Finding Your Own Peaceful Way

Being Calm and centered

Meditation is a simple process. So simple in fact that there is a lot of confusion and misconception about it.

Most people have the idea they will sit, breathe – and then magically all their thoughts and cares will melt away.

Here’s the thing.

It’s the nature of the mind to think.

We can’t turn the mind and its thoughts off completely.

We can however, slow them down.

Shift them from the stage centre.

Meditation is a practise of taming the mind.

A practise of slowing down the thoughts – rather than erasing them.

Once you understand that, then the practice becomes easier.

The additional benefit of meditation is that it assists you in connecting with your inner wisdom.

Because, within all of us, lie all the answers to any and all questions we will ever ask or ever need.

Within ourselves lie all the Wisdom of the Past, Present and Future and it is always available to us.

Keep it Simple

Breathing

The easiest way to begin to give yourself a taste of relaxation, could be to simply pause for a few minutes, make it as simple as sitting with your eyes closed for a short period of time.

Close your eyes, take one deep breath, relax your body, and then just feel yourself breathe.

Just pay attention to your breathing. Don’t try to breathe in a special way. Just be aware of how you are breathing.

You will notice that after a few moments, your breathing will slow down. This is normal and natural as your body relaxes.

The whole idea of meditating especially if you’ve tried and thought it wasn’t working for you can be just too big a step.

We often have the unconscious idea that there are so MANY things we need to fix about ourselves that sitting breathing cannot possibly have any effect whatsoever.

If this is the case giving yourself permission to just breathe is a great way to ease into a practice of quieting yourself.

When you feel comfortable just pausing and breathing then extend that up to five minutes of sitting or breathing or counting. Do this once a day for a week or two.

Then you might try to do it for five minutes twice a day—first thing in the morning and in the early evening.

Our bodies and minds love routine. Doing your meditation (or your pausing) at more or less the same time every day, helps create a strong habit.

Try it while you’re reading or sunning yourself.

Counting

You might find a simple counting exercise helps you relax your mind.

On the inhale count one, on the exhale count two. Three on the inhale, and four on the exhale. Continue in this manner until you reach ten. Then begin again at one.

After a time, you may find your mind racing all over the place. This is very normal. Notice how wild it is and how easily it runs away with thinking. When you notice that you are not counting, just gently bring your attention back and begin again at one, and continue.

Our minds wander constantly, and at first you might find you only get to 5 or 6 counts before you find yourself distracted. This is SO normal.  Each time you notice the mind wandering, gently bring it back to the simple counting routine. That is all there is to it.

Even after a few days, you will begin to notice some benefits of the practice in your daily life!

Counting the breath or just feeling yourself breathe calms the mind and the body and the benefits of meditation are cumulative. The more often you meditate, the longer you continue to meditate, the better it gets and the more often you’ll want to do it. You will find yourself being more peaceful during the day when you are just going about your ordinary business. And if a crisis comes up, you will handle it in a calmer way.

Do it YOUR way.

The ideal time periods that are most suggested for practicing meditation are 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the later afternoon or early evening. Don’t be discouraged if it takes you quite some time to work up to this amount of meditation or even if you never get there.
Just do what you can. Five minutes every day is better than twenty minutes once a week.

Even with small periods of time you’ll be amazed at the changes in yourself and how this affects your life.

It doesn’t matter how you come to meditate, in time you’ll develop your own form of contemplation and peaceful practice.

Let your way be the Perfect Way for you. You can’t do it wrong.

Here are some affirmations from Louise Hay you might like to keep in mind to encourage and remind yourself to practice. Maybe you could write them on sticky sheets and put them around the house to jog your memory to practice.

Today I relax my mind and my body. I am safe.

I am centered, calm and balanced. I declare peace and harmony within me and around me.

The deep, intimate connection I am searching for is within me. I am all that I am looking for.

I am love. All is well.

If ever there was a time to let yourself slow down and practice simply being, it’s during summer.

Where has summer taken you this year?

Share your comments on my blog, I’d love to hear from you!

With love, Lucinda