At times when I feel the most stress, the most confusion, the most fear, my standard and most reliable solution is meditation. Whether I am seeking an answer to a relationship problem, a financial problem, or a parenting issue, I found answers in meditation.
Anyone can learn to meditate. You do not need to be a monk or an experienced Yoga practitioner to find solutions in meditation. I know this, because I am neither of these. Yet I have been meditating for 15 years and have found it is one of the surest way to reduce stress and solve problems.
At its heart, meditation is about stillness -- stilling your body, stilling your mind. And if you have never tried meditating before because it seemed too complicated, consider that anyone can meditate because anyone can be still. We only have to try.
We live in such a busy world and we have trained our minds and bodies to be in overdrive. Perhaps we have been going so fast for so long that now the very idea of being still seems futile. Perhaps you’ve tried meditation before and didn’t feel comfortable. Perhaps you’ve enjoyed a few moments of stillness at times but never thought of it as being a tool for moving past personal obstacles and challenges.
My challenge to you today, if you should chose to take it, is to find 5 minutes to sit still and DO NOTHING. Okay, not really do nothing. Sit still and focus on your breathing.
Your mind will say, “Focus on my breathing? That’s BORING!” But that’s just your busy mind trying to pull you away from your stillness. When those types of thoughts enter your mind you just notice them and let them go. Give them no power. Repeat to yourself. “I am focusing on my breathing. I am calm. I am still.” Or use whatever words work for you.
Your mind will drift. That’s okay. Just bring it back to your breathing.
Here is what I do to find an answer through meditation. You can do this too.
Breathe deep into your belly. Breathes so deep that your belly button pops out. And as you breathe out imagine all the stress leaving you. Breathe in calm and breathe out stress.
Do this for 5, 10, or 15 minutes (whatever works for you) and you will be amazed at how refreshed you feel afterwards.
Once you are calmer you can begin to train your mind to find solutions in your meditation. But first you must be able to sit still, in body and mind, so that when the answers do start to emerge you will see them and recognize them.
Our minds are like a pond. When we are continuously busy it is like always throwing things into the pond, making ripples, making splashes, making waves. When we calm our bodies by being still our minds the waves of our mind begin to subside. When we can sit in stillness it is as though the waters become still too.
When you look into a pond that is moving, busy with tadpoles, dragonflies, and water spiders all you can see is the action of the things on the water and the movement of the water itself. But when you look into a motionless pond, you see your own reflection, you see the reflection of the tree behind you, of the sky and clouds.
Looking at our lives with a still mind is like looking into a pond with still waters. When we still our minds, we get a clearer picture of ourselves. In that clearer image we will see what exactly we need to do, or think, or see, in order to move forward towards our goals. When we notice this deeper reflection of ourselves and we notice a thought or an idea that may be a solution to a problem, we can try it, and if we try it and it works it will move us further towards recognizing our own potential. We will become more in line with our true selves. We will become happier and feel more fulfilled in our decisions and life path.
Anyone can learn to meditate. You do not need to be a monk or an experienced Yoga practitioner to find solutions in meditation. I know this, because I am neither of these. Yet I have been meditating for 15 years and have found it is one of the surest way to reduce stress and solve problems.
At its heart, meditation is about stillness -- stilling your body, stilling your mind. And if you have never tried meditating before because it seemed too complicated, consider that anyone can meditate because anyone can be still. We only have to try.
We live in such a busy world and we have trained our minds and bodies to be in overdrive. Perhaps we have been going so fast for so long that now the very idea of being still seems futile. Perhaps you’ve tried meditation before and didn’t feel comfortable. Perhaps you’ve enjoyed a few moments of stillness at times but never thought of it as being a tool for moving past personal obstacles and challenges.
My challenge to you today, if you should chose to take it, is to find 5 minutes to sit still and DO NOTHING. Okay, not really do nothing. Sit still and focus on your breathing.
Your mind will say, “Focus on my breathing? That’s BORING!” But that’s just your busy mind trying to pull you away from your stillness. When those types of thoughts enter your mind you just notice them and let them go. Give them no power. Repeat to yourself. “I am focusing on my breathing. I am calm. I am still.” Or use whatever words work for you.
Your mind will drift. That’s okay. Just bring it back to your breathing.
Here is what I do to find an answer through meditation. You can do this too.
Breathe deep into your belly. Breathes so deep that your belly button pops out. And as you breathe out imagine all the stress leaving you. Breathe in calm and breathe out stress.
Do this for 5, 10, or 15 minutes (whatever works for you) and you will be amazed at how refreshed you feel afterwards.
Once you are calmer you can begin to train your mind to find solutions in your meditation. But first you must be able to sit still, in body and mind, so that when the answers do start to emerge you will see them and recognize them.
Our minds are like a pond. When we are continuously busy it is like always throwing things into the pond, making ripples, making splashes, making waves. When we calm our bodies by being still our minds the waves of our mind begin to subside. When we can sit in stillness it is as though the waters become still too.
When you look into a pond that is moving, busy with tadpoles, dragonflies, and water spiders all you can see is the action of the things on the water and the movement of the water itself. But when you look into a motionless pond, you see your own reflection, you see the reflection of the tree behind you, of the sky and clouds.
Looking at our lives with a still mind is like looking into a pond with still waters. When we still our minds, we get a clearer picture of ourselves. In that clearer image we will see what exactly we need to do, or think, or see, in order to move forward towards our goals. When we notice this deeper reflection of ourselves and we notice a thought or an idea that may be a solution to a problem, we can try it, and if we try it and it works it will move us further towards recognizing our own potential. We will become more in line with our true selves. We will become happier and feel more fulfilled in our decisions and life path.
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