Better get your calculator for this one. They say to truly master a skill it takes 10.000 hours of practice which equals 90 minutes per day for 20 years. Now I don’t know about that you guys, but with the schedule, I’m on, an alternative is far more preferable.

There are so many things I would still love to learn, and actually be good at too, but I simply don’t have the time. However, I do have a hard time believing that the amount of hours spent on something is solely responsible for the success rate.

I myself am a big believer in quality over quantity, but the truth is, you never really escape having to dedicate some amount of time to your practice. Whichever practice that is.

The same goes for meditation. A skilled meditator is often described as one who is able to reach higher states of consciousness. Where some might say it takes a guru to achieve this, there are also great sages from the Vedic age who actually claimed there is a mathematical formula to elevate your consciousness to a higher level all by yourself. Despite the fact maths has never been my favorite subject, this got me kind of curious though…

So for those who also want to give it a try, here it goes…

When we focus our attention for 12 seconds this is called concentration. Now multiply this by 12, so 12 x 12 seconds (which is about 2,5 minutes), we call that meditation. Two and a half minutes times 12, roughly 28 minutes complete undivided attention towards a mantra or a chakra, result in a ‘lower’ level of higher consciousness. For those who would like to try and reach a full state of higher consciousness, multiply this full attention of 28 minutes by 12 again, with an outcome of 5 hours and 36 minutes, and by this time you must be floating above the ground and have acquired some kickass, out of this world yogic-superpowers

It goes without saying that practice like this is done over time, and the younger you start, the easier it literally is to wrap your head around it.

But there is some good news too… 

Contrary to learning other skills, in meditation, you don’t have to force nor trick your mind in remembering information to become a ‘pro’. Sure it helps when you have some theoretical understanding of the material, but even when you don’t have a clue what it’s about, you will still have a good chance of tasting the sweet fruits of enlightenment. On top of this, implementing meditation into your daily lifestyle actually helps you learn other disciplines even faster.

Naturally, as might be expected, it will take regular practice and dedication when you’re in it for the highest state of consciousness. But from my own experience, I can tell you that you can definitely come a long way within a few years, maybe even months, depending on internal and external factors, varying from one person to another.

Now where does this come in handy, you might wonder? 

See, these states of consciousness lead to intuitive knowledge. You don’t wonder, think, or learn as much as you used to. When you are well meditated, you just know. Know what choices to make, what to avoid, what to embrace and so on. More important, in terms of health, you don’t only know where illness comes from, but you also know how to cure yourself. Don’t get me wrong here. This doesn’t automatically mean that you should refuse any type of western medicine or treatment. It means you will be much more capable of knowing whether your body needs it, to what degree, and what internal changes you need to create so your body responds well (physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually) to any chosen treatment. So the next time you feel something is wrong or missing, wait a minute, change your formula from pills to practice and let maths become magic!

With love,

Norma