self healing meditation

Self-healing meditation is not a "metaphysical practice" that requires sitting cross-legged and clearing the mind. It is a low-cost psychological tool that has been proven by neuroscience and clinical psychology and can be used by ordinary people in 5-10 minutes a day. It can actively regulate emotional internal consumption and chronic stress. There are no strict operating standards. As long as you use the method that suits you, 80% of daily emotional problems can be alleviated through it.

A while ago, a visitor who works as an Internet operator came to see me. He sent me a message at 3 a.m. saying that he had an uncontrollable brain cycle and his boss rejected the plan during the day. The more he forced himself to sleep, the more awake he became, and his heartbeat was so fast that it could jump out of his head. I didn't explain it to her, so I sent a 30-second voice message, asking her to lie down without moving, put all her attention on her back, and feel the coolness of the sheets against her skin. It doesn't matter if her mind wanders, just pull back and continue to feel it. Within ten minutes, she looked like she was sleeping and said she had fallen asleep at some point.

There are actually several types of self-healing meditation that everyone is often exposed to nowadays. There is no distinction between high and low, but they are suitable for different scenarios. The first thing I came into contact with was Kabat-Zinn's mindfulness-oriented healing meditation. The core is "non-judgmental awareness", which does not require you to eliminate negative emotions. It is like sitting on the side of the road and watching the cars passing by. You know that the emotions are there, but you don't have to follow the cars. This method is most suitable for dealing with acute emotional outbursts, such as when you are about to give a speech, your heartbeat is trembling, your hands are shaking, or your chest is tight after an argument with someone. Use your breathing or body feelings to anchor the moment, and you will calm down quickly.

There is also a kind of psychodynamic healing meditation, which will guide you to follow the guidance and go deep into your memory. For example, if you are always angry at a certain type of people for no reason, you may suddenly think of a scene when you were wronged by your elders when you were a child. The emotional knot hidden in the subconscious will be seen and naturally loosened. However, it is not recommended to practice blindly on your own, especially for people with traumatic experiences. It is best to find a trained instructor to guide you, otherwise it may trigger a strong emotional counterattack.

Oh, by the way, there is also the "positive mind-changing" type of meditation that many people on the Internet are criticizing now. They say it is the spirit of Ah Q, but they are deceiving themselves. I don’t think it’s necessary to beat someone to death with a stick. If you have clarified the source of your emotions, you are stuck in self-denial and can’t get out. For example, if you have just lost a relationship and your mind is filled with “Am I terrible?”, following the guide and saying a few words “I have done a good job” will actually help you draw your attention away from self-attack, which is better than staying up all night and reading chat records to be internally consumed.

I ran into a lot of pitfalls when I first started practicing meditation. I always thought, "My mind is full of distracting thoughts, so I am not suitable for practicing at all." It wasn't until I read a 2022 study from Stanford Medical School that I realized that mind wandering is normal during meditation. The action you take to bring your attention back every time is to exercise the control of the prefrontal cortex. To put it bluntly, it is just like lifting a dumbbell. You have to lift it up, put it down and practice it over and over again to grow muscles. You can't ask yourself to hold the dumbbell still, right? Now, even if I run through my to-do list like a running car in my head during practice, I don’t panic and just pull it back. There is no such thing as “perfect meditation”.

Many people ask me how to get started. To be honest, there is no need to buy courses worth hundreds of dollars or set aside time to lay out yoga mats. Now you are slumped on the sofa scrolling through your phone until you feel irritated, then move your attention to your toes and feel the touch of the socks against your skin, whether your feet are cool or hot, and whether any of your toes are a little numb. Stay there for 3 seconds and then move up to your soles and ankles, all the way to the top of your head. If you get distracted, pull back. You don’t even have to close your eyes during the whole process. This is a complete self-healing meditation. Sometimes when I catch the subway and I’m so crowded that I can’t breathe, I just stare at the tips of my shoes and count three breaths to calm down my mood.

Of course, this does not mean that meditation is omnipotent. A user once said that he was still anxious after practicing it once, and came to call me a liar. Oh, yes, the 2023 follow-up data from Peking University Sixth Hospital shows that if you insist on it more than 3 times a week for at least 5 minutes each time for 8 weeks, the score on the anxiety scale will decrease significantly. Those who say that one exercise can cure all internal friction are 100% cutting leeks. Sometimes I forget to practice for a week or two in a row when I am busy. It is just as useful to pick it up again when I feel depressed. I don't have to put the burden of "having to clock in every day" on myself, but it adds another layer of anxiety.

Yesterday, I went downstairs to buy iced American style. I saw the proprietress leaning against the checkout counter and rubbing her eyebrows with her eyes closed while the order was out. She paused for five or six seconds and then opened her eyes again. The frown she had just moments ago relaxed. I laughed at the time. This was actually her own healing meditation. There are no standard actions or fixed durations that can allow you to get out of the messy emotions for even 3 seconds and see how you are feeling at the moment. That is enough.