With all that said, i THANK you all for posting.. and sharing your many personal stories thoughts. This week i have decided to take some quotes and snippets from your posts so we can just all scroll down and Get a quick sense of what has been shared by you all. If you would like to see the entire feed of posts then look no further than the #qotw tag!

QUOTES FROM YOUR POSTS!

Meditation is what I call the highest stage of reflection. It's a period where we manage to reduce external noises to concentrate, connect and activate the mind in a period of attentive musing.

Meditation is not just a word but a practice whose meaning and the result are beyond this world.

The concept of meditation simply describes a practice one employs to achieve peacefulness and reflection. A mental exercise to calm the nerves and brain. I believe every human needs that time and space to escape from this troublesome, the need to mentally escape to a serene and calm space in the mind to relax and feel at peace.

When everything else and all of the matters are of artificial things, then it is not easy to get back on something natural and coming from the depth of nature.Meditation is not something which would easily come from urban weather,or the brick walls, but it is the things that would emerge the stream of souls that is floating, from the depth of nature, in the mind which can possess the artistic parts of the soul.

Reason because people have a faulty assumption about central objective of their entire endeavor, especially they believe that it's all about slowing down or even stopping their thoughts.

Meditation let you become more aware and More purposeful about your action and teaches you how to respond to rather than to react to situations in your life,

The only time it rests is when I am finally asleep, and even falling asleep is hard for me because I cannot get my mind to be still and quiet. I am always thinking of something to do, something I haven’t done , plans, preparation etc. I am overthinker and that even makes it harder. I Am pretty sure even if I sit down to meditate I’ll end up thinking of a bunch of other stuffs with my eyes shut. (Lol)

Being a Christian meditation is a norm and part of my daily living. the the emphasis mostly are related to scriptures. it is so beautiful meditating on thoughts or scriptures. at the end when one realises what one's mind and spirit has achieved through the meditation with the help of the light of the Holy Spirit, the feeling and euphoria is indescribable. the joy that follows is pure and out of this world. yes it can be difficult if one wants to go through the conventional method which involves sitting down in a calm environment with the eyes closed. this can be due to a lot of reasons.

Not having the opportunity: most times we work over time and over work ourselves in order to make money. This gives us the perfect opportunity and perfect excuse not to meditate. We come back home tired and then look for what to eat and then fall asleep. For an entrepreneur like me I work basics everyday.

impatience: Being impatient can make one find meditation hard to engage in because most times the thoughts running through the mind won’t stop so you get tired of sitting for a long time. You find it as a waste of time just sitting and staying calm without trying to find the solutions to the problems running through your head.

Many people are afraid of meditation just because of the fear of the unknown. They are not ready to face the act of meditation because they have seen it as a medium of time wasting. They are not ready to go into it and most especially those in the Christian line..

Avoid following other people steps in terms of meditating because what might work for me maybe totally different from yours in the terms of been quiet may be a perfect solution for Mr. A while meditating at night may be your comfort zone that's while it is necessary to discover oneself for a convenient time

I suggest for Muslims when meditating to use the phrase "ALLAH HU AKBAR which means ALLAH (God) is The Great." When we breathe air we chant in our hearts the word ALLAH. When we exhale we say in our hearts HU AKBAR. This will help us in meditating. The hard thing that is also experienced during meditation is a sitting position that still makes us uncomfortable and wants to end meditation immediately while we still don't succeed. For this we need to practice continuously so that we will be able to enjoy meditation as a good way to help our lives.

Worry
This one works along side with Overthinking. We find ourselves in deep thoughts worrying about little things that were once the least of our problem. This can cause hindrances to a good meditation. We think about opportunities that were missed that you may have even gotten over in the past already but they just come rushing back to your mind bringing all those same pain, anxieties and thoughts that came along with it. Worry can change our lives in such an extent that for some people, it's as though there is nothing else in life.

I have experienced so much Trauma in life that more often than not meditation will transport me to loved ones lost and the moments with them. So for me I relive trauma or visit past loved ones. Sometimes they have amazing messages but sometimes I relive certain experiences I was not expecting to experience.

The first time I heard of this word "Meditate", I never knew how it is done and after reading a particular novel which I have forgotten, I decided to practice it and see how it is. Seriously, it was so hard at first because instead of focusing on a particular thing, I found myself dwelling in different past of me and all thoughts were strolling in. It was very easier then to drift away from meditating and started finding what wasn't lost in the past.

Sometimes, get angry while trying to meditate, why is that ? Because they're people who are around me creating unnecessary noise and that angers me a lot. There are so many things that might stop me from finding it hard to meditate.

What you don't learn in childhood, practicing such a lifestyle in adulthood becomes so hard. It's the same with other habits, the major reason why I'm unable to meditate is because my body finds it inconvenient to learn something new, or let's say, it's difficult learning a new habit.

Meditation is exactly for the self. There are no other benefits of it that I am aware of. Meditation has the power to activate our mental health, spirit and brings about spiritual power in us humans. Due to the extent of work habits that we keep ourselves occupied with, tends to drain our spiritual fuel. Along with draining our spiritual energy, our physical mind starts to become monotonous to our surroundings.

