MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — We’re joined this morning by Nena Nimit from the Alabama Meditation Center, and we want to talk about meditation. What is meditation?
Guest: Meditation is about living in the present moment. It’s a disciplined practice. It makes the mind calmer, more peaceful, more still in the various situations of life. We can’t always control the world around us. But we can breathe. Return to the center of peace and stillness, tune inward and find that center of balance, home, and stillness.
Anchor: So what do you think are the best practices for meditation? How do you practice it?
Guest: Meditation is best when it’s easy. It’s best when it’s the simplest. So start small and keep it simple. Just take a few deep breaths a day. Press pause. We’re always pressing play. We’re pressing the fast forward button and rewinding our thoughts, but we’re not really focusing on the present moment. So when you wake up, before you go to sleep, just take a few minutes to be grateful that you woke up today. Relax, unwind for a few minutes, get back to your center. And as you’re walking through your day. Just take a moment to breathe and really experience what life has to offer you.
Anchor: Why do you think it’s sometimes hard to quiet the mind?
Guest: Because we are born with monkey minds, we exist to make electrical connections, we have brains with lots of thoughts. But the wonderful thing is that thoughts are not always true or false, they can be harmful or beneficial. So the ability to take a breath, take a step back, not take yourself too seriously sometimes, relax and let go is one of the greatest gifts in the world. Meditation seems like a simple thing, but it also takes practice. Why do you think it takes practice to get better? It’s because the world has trained us to think, to analyze, to complicate, to distract. So it’s up to us to realize that we have the ability to feed and strengthen this peace muscle by coming back to the center again and again. Instead of blaming ourselves, just be kind to ourselves, take a breath, enjoy the moment, let go, and be with our loved ones, our friends, our family.
