A Simple Start to Your Meditation Practice
Remember your beginning a practice. You didn’t wake up one morning and know how to play the flute or bake a loaf of perfect bread or speak fluent Spanish…these things need to be practiced. If you bake a loaf of bread every morning for a few weeks you will begin to get good at it. If you do it every day for 6 months it will begin to influence your days, what time you go to sleep at night so that you can be up in the morning to bake that new loaf.
Same with meditation, the practice of it, the repetition creates a structure that you can release into and …. then before you know it the days, weeks and months have passed by and you are well into your practice. You will feel the calmness that sitting in silence can bring into your life.
Meditation is about the present moment. .
To begin: Say yes to practicing today. Find a quiet spot that you can go to each day at the same time. Morning is one of the best times. For me, I wake up and I meditate. Then I have this for the rest of the day. Also in the morning, everyone is asleep so its easier for me to be still.
Sit on a cushion on the floor or on a chair, bring a shawl or a blanket, get comfortable. You can create a space that best brings you joy. A candle, a bowl of flowers, a crystal bell…these things are only necessary if they comfort you.
Sit. It’s best to sit with a straight back so if you are on the floor slip a cushion under the edge of your butt. If you prefer a chair, find one with a straight back that supports you when you lean against it.
Close your eyes and listen to your breath. Inhale, exhale…listen. Allow the thoughts to run through you like a flowing river. Imagine for a moment that you are standing on a bridge with a rapid river flowing below. Allow your thoughts to be the water, let them sail by.
Don’t try to stop the thoughts. If you’re a list-maker like me, then let the items for today’s list come, let all the thoughts be what they are…let them flow through. In time with practice, the mind will quiet. You will begin to see the effects of your practice.
Let us begin
Day 1 set the timer for three minutes, yep, only three minutes.
Day 2 set the timer for five minutes.
Day 3 set the timer for seven minutes then stay at seven minutes for a week.
When you can sit for seven minutes and focus on breathing and allowing the thoughts to flow through then jump to ten minutes a day. Gradually build up your practice to 20 minutes.
And wow! You are meditating! And you are absorbing the wonderful benefits of your practice. Just as you would enjoy the delicious crusty bread from your daily bread baking sessions.
To find out all the benefits of meditation like stress reduction, lowered blood pressure, treatment of insomnia and IBS, and the reduction of anxiety, click this link. You can also google hundreds of articles on the benefits of meditation.
For today, make a commitment to sit and listen to your breath and be present, on your special meditation cushion, in a quiet place for three minutes. You will feel the transformation.
Sending love & light to all of you. Let me know how I can help you get started with your practice.