The Power of Meditation
Meditation entered my life 5 years ago after my already busy mind went into overdrive as I experienced PTSD.
The thought of slowing down my mind seemed impossible. Thoughts had always been abundant and moved swiftly in my mind, so meditation was something I would smirk at. Yeah right, as if I could slow down my mind....
I began literally laying on my couch listening to Oprah & Deepak’s daily guided mediations. The first few months, I would fall asleep. This was the only way my mind knew how to slow down. With each time, a bit less sleep and a bit more meditative presence started to happen. I had the experience of my mind & body calming and the effects carried throughout my day.
Then, I was hooked. From there, I tried various types of mediations…guided, Transcendental, mindfulness, mantra and more. (I have listed a number of meditation practices below for your reference.)
Meditation has and continues to be one of the most beneficial tools I have implemented into my life. You see, there is this constant voice (our thoughts) in our heads. It is a running commentary like a radio station always on saying...."I need to do __________. I am _____________. I should be ______________."
It’s so easy to mistake these thoughts as your own or to believe them as though they are truthful. What I’m noticing that is happening in our current state is that many people are slowing down. This can create the thoughts to get even louder (just like it does when you begin a practice of meditation) and some are even recognizing more thoughts coming at a faster pace as the emotional survival reactions become larger as well.
In truth, what has actually happened is that these thoughts have always been running in the background as we were continually doing, running, staying busy, filling up every waking moment. We were simply able to ignore them with our "doing". Now that we are not "doing" as much- they are here for us to handle and it can become overwhelming if you do not have a practice of how to handle them.
You may be experiencing that once you take away the distractions, the thoughts seemingly come out of thin air and a type of rumination begins. Maybe it's the same thoughts continuing over and over and over in your mind. These thoughts create feelings of anxiety and worry. But these feelings are created by the thoughts and stories that we are making up in our minds about the future and past. All anxiety is born from thoughts about the future and/or the past. Meditation begins to guide you to be in the present moment. When we are in the present moment - we have the power to release those anxious thoughts.
Meditation is important because it keeps you in the now and in the present moment.
When you feel yourself anxious or worried, you can use mediation to connect to the present moment. Invite your body to emotionally be in the present where you are calm. Invite your body to be in the now where you can meet any moment without pre-planning it (worry about the future) or analyzing it (worry about the past).
Meditation, whatever form you choose, allows you to notice thoughts that are creating your reality. In this stillness you are able to become more aware, conscious and alive to your inner truth and knowing. Thoughts create our emotional reactions and you have the power to be the watcher of those thoughts.
Today, this time in our lives is the perfect time to begin implementing and/or experimenting with meditation. The outside world is constantly screaming at us, but we don’t have to take the bait. Meditation allows for you to resist this and connect to what is most important, your internal state of well being. This heightened state of well being allows you to consciously move from moment to moment the best you can without judgement and/or unmanaged emotional reactions.
You can start small and try this:
when you are in the shower
when you first wake up
before you go to bed
as you sit on your couch or in your driveway
as you walk in nature
Here are some resources for the meditative seekers!!
There are varying types of mediation practices, techniques and definitions. Mostly it is defined as a formal exercise to cultivate compassion and awareness.
Check out some of the meditation techniques you can explore and research more:
Guided - a teacher guides you through the basic steps of the practice, either in person or via a meditation
Unguided - also called silent meditation — you meditate alone, without someone else explaining the process. For some people, unguided meditation involves simply sitting in quiet and paying attention to the body and thoughts for a set period of time. For others, it involves using some of the techniques they’ve learned from previous guided practices (see below).
Calming - cultivate a quieter, more peaceful state of mind and improved concentration
Insight - set an intention to transform their minds by developing qualities such as wisdom and compassion.
Focused Attention - use breath as the anchor when your mind wanders
Body Scan - designed to sync your body and mind as you perform a mental scan from head to toes.
Noting - “noting” what’s distracting you. Creating awareness around the thought or feeling allows for space and the ability to learn and let go of thought patterns.
Visualization - we create a mental image as the object of focus. We are able to observe the mind and focus on physical sensations.
Loving Kindness - Focus on the image of different people and direct positive energy and good will to ourselves and the to others. Helps us to let go of unhappy feelings we may be experiencing.
Skillful Compassion - similar to loving kindnes, pay attention to sensations from the heart. Opening our hearts and minds to benefit other people and increase feelings of happiness.
Resting Awareness - let the mind rest as you watch thoughts come and go as if waves in a ocean or clouds in the sky.
Reflection - Asking yourself a question such as “What are you most grateful for?”. Be aware of the feelings, not the thoughts, that arise when you focus on the question. My referring to yourself using the second person, you discourage the intellectual minds from trying to answer rationally.
More ancient practices and techniques include:
Zen - sitting upright and following the breath and letting the mind “just be”
Mantra - Focus on a mantra to quite the mind which could be a syllable, word or phrase. The vibrations of the mantra encourage positive change and help you enter a deeper mediation state.
Transcendental (™) - Marharishi Foundation - work with specific instructors. Involves sitting comfortably for 20 minutes twice per day engaging the effortless practice.
Yoga - many different types in order to cope with everyday stress and problems.
Vipassana - use your concentration to intensely examine certain aspects of your existence with the intention of eventual transformation.
Chakra - keeping the body’s core chakras - centers of energy open, aligned and fluid.
Qigong - harnesses energy in the body
Sound Baths - uses bowls, gongs and other instruments to create sound vibrations that help focus the mind and bring into a relaxed state.
Did any of these speak to you?
Are you ready to experiment with meditation and give your mind & body some much needed calm?
It doesn’t matter which you choose. What does matter is that you choose a style that allows you to integrate the qualities you experience during mediation practice - calm, empathy, focus, mindfulness - into the rest of your day.
Happy Meditating my friends. I look forward to hearing about your experiences!!
Activity: 5 minute Meditation
Try any one of the above mentioned techniques.
Sit. Breathe. Concentrate on your breath.
In and Out.
In and Out.
Allow your thoughts to come in...and out as well.
Thoughts are simply words....
We can listen without engaging.
Notice the thought and release it.
Come back to the breath.
Always the breath.