Meditation – 6 Easy Steps
Jon Kabat-Zinn said, “Meditation is simply about being yourself and knowing about who that is. It is about coming to realize that you are on a path whether you like it or not, namely the path that is your life.”
Could meditation be as simple as “being yourself?” I know so many folks that when you mention the word meditation, they roll back their eyes and see “gurus” that go into hour-long periods of silence. I too, would be rolling my eyes if I had to sit for “hours.” I confess, I know it’s good for me and yet I don’t meditate every day. Somehow I simply don’t find 10 minutes a day to take to be still. Don’t know why, just that I don’t. So here are 6 easy steps that you can follow, if like me, you haven’t made the choice to take 5 minutes (or more) to simply be still.
1. Make a commitment to meditate and make it a priority – bump it up on your list of “to dos.” Make it as important as brushing your teeth. We wouldn’t leave the house without brushing our teeth, so don’t leave home without meditating.
2. Schedule time to meditate. Write it in your appointment book if it will help you create a habit. Once you’ve created a new routine, then you can stop putting it in your book.
3. Do it daily and only do it for 5 minutes. More is wonderful if you have the time, but five minutes daily is more effective than doing it 30 minutes once a week.
4. Keep a small post-it note pad and pen beside you. Jot down any thoughts that float into your mind so you won’t forget them later. Things as little as “don’t forget to buy bread” can be distracting unless you let go of them by writing it down.
5. Use music as a cue for your body, mind and spirit to settle down and begin the meditation. Help yourself shift gears from “doing” to the process of “undoing” with meditation.
6. Focus on your breathing when you begin. Just notice your breath as you breathe in and breathe out. You can use this the entire time if you choose.
So start with the simple steps – or do whatever helps you get into the meditative state. It is an individual process and one that you can deepen as you do it daily. Most important. Enjoy your time, enjoy your space, and enjoy the quiet.
As for me — I think I’ll follow my own advice now and find my 5 minutes.
Willow Sibert – Psychic, Channel, Hypnotherapist… Web Master?
How does one have so many skills or perhaps we should call them interests? Is there a connection between a psychic and a web master (or in my case a “mistress)? I’ve done so many things in my life… cut hair (7th grade), taught first grade, raised two step daughters, national training manager at Apple, psychic, channel, life coach, past life regression therapist, hypnotist, and my latest “web mentor for women.” I get interested in something, learn it, have some fun, and then move on to the next thing. Is that normal?
I can’t imagine doing the same thing or having the same job for 30 or more years. It would drive me nuts. And yet, I admire people who have the “stick-to-itiveness” to stay. Maybe it’s like relationships. I’m single – been single for many years. I’d love to be in a deep and serious relationship with someone – I think it’s time. I look at some of the people I know – married for so long. Some of them, I’m not sure if they’re happy – not sure if they’re unhappy. But they stick to it. Do they stick in the relationship because it’s the thing to do? Is it that they’re afraid of the unknown? (sometimes the “known” no matter how bad it is, is better than the unknown.) And… maybe, just maybe, they are happy and love being in their relationships.
This blog for me will be my “Return to Self” journal. My life as a blog. I have numerous other blogs, websites and businesses. I choose this one to be about me… everything and anything. Follow along. Enjoy. Join the Party. Have some fun… and grow and I grow.