Get serious about meditation

One of the most important things you’ll ever do in your life is meditate.

Remarkable physical benefits of meditation

Looking at meditation physically, countless studies support the idea that meditation reduces stress and, as a result, the inflammatory responses associated with stress. It can also mitigate symptoms of stress-related illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome, PTSD and fibromyalgia. Meditation is anxiety reducing, improves memory, lengthens attention span, helps with sleep, controls pain, and can even reduce blood pressure.

Meditation is your doorway to who you are

But beyond the list of physical benefits that go on and on, meditation is your doorway to the spiritual, to understanding who you are, and to touching the sacred. While some people may experience events of spontaneous “awakening” and awareness, far more individuals enter the world of the Divine by practicing meditation. Even if spiritual realities aren’t your motivation, meditation can still improve self-awareness and self-confidence enormously.

Yes, it is worth it to practice meditation

I’ve done some kind of meditation most days for the last 50 years. But oh god, when i started i was a mess. Like so many people with strong Vata qualities, my brain leaped from thought to thought like a wild monkey and the mere idea of trying to make it stay in one focused place was agony. I was convinced i couldn’t do it. I was the exception that proved the rule. But my teachers told me if i made the effort to focus my mind on a special object of my choice for 15 minutes a day that i would see the benefits in my daily life. It worked. Every second of the 15 minutes was torture (i actually set an alarm so i wouldn’t stare at the clock), but during the day, my mind was quieter, my concentration was better and my mood elevated. The more i practiced, the more rewards came my way until i actually looked forward to my meditation — and still do!

You too can meditate

Maybe you meditate every day, or like lots of people, you tried to learn but genuinely felt no connection with meditation, or maybe actually hated it. The thing is, there are many different ways to meditate and the different approaches appeal to people of varying natures. Does magic come through your ears? Did you know that you can close your ear flaps and hear the sounds of the chakra energy centers? Are you all about feeling? Sing, chant, maybe even dance and let the feeling carry you to a wonderful state of consciousness. Does your mind dominate? Practice realizing that all the things that we think are true (the things we see and hear) are really just illusions. Not this and not this is true.

Practice the different ways to meditate

In this blog, I’ll try to give you various approaches to meditation. Find one that feels good to you and give it a fair shake. Practice 10 to 15 minutes a day in as peaceful a place as you can find and see how it goes. If after say a month you feel like this isn’t appealing to your nature, then try another approach. You can also check the Resources section for a book called Glow Worthy by my teacher, Katie Silcox, an amazing book of practices for awakening your inner light.

Here’s a meditation practice to start with

Here is a simple practice to start with —

Sit in a comfortable spot, in a chair or on the floor. Choose a simple object that has meaning for you. If you’re religious, it might be a symbol such as a cross, a star, a saint or great master. Or choose another object that represents something to you, like my friend who associates dragonflies with the spirit of her mother. Take several deep breaths in through the nose and out through the nose, then bring the object to mind. If you’re not good at visualizing, feel or sense the presence of the object. Hold the image or sensation of the object in mind. When your mind wanders, which it will, notice it, smile inwardly because you caught it, and go back to the object. Keep doing that for 10 to 15 minutes. When the time is up, no matter how squirrely your mind has been, dedicate the fruits of your efforts to all humankind. Yay. You’re a meditator!

If you already meditate and/or pray everyday, maybe it’s time to leap to the next level — more time, more focus, a new practice added?

Try this everyday. Morning is ideal, but if no time, find a short break in your schedule later on and fit in the meditation. Come and tell us what you notice.