Meditation: Sit Still and See What Happens

You know you’re on the right track for writing your column on wellness and community when you’re eating lunch in your local neighborhood coffee shop and someone starts talking to you about their meditation practice and you were just thinking about writing your next column on meditation! I figure that’s as big of a sign from the universe that I’m going to get this week, so I’ll go for it.

“Meditation” is always an interesting word to bring up with people. Usually the first thing people say when someone brings up the idea of meditating is, “I can’t meditate. My mind is way too busy.” Well, the good news is this: your mind isn’t supposed to be blank, nor will it ever really be blank. So, let’s just take that excuse and chuck it out the window. Next reason you can’t meditate?

Usually the next reason is this: “I don’t have time.” Ok, I hear you. Neither do I. I mean, I have to get up, brush my teeth, take a shower, eat something and I really don’t have five minutes to sit still because, well, my mind is going a million miles an hour and I have a big meeting at 9 and I have to mentally prepare myself for it, and, wait! Isn’t meditating a form of mind preparation? Well, I don’t have time to Google that, so I’ll just keep rushing around the house because I know that’ll really put me in the right mindset to be in this big meeting.”

Sound familiar? News flash: no one has time but everyone should meditate, even if it’s just for five minutes a day. Meditation will help you feel more relaxed and calm. It will help you focus better on what you’re doing. It will decrease your blood pressure and your stress levels. It may even help you feel happier. Now, you can’t devote five minutes to something that does all that?

Let me ask you another question: Have you ever been on the beach, on a hike, at a yoga retreat, on vacation…… you’re relaxing or maybe playing a game with your children. You may be walking on the beach or just sitting in the sand, listening to the waves lap up against the shore. You don’t really notice what time it is. Time is moving forward but you’re unaware of it. Your mind isn’t “blank” per se, but is more “focused” on what you’re doing. You might even tend to say that you’re really “present.”

Another example might be when you’re out for a run or you’re skiing or playing basketball with friends. You’re moving and breathing and sweating and completely focused on the task at hand. Another example might even involve folding laundry, vacuuming or washing dishes (some classic books on mindfulness use folding laundry as an example of a task you can do that will get you into the zone). The one thing that all these tasks have in common when it comes to your mindset is that you’re completely focused on the task at hand. It doesn’t mean your mind is blank; it just means you’re not attached as much to the thoughts in your head.

OK, you say, but if that’s meditating, then I’m all over it! I had no idea the beach was a place to meditate! Well, yes, the good news is meditation is completely portable and when you’re on the beach or in any other cool place, you can do it. But the other side of the coin is that meditation, in order to have the most lasting effects, needs to be done regularly, even on those boring days when you’re home. So, how do we do it then?

Well, it’s not all that complicated. You find a place to sit in your house and you sit still, close your eyes and take deep breaths to start. Then, you just stay there and keep breathing. That’s all there is to it! It might sound easy, but honestly, it’s not. So, set your alarm, set a timer on your phone, set a timer on your microwave. Promise yourself you’ll sit until you hear the alarm. Do that two times in one week, and then add a day. Keep doing it, until you are up to five days a week. Don’t make judgments about how the sessions went: “That was a good one, I really was able to sit still” or “I was moving and thinking the whole time, that session was really bad.” Just do it for the main purpose of getting into the habit.

Once you’ve created the habit it gets easier. And even better, you start to reap the rewards right away. The “feeling good, less stress, lower blood pressure, feeling a little bit happier, even, dare I say, a lot happier because you’re dedicating time to you.” All of that starts immediately!

What are you waiting for? If you’re looking for help and more information, contact me.