Do you need a teacher to teach you meditation?
Do you need someone to guide you, or is it possible to do it on your own?
It is understandable to expect someone with experience to guide you, and nowadays is quite easy to find someone with experience. This is true in every area of life, not just with meditation. You learn from someone who knows.
Nowadays, with a little search in the Internet or in the social networks you can easily find a meditation teacher in your area.
A teacher can suggest a suitable method of meditation, answer your questions, supervise what you are doing, and help you avoid mistakes.
However, sometimes it is difficult to find a suitable teacher in your area, or maybe you are a person who likes to learn by himself.
If this is the case, you can learn from books, online courses, or follow the advice of a competent teacher on the Internet. For some, it is a good solution. However, others need or prefer a teacher to guide them directly.
If you cannot find a teacher, or if you want to learn on your own, do not let this deter you from your intention to learn to meditate. A teacher need not be always a real person. A teacher can be a book or a good website, where everything is explained clearly.
Though most people feel the need for a teacher, or to be a part of a learning group, some prefer to do learn by themselves, without external help. This might lead to doing mistakes and wasting time, but if they are earnest enough, they will learn from their errors, get stronger and wiser, and eventually make progress.
If you are looking for a real teacher, you need to search. If you find one, but are not satisfied, maybe he or she is not the right teacher for you. In this case, you need to continue searching.
You might find someone to help you as a beginner, but once you make progress, you might need a different teacher who is more advanced. You might also find one that is well advanced, who can guide you all the way, from a beginner’s stage to an expert stage.
For a beginner, a teacher with little knowledge and some experience might be enough. However, once you are more than a beginner, you might either progress on your own, or find a more advanced meditation teacher, who has more experience and authority.
Do You Need a Meditation Teacher to Learn Meditation?
Let’s go back to the question whether you need a meditation teacher.
The recommended answer for most people is to seek a teacher.
If you are not satisfied with him or her, you can always look for a new one. I would suggest that you always consult your common sense and intuition, and never follow anyone blindly and without asking questions.
You can have private sessions with a teacher, or learn with a group.
Meditation is an ongoing practice, not something that you do for a few days or a few weeks and quit. Meditation is a way of life. This is why, in my opinion, attending meditation workshops are not enough, you need more than that. They might be helpful if you practice meditation regularly, but not as a one-time event.
Most people would probably prefer to have a real teacher though, but it is okay to start following instructions found in books or on the Internet.
Some people prefer to learn alone. This is what I like to do. I find it a more challenging and satisfying experience.
If you are learning alone, as I said earlier, use your common sense and intuition, search for more than one answer to your questions, and be careful not to overdo anything.
As a beginner, 10 minutes at a time are enough. You do not need to sit on the floor, and you do not need to change anything in your life. Any change should be gradual, not drastic.
The truth is that you do not need you to make any external changes in your life. As you continue to meditate, day after day, you will discover that you are becoming a more peaceful, patient, and a tolerant person.
Meditation, eventually, leads to spiritual experience and to raising the consciousness beyond the ordinary, daily life. However, people practice meditation for other purposes too, for stopping to worry, to relieve stress, to calm the body or to improve health.
Choosing a Meditation Teacher
When choosing a teacher, think, why you need meditation and for what purpose, and then search for a suitable teacher.
Some teachers might focus on techniques to relieve tension and stress, while others, might help you improve your concentration.
There are teachers whose purpose is to help you find inner peace, and others to find the real you, your Inner Self.
- Read and find information about the teacher you choose. Ask yourself whether he or she are following what they teach.
- Examine yourself, and find out whether you feel peaceful while in the proximity of the teacher.
- Do you feel the teacher is helping you?
- Are you becoming more peaceful or agitated?
- Real teachers will not ask you to do foolish or unreasonable things or have complete and blind faith in them. On the contrary, they will help you open your mind, expand your awareness, and be responsible for your actions.
For more guidance and articles to read about this topic, click on the link below:
www.successconsciousness.com/meditation-articles.html
You can find various simple meditation techniques at the links below:
How to Practice Mantra Meditation
How to Do Candle Meditation
