Challenges are what make life interesting. Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
The Meditative Mind.
If meditation were easy and predictable, would you want to still pursue it?
I think the most alluring thing about meditation is that it places you in direct awareness of where you are in the moment. You immediately recognize the good days, the days of resistance where you can’t sit still as well as the days that create blissful states, well worth the investment of time.
No matter what happens each day, Everything is perfect . You are observing you, what you need , how you feel [low, mid or high energy] and the types of thoughts that dominate your inner conversations.
The meditative mind is a freedom seeker. Let thoughts drift like clouds across your mental landscape and allow yourself to observe. This is mindfulness meditation and a way to step into the moment without strict formulas for how your meditation should be.
Accepting Resistance. Listen to the chatter.
Accept the mind chatter as resistance and a defence mechanism used to distract you from being more present.
Notice the distraction. See it as a layer to protect the self from seeing what lays beneath the surface.
“Know thy self” is the most courageous and powerful thing you can do through meditation.
Relaxing the Body. Inviting the mind.
On first blush relaxation appears to cover the mind, but it might not always work.
Have you sat in meditation and systematically relaxed your body and used deep breaths to release tension only to witness the mind racing and not calming down?
By relaxing the body, you can invite the mind to observe the body or follow the flow of your breath. When you decide to observe one thing in detail, it forces the other “mental chatter” to slide into the background.
Meditations that are breath-focused are excellent for capturing rogue minds. The counting meditations demand that the mind “counts” and that angry driver or situation at work has less room to interfere. Try it when you are not able to sit still or are having a lot of resistance to meditation.
Creating Peace Zones through movement.
I used to think that meditation was only done sitting still. This is far from the truth. Meditation has many levels of engagement. There are many opportunities to re-set, relax and meditate even if you are not someone who likes to sit still. There are other gateways to meditation that are equally as inspiring and effective.
For example, inner peace can be created through movement. As I eluded to earlier, if you can create something that forces the mind to push the mind chatter into the background and focus on one thing in more detail, it is possible to allow the mind to relax itself.
Movements that repeat themselves, like footsteps when you are walking or running can be used as a form of meditative practice. Following the flow of repetitive movements like a swimming crawl stroke can be very meditative. The mind will naturally monitor these movements and slide into a more calm state. You will still have chatter, but it will be less prominent as the mind focuses on the details of the movement and the next one.
The imperfection of meditation practice is what is it’s charm. You have total freedom to be you and to adapt your sessions to your energy level, your desire to move or not and to observe the process from an intuitive level makes it more freeing.
Let each session allow you to tune into your energy and how you are feeling. Don’t give up! You might not always feel good or have a perfect session. Environments, thoughts and emotions might challenge you to walk away from it. But, it is the challenge and the beautiful moments of inner peace that makes “the good fight” to master your mind and relax your body, meaningful.
Peace and Blessings.
Join me for a meditation workshop, Relaxation Re-invented. Six weeks of on-line content to relax, and regain more focus. For more details click the link WORKSHOP that starts Jun 17th. { registrations accepted until Jun 21st].