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Meditation can be a deep subject, and I will touch on a little bit of that, but this article is all about taking advantage of being quiet and taking a break, solo.
There is a lot going on in our world right now. First it was COVID-19, now the BLM Movement and all that is going along with that.
It really doesn’t matter which side you’re on politically, emotionally, white, black, young, or old. All to this is emotionally tiresome.
Meditation as a break from social media
Right now, I am finding that social media and the news is extra exhausting. The information coming at me and the tension in the air is mentally and spiritually draining.
Quiet time can be cleansing for the soul. It can be an escape from the onslaught of negativity and confusion entering our minds through social media, the news, and conversations that are concentrated on one single subject.
Meditation can offload the overload
I personally have spent a good share of my time educating myself on what is going on in our world right now. I’ve gone as far back in history as the 1600’s, trying to understand where people are coming from. I enjoy learning new things about our history.
Debating and talking, listening and learning, can turn into major overload at times, and we need to offload in other ways than by feeding the chaos. What I mean by feeding the chaos is, we need to give others a break as well. Stay off of social media and the intense political subjects surrounding us.
Quiet time is the perfect outlet for brain overload rest.
Meditation can help sort the clutter
I have recognized that my mind has been cluttered with information. My soul is emotionally hyper. Not only have I had a more difficult time sleeping, but overall, I feel like my spirit is discontented.
Educating ones self and being privy to what is going on around us is important, but it is equally (or probably more) important to be sure that we feed our spiritual health, especially when things are extra intense around us.
Quiet time is almost like feeding the soul. It is the vitamin that can bring balance to our imbalanced and troubled minds.
Just as we went through the Coronavirus pandemic, we also now have a mentally draining pandemic of chaotic opinions and strong emotions.
Friends are “breaking up”, blocking and deleting each other on social media, and not speaking to one another, all because of heightened emotions and differing opinions.
Meditation empowers us
To stay healthy and strong during this Coronavirus pandemic, we need to eat things that strengthened our immune systems to fight off disease. Alongside that, it is now time to be careful how we take care of our spiritual and mental health. It’s time to build healthy walls of protection around our emotions and make room for mental clarity.
Just like we need the right foods to keep us healthy during the Coronavirus scare, we need to allow our minds a chance to power up. This happens when we allow our minds to rest.
Meditation as a new and old concept
Meditation is a new concept to a lot of people, and to others, very familiar. There are several different types and levels of meditation as well. It can be an extremely deep topic and can be discussed and picked apart for hours. It can also be deeply religious as well as not religious at all.
The oldest documented evidence of the practice of meditation are wall arts in the Indian subcontinent from approximately 5,000 to 3,500 BCE, and written evidence as far back as 1500 BCE.
Meditation is also mentioned in Psalms in the approximate year of 1063 BC.
Meditation has ancient roots, but it is also very popular in todays age. I know several people have a lot of hesitation when it comes to meditation and choose to steer far around the concept, but the people that I have spoken with that choose to omit meditation, I have found they do not know anything about it. They only feel like something is wrong with it.
Meditation and being educated
Before I go much further, I want to disclose that I am not a mindfulness teacher, and it is a good idea to thoroughly research the topic before you choose to go to a retreat, or participate in guided meditation.
For those of you who are wary of the concept, you are not wrong to proceed with caution. There have been studies that have shown negative effects of some types of meditation.
It is important, if you are going to truly dive deep into meditation, to do your research.
That being said, I want to clarify to you that when I speak about meditation, I am mostly referring to solo quiet time. Time away from the TV, from your phone, from noise, from social media, or whatever else it is that could be causing mental and emotional imbalance and turmoil.
There are a couple different types of meditation that I am going to point out here.
There is a Biblical meditation and a Buddhist meditation.
Biblical meditation engages the mind. Buddhist meditation can engage the mind but it can also empty the mind.
When you have time and if you are interested, read about the Eightfold Path and you will understand a little better, the path to mindfulness according to Theravada Buddhist.
Personally, I like to keep meditation simple and basic. Some people may not even technically consider my version of meditation, meditation. But – it is calming, I benefit from it, and I teach this to my children.
To me it is very important to take time to “meditate” or in other words, be quiet.
If you’re a beginner, or if you’re not wanting to dive deep into meditation, but do desire clarity and freedom from the clutter in your mind, look no further.
HOW TO MEDITATE
Just find a quiet place and sit or lay in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Breathe. Focus your attention on something, whether that be your breathing, an image, a verse, a sound, a shape, a color, a positive thought, etc.
Meditation can last anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours. I prefer 5+ minutes.
Annnnd . . . That is it.
Here are three easy ways to add meditation to your day. These are my favorite ways to meditate.
Music
Meditating with music simply gives my mind a calming background of sound to focus on. I have had it be the element that literally evokes mental freedom.
Choose music that creates a mental image of wide open space, calming images, or offers the privilege to envision something bright, natural and happy.
The purpose of this is to remove yourself from the thoughts that are cluttering your mind. It is not to solve problems or figure them out, rather to go somewhere else altogether.
I prefer music with nature sounds, and especially water. I am not sure if it is because I am a Scorpio and water is my sign, or if it is simply because it is soothing to me. Whatever it is, water is the most calming sound for me.
Nature
If you can go into nature, do it. At first it feels wide open and possibly even uncomfortable, or it cold be the complete opposite. Nature provides the perfect space to be quiet while focusing on the sounds of wind, birds, and other natural elements to escape with.
Breathe in the fresh air. Consciously allow your shoulders and limbs to relax as if you are about to fall asleep. This is when you find the sounds of nature to focus on. It is okay to think. The key is to think about what you hear in the moment. And then, find something to be grateful for about what you hear. Keep it simple.
Shower
You don’t have to leave the house or plan out your time for a 10 minute shower. I live in the city, so going outside to meditate sometimes can be tricky.
I need clean, neat and comfortable places where I can be quiet in order to fully relax. My bathroom is very clean, and taking a warm bath or a shower is not only soothing, but a place in a moms world where escape and quiet is just going to happen.
I use my Bluetooth speaker for meditative music, and with the door locked, I am rarely bothered. I find this the simplest and easiest place for me to go if I need uninterrupted quiet time.
This might not be the ticket for everyone, but I am 5 feet tall so sitting in the shower is easy for me. If you can do this, close your eyes and reach out with your senses and listen. Feel the water and then just breathe.
It is not uncommon for my mind to start wandering around and focusing on my day ahead, but when this happens to you, it is important to train your mind to return to your focus point. If you’re in the shower and focusing on the sound of the water, imagine it is rain. Imagine a puddle of water and paint a picture of something soothing and peaceful in your mind to focus on. Go there every time your thoughts wander somewhere not so peaceful.
Meditation takes practice
It takes practice and patience to learn how to relax, redirect your thoughts, and focus on something simple.
If you are a Christian and Biblically meditating, find your comfortable place, your verse of choice and repeat the words until you begin to go further than the words alone. Feel them, sink into the verse with your being until you almost feel one with the word.
Meditating isn’t necessarily about emptying your mind. It can be. But for me it is a redirection of thoughts. It is making space to find something good to focus on. It is a place to go away from the troubles and permission to focus elsewhere.
After meditating, I often find that the “time out” from the clutter really clarifies a lot for me and I often feel less tense. I also find that I start to see other perspectives on my own without having to discuss things with others. I also realize that often times, there are a lot of things I once thought were important that are not at all, and I can throw those thoughts completely out and start from scratch.
I wish all of you a peaceful moment or two in your day! (Hopefully more than two!)
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