I am just like you. My mind doesn’t turn off. My internal amusement park has more attractions than Disney World, yet it’s not always quite as fun. With so many ways to distract ourselves, at times it seems impossible to shut it down. And sometimes, it is. But that doesn’t mean we can’t reign it in. We have way more control than we let ourselves believe.
When I first began to practice meditation, I was in the beginning of my divorce process and I knew I had to do whatever I could to stay emotionally balanced. With the non-stop worrisome thoughts of what to do next, I was determined to slow down my high speed thought train of fear and discomfort. I tried every tactic I came across. Between meditation challenges with guided imagery, mantras, chanting, and total silence, I was determined to find my niche. Yet no matter what I tried, I could not find one that found the off button for my thoughts. They just kept going…
After several weeks of getting up early to attempt to meditate, I began to notice a change in my practice. The initial dread of failure began to temper. Despite the constant questioning of whether the practice was helping, I found myself eagerly anticipating the experience each day. I began to look forward to sitting alone with myself, with my thoughts, still.
The more I practiced, the less I began to judge my process. My thoughts still flowed, but I stopped demanding that they go away. I gave them permission to come in and out while I continued my practice of sitting still. I began to notice at the end of each experience that I felt calm, clear and at peace. Was it possible this was meditation after all? Keep Reading...