Meditation is already part of my life, not yet with the intensity that I need and desire, but it is there, positioning itself, consolidating its place among my habits, and reminding me every moment how good it feels to do it. I consider myself a beginner in this and I always rely on guided meditations. But there are always factors that threaten my grand resolution to meditate at least a little in the morning and a little in the evening. So I make it a point to meditate, but ..... Sometimes I don't wake up as early as I would like, and this is due to the same daily exhaustion that makes me sleep around 12 pm to be awake at 5 am. The first hour of the day would be the ideal and most appropriate for me.

The noises outside and the chatter in our heads can make meditation seem hard or even impossible at first. Doing nothing for too long can make us bored, even if it's just for 10 minutes. This is even worse if we don't know why. When we do simple things like sit still and watch our breath, we get panic, fear, and even anger.

In conclusion, meditation is 100% possible if one could overlook the hardship, and other challenges in life to fix total concentration in the process. Also, you must remove your mind on what you intend to achieve in terms of financial freedom and rely on the health and other benefits that meditation gives.

Controlling breathing is having power over yourself, over your own body, and over the mind. Breathing consciously we can stay in the here and now, meditate is about this. So start for a short time, breathe intentionally for a few seconds, then minutes, then for half an hour, and see what fantastic results you will have in your life. If when you meditate you focus on just breathing consciously instead of concentrating on shutting your mind, maybe it becomes much easier and simpler. I wish success for you.

I have found it very very difficult to meditate as it is not my kind of thing. I can't just take my mind off all other things that seem important all in the name of meditation.

Perhaps, this is why some people believe that it is hard to meditate. So they don't even try, but the fact is, most of us do it without even realizing it sometimes.

How is that possible, you may ask. Well think about something that you love to do. Something that you can really immerse yourself in, that you feel like you get lost in that moment. Perhaps it's playing music or dancing. Maybe you love to cook or paint. Then there are those of us, that love to get into the garden and get our hands in the soil.

Well personally, I think that it's only difficult to meditate, if you are conditioned to believe that it can only be done a certain way. As if one shoe fits all!

I think it is one of the most important factors in meditation because it allows you to hear your own voice, another point that I consider important is the concentration, because our mind gets used to wander, air elsewhere, to think about everything a little and at the same time nothing, then keep our mind focused, it helps us to have control of our thoughts.

No, it is not. The problem is that we assume we are not doing it well because we didn't meditate long enough as we desire, and as we have seen others do.

The world is busy,most especially we residing in Lagos Nigeria (main land). The daily routine noise is at a disadvantage.Is it the noise of people passing bye?,noise of market people, vehicle horns?
Those that reside in Lagos will understand what i am trying to drive at. All these things are distractions in which makes it so hard to meditate.

I believe the major cause of the difficulty in meditation in our world today is the many sources of distractions around us. A lot of things keep us so busy that we barely have time for meditation. The internet and social media have a lot to get you carried away through the whole day. Also, the media have their role too. The bad news and the talk of war, here and there, has a big effect on one's sanity. Surely, it is only a sane and calm mind that would make time to meditate.

We should note that meditation is not a child's play. It is a work that requires energy and time. When we don't see it as important and a serious business, we cannot go about it in the right way. And so, we must reserve time, and mean it, if we must derive the benefits from it.

There was a time when I meditated as soon as I woke up in the morning. I even set the alarm earlier than usual to be able to complete my morning rituals when I have an early morning appointment.

I would love to mention few things that make us find so hard to meditate. Negative thought of the past. Wrong relationship. Checking your list if you are doing better on daily basis. Misfortunes. Fear. Anger.

A few years ago I started meditating in the evenings before going to rest since it is usually the only time of the day when I can dedicate a few minutes for myself, something that is very complicated during the day because with two little girls it is very difficult to achieve the degree of disconnection with the outside world and establish a connection with myself, with my inner self. Thanks to meditation I was able to overcome a state of depression that had me submerged for the last two years and based on perseverance and hard work I was able to heal those internal wounds that hurt me in the depths of my soul. In order to overcome this, it was essential to achieve that inner connection that prevented me from enjoying the simple things in life.

Is it hard to meditate ? Probably not, but honestly I have never been able to mediate before yesterday. The reason is that I just don't get inspired to mediate. Blame it on my liking or those who never inspired me, I am always a person loving outdoor sports. And the reason for that probably is that is how I have been brought up ? yesterday I started it because of a compulsion. My compulsion is my situation - trying to inspire my father to start meditation, with a though that probably it can improve some of his conditions. If I have to become a teacher, then I need to learn it first.

I think that concentration is complicated to achieve when you have disordered thinking, it can work, make a list of things to solve, order the day, find a special moment, adapt the environment, musicalize, relax the body with massages, education, cooperation is very important, prayer, drainage, fight laziness, seek help and try to solve problems, it is a good way for restoration and learn to live in prolonged well-being.