Hello world,
In my past blog posts I’ve talked about meditation and the positive effects that it has had in my life and how it has changed my mindset, relationships with others and myself. It has helped me detox my thoughts and relax my mind and let in fresh, new information.
In today’s post I’ll be sharing my simple guide on how to meditate for those of you who are beginners or simply just need more guidance. Let me clarify on a common misconception that many people have: I once thought meditation was about clearing your mind. Our minds are the most powerful tool known to man. It is constantly working and formulating ways to keep us alive. It creates algorithms on our experiences in attempt to make our lives easier. The issues come when we allow our minds to run our lives without any awareness to what is happening. We let bad thoughts and experiences take over our mind without the awareness that we can change it.
When we meditate, we sit with our thoughts and become more aware of what we are thinking and feeling. Awareness is key! Below I am going to share some of the easiest ways I like to meditate.
Guide to Meditation:
Before I start to meditate I like to think about something I want to meditate about. It can be anything or nothing, but I have found that choosing something to focus on is the easiest way to start. It can be something that is bothering me, something that I am happy about, or something that I would like to manifest into my life. Whatever it is, make sure you aren’t too attached to the topic so you do not resist anything that comes up.
To start find time in your day or evening where you are alone and have some peace and quiet. It shouldn’t be anywhere you can be easily distracted. For me, I like to sit on the floor in front of my mirror so I can be ready to just do my makeup before I go to work.
Breathing:
Next, begin by breathing deep breaths in and out. I like to take a deep breath in my nose and exhale out my mouth. I’ll also wiggle my toes slightly to relax any tension I may carry in my feet from a previous tiring day of work. Once I begin to relax I like to begin with a saying or phrase I want to believe about myself. It can be anything you want to believe about yourself. My favorite is “I am love.” I want to be love so I can receive and give love more freely. Your mantra and saying could be anything! Whatever it is you want to feel or whatever it is you want to be. You can repeat anything you want to feel while breathing so that your mind receives the message and mantra.
By this time you might notice that your brain starts thinking of other things. That’s normal. When you realize your mind starting to think of other things and you’ve lost your focus that’s OK. Don’t give up and start losing focus. Be proud that you became aware of this! Once you became aware that you have lost focus and become distracted just return to repeating your mantra. Sometimes as I’m repeating my mantra another one would come up, and I’ll just begin repeating this mantra instead. As i mentioned earlier when you choose a topic, it’s important to not become too attached to that one mantra so that we don’t resist something else that may come up. When I repeat my mantra and a new one comes up I feel this is my higher self just telling me that this is something I should also meditate on so I allow it.
Ending:
I like to imagine a white screen. Sometimes images would appear on the screen, and I let simply allow them and they eventually go away. Sometimes these images are objects, other times they are people from my past. I just have to push through it and wait for another image. Other times ideas may come up. If they’re good, I’ll try and make a note to remember them, but generally I’ll let them pass as well. I then thank myself for this time, open my eyes, and begin my day.
I like to try to do this for 15 minutes a day, but you can do it longer or shorter depending on how you feel. Even if I have only 5 minutes in my day to spare, that will be what I work with. The beauty of meditation is that it’s personal and there is no wrong way to do it. So find whatever works for you and do it consistently. By meditating I am often reminded that life and time on this earth is significant and insignificant at the same time. We let the normality of everyday life dictate so much of our happiness without any awareness. When we meditate we become aware, and it helps us see the things we love and appreciate about our lives and change the things that we don’t. Thank you for reading and allowing me to share my journey and thoughts here!
Xo,
Tawny V 