A conscious meditation program is something I feel that everyone should try for a period of time at least once in their lifetime.
I say conscious because all of us have meditated at times throughout our lives, however, may not have been aware that that's what we were actually doing.
We all think of meditation as sitting by yourself in solitude, lotus position, eyes closed, chanting OM's and having some dramatic spiritual experience.
While meditation can be practiced and experienced like this, and have some very profound benefits, it does not have to be like that every time.
One of the biggest obstacles for myself and probably many others is the feeling of not enough time or the ability to find that moment when you can have some solitude to really sit down, focus and meditate.
In a household with my husband, 4 young children, 2 dogs and 2 cats the chaos that ensues during each given day left me feeling like a personal meditation practice was going to be impossible.
I was always too busy, both physically in my life but also with the thoughts of chores, work, and the needs of my family running through my mind at every moment of the day.
It felt that I would have to gain some kind of superhero powers for me to be able to just sit still all alone and clear my mind for even 5 minutes.
I always felt I would be wasting valuable time that was needed to do all the other things I felt I had to get done.
In this day and age we are constantly bombarded with information and endless to-do lists that turning off our minds and just doing nothing seems wrong to us, like we are being lazy or unproductive.
But with all the proven research of how beneficial meditation is, I believe it is a must in this day and age for everyone to "go inside" at least on a weekly basis to feel more in touch with who we really are.
You will find that with meditation you will be more relaxed and content and have a clearer state of mind which will actually lead to more productivity when continuing on with your day.
However, it does not necessarily mean having to sit in solitude in a certain position and only reach success when we have some dramatic transformation.
Meditation can be done in any place one chooses and even while doing other activities.
While at the start of my meditation practice I did dedicate at least 20 minutes each evening to shutting myself in my room listening to guided meditations on you tube so I could "train" my brain and get that feeling of letting go of my thoughts and thinking of nothing in particular, however, after a few weeks of doing this I was able to actually tell my brain to "shut off" at various times during the day when I would be doing usual daily activities.
You see meditation is really just the art of not thinking your thoughts, just letting them flow through your brain like water flowing down a river, not stopping and holding on to them to ponder.
Now there are many different forms of meditation but a mindfulness meditation practice can be induced while engaged in many of the daily activities we do such as cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, listening to music and walking the dogs.
Anytime we are focused on the "now" when doing any certain activity we are engaged in and not letting any other thoughts creep in which can stir up negative emotions, we are doing a form of meditation.
One of the main benefits of meditation comes from not thinking any particular thought which may bring up negative emotion.
It's that relaxed state of being we get from not worrying on every thought that brings about amazing health and mental benefits.
In focusing only on the activity you are doing in the "now" and keeping your breath flowing at a relaxed pace, you are engaged in a form of meditation.
In doing any specific activity we really enjoy, most of us will enter the "now" state as our enjoyment for our hobby overtakes unnecessary thinking about every other little thing in our lives.
So if the thought of a meditation practice has seemed impossible because of the ideal of what meditation is, just know that you have meditated several times in your life already! The next step is to now dive into it on a conscious level, take the time out each day, even for just 10 minutes, to be alone, focus on your breathing, let thoughts go and explore the inner depths of yourself.
Try your best to commit to this for at least a 2 week period and I guarantee you will feel the positive benefits and want to find the time to fit it into your daily or at least weekly rituals.
We all strive for more happiness and health in our lives and meditation is one of the most important tools we have to achieve this.
I say conscious because all of us have meditated at times throughout our lives, however, may not have been aware that that's what we were actually doing.
We all think of meditation as sitting by yourself in solitude, lotus position, eyes closed, chanting OM's and having some dramatic spiritual experience.
While meditation can be practiced and experienced like this, and have some very profound benefits, it does not have to be like that every time.
One of the biggest obstacles for myself and probably many others is the feeling of not enough time or the ability to find that moment when you can have some solitude to really sit down, focus and meditate.
In a household with my husband, 4 young children, 2 dogs and 2 cats the chaos that ensues during each given day left me feeling like a personal meditation practice was going to be impossible.
I was always too busy, both physically in my life but also with the thoughts of chores, work, and the needs of my family running through my mind at every moment of the day.
It felt that I would have to gain some kind of superhero powers for me to be able to just sit still all alone and clear my mind for even 5 minutes.
I always felt I would be wasting valuable time that was needed to do all the other things I felt I had to get done.
In this day and age we are constantly bombarded with information and endless to-do lists that turning off our minds and just doing nothing seems wrong to us, like we are being lazy or unproductive.
But with all the proven research of how beneficial meditation is, I believe it is a must in this day and age for everyone to "go inside" at least on a weekly basis to feel more in touch with who we really are.
You will find that with meditation you will be more relaxed and content and have a clearer state of mind which will actually lead to more productivity when continuing on with your day.
However, it does not necessarily mean having to sit in solitude in a certain position and only reach success when we have some dramatic transformation.
Meditation can be done in any place one chooses and even while doing other activities.
While at the start of my meditation practice I did dedicate at least 20 minutes each evening to shutting myself in my room listening to guided meditations on you tube so I could "train" my brain and get that feeling of letting go of my thoughts and thinking of nothing in particular, however, after a few weeks of doing this I was able to actually tell my brain to "shut off" at various times during the day when I would be doing usual daily activities.
You see meditation is really just the art of not thinking your thoughts, just letting them flow through your brain like water flowing down a river, not stopping and holding on to them to ponder.
Now there are many different forms of meditation but a mindfulness meditation practice can be induced while engaged in many of the daily activities we do such as cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, listening to music and walking the dogs.
Anytime we are focused on the "now" when doing any certain activity we are engaged in and not letting any other thoughts creep in which can stir up negative emotions, we are doing a form of meditation.
One of the main benefits of meditation comes from not thinking any particular thought which may bring up negative emotion.
It's that relaxed state of being we get from not worrying on every thought that brings about amazing health and mental benefits.
In focusing only on the activity you are doing in the "now" and keeping your breath flowing at a relaxed pace, you are engaged in a form of meditation.
In doing any specific activity we really enjoy, most of us will enter the "now" state as our enjoyment for our hobby overtakes unnecessary thinking about every other little thing in our lives.
So if the thought of a meditation practice has seemed impossible because of the ideal of what meditation is, just know that you have meditated several times in your life already! The next step is to now dive into it on a conscious level, take the time out each day, even for just 10 minutes, to be alone, focus on your breathing, let thoughts go and explore the inner depths of yourself.
Try your best to commit to this for at least a 2 week period and I guarantee you will feel the positive benefits and want to find the time to fit it into your daily or at least weekly rituals.
We all strive for more happiness and health in our lives and meditation is one of the most important tools we have to achieve this.
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