Going Within

03 Oct

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 12: His Holiness the...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife When I first heard the word meditation, I thought of the Dalai Lama, crossed legs, incense and chanting. That goes to show how limited my thinking used to be! Lately, I've found so many blessings coming from my daily meditation. And by meditation, I mean just time of stillness. Just do whatever feels right and keep in mind -- in the beginning, nothing will feel right. You're not used to being still. Most people can't drive down the road without a radio on. A lot of people I know turn on the TV when they get home, "just for the background noise." I used to do the same thing. (sometimes still do) But I've also learned the benefits of being silent and the wisdom and peace you can gain. (my ex-husband would like the "me being silent" part. hehehe) The Voice of Experience Since I moved out, I've been faced with an incredible amount of stress. It's been like I've been standing in front of a pitching machine, pelting out problems and hardships. The key for me is to duck at certain issues as they zoom toward me and whack them outta the ball park on other ones! Picking and choosing how to handle the issues thrown my way has become almost like a game to me! Let's see here... How am I gonna face this one? Oh, yeah... I'll just choose from the grab bag of great problem solving (or at least ducking) ideas! On the topic of ducking ideas... I've found throughout all of this that sometimes you just have to duck. Problems aren't always going to have an immediate solution. Sometimes the solution is right there and you can't see it because you're looking through your "stress blinders." Been there. Done that. Looked back on it. Beat myself up over it. And finally... Learned from it. So, back to the meditation thing... (Got off track a wee bit, didn't I?) I find that just silencing my thoughts for a short time does wonders. I'll write a more specific post on types of meditation another time. The idea here is to just try it.

Just keep this in mind:

You'll feel silly.
Your mind will wander.
You'll feel like you're wasting your time.
You'll feel like others "get it" and you don't.
You'll feel like you're wasting your time.

And then, guess what?

You'll feel a little better.
You'll think clearer.
You'll feel less stressed.
You'll feel better physically.
You'll have more energy.
You'll find yourself looking forward to the silence.

Give it time... I just started focusing on my breathing. Another way was to listen to the dull vibration of a fan. Just focusing on something and letting go of the mind chatter for a short period of time is all you need... I'm no expert on meditation. I practice it in my own form. What I'm suggesting is that you find your own form that works for you. Experiment, if you will... Want to join me? All you've got to lose is a whole lotta stress...