Meditation has been known to help reduce anxiety and stress. This increases our capacity for self-love and compassion.
Lee Byrd.
Meditation is not about stopping the mind’s chatter. That would be like jumping into a raging river and demanding that it stop. Meditation helps us to detach from the chatter. We hear it and let it go, again and again.
Going within allows us the ability to listen deeply to our Soul, our Divine inner voice. Getting quiet is the only way one can truly know what is really going on, allowing us to be here. Now.
My meditation is a simple practice of sitting quietly, noticing first the environment, then, with eyes closed or gaze softened, bringing awareness to the breath and the physical sensations of the body.
There is no right or wrong way to meditate. Every meditator has their own unique way. The important thing is to make time once or twice a day (and anytime you are stressed or anxious) to be quiet. If you already have a practice, awesome! But if not and you are ready to do so, start here and as you go along, make it your own.
My practice:
- Find a comfortable, safe space with little or no distractions.
- Consider:
- Diffusing some pure essential oil (I love Frankincense or Sacred Frankincense).
- Lighting a candle
- Maybe some soft music if it is not distracting.
- Sit or lie down, spine straight but not rigid. I think it is important to be physically comfortable.
- Take a moment to look around your environment.
- Notice the objects, the colors, etc.
- Notice how the air feels on your skin.
- Notice any sounds and smells.
- Close your eyes (or soften your gaze) and bring your awareness inside your beautiful physical body.
- Breathe – 3 or more rounds:
- Inhale a deep, intentional breath and hold for a moment.
- Release slowly.
- Body awareness: slowly scan the body, noticing any sensations, also notice any judgements – just let them be. Remember, nothing to do, no right or wrong.
Getting quiet, inviting silence, does not mean the elimination of noise. It simple means that we are not distracted by or attached to that noise. Stillness is our natural state.
The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
Buddha