Meditation: let it go…


It’s time for a bit of an update on how meditation is going! I’ve really been giving it a shot and thinking about it every day. I’ve gotten messages and tweets from others sharing what they’ve found and it seems as though I just so happen to be clicking on more meditation articles than usual (or, is it possible that, meditating is a fad/trend right now?).

One answer to my own post yesterday about how to deal with anger? Meditation. I tried it yesterday and I’m sure it helped, but I was still too wound up to even sit still for as long as I’m sure I needed to to really get something out of it. So here’s a little meditation rundown from a few of my days:

Day 1) The same day I wrote out my meditation post: I found out a whole bunch of information just from a quick search online. That same day entrepreneur, author, and overall awesome Marie Forleo shared a video about how she deals with stress and one of her methods is meditating (if you’ve never heard of Marie Forleo or watched one of her videos, I highly recommend watching – I love ’em)! It feels like all signs are pointing towards me to get onto the meditation peace train.


Day 2) The following day: I woke up late(r) because my alarm clock didn’t wake me up. I started meditating at 9:05. It felt like about 10 minutes had gone by (though it was probably less) and I looked at the clock: still 9:05. Turns out the clock’s battery died. My brother Luke joked that I must be a pro-meditator if I got what felt like 10 mins of meditation into less than a minute, ha! I wish/maybe one day!

Day 3) I woke up at 8:45 and tried meditating. Mosquito buzzing. Cold. Cats meowing/hungry. Gave up. I tried again later on the balcony. I sat on a blanket with a pillow in my lap (which was much more comfortable and felt more natural than the other positions I’d tried before). It was very sunny and warm outside. I tried doing more of what I’d read about meditation within the past couple of days. Rather than trying to clear my mind I did what I’d read about before and more recently (comments from No More Dirty Looks’s meditation post were very helpful) in just having thoughts, not paying much attention to them, and letting them go. It was easy! I never knew I could just “let my thoughts go” like that and I thought they’d stick around after I thought “let it go”, but they really did just float away and out of my mind. After a little while I stopped noticing so much the noises of people and construction (it seemed to be an unusually loud day) and instead the birds chirping, the wind blowing my hair against my face, and the fresh smell of nature. I felt better and lighter. I didn’t even know how much time had gone by and it wasn’t a big concern of mine. I went in when it got too chilly. Soon after, a huge wind and rain started.

I’ve tried meditating a few times since then but I’ve, unfortunately, not been able to sleep where I slept better those couple of days and wake up feeling not well-rested. Because of this, my meditation has suffered and I’ve noticed that my days as a whole are unorganized and not nearly as nice as they had been. Hopefully the weather stays as lovely as it has been so far today (on the first day of summer!) and I’ll be able to practice meditating on my balcony.

This post has already gotten super long so I’ll leave it at here for now and I’ll fill you in on what more I’ve learned in my next update. The good news is meditating is much easier than I’ve made it out to be/thought it was in the past.

For those who signed up for Pure Citizen emails, check your inbox because yesterday’s newsletter included the free downloads I mentioned in my previous meditation post! Or you can even download them directly from Sounds True by signing up here.

Have any of you tried meditating since my meditation post? What do you think of when you think “meditate”?

Comments

Brandi {not your average ordinary}
22 June 2011 - 7:38 am

I need to start meditating. And my gratitude practice has completely fallen away over the last few weeks. Well, I guess I have all the time in the world now to get it started again, right? The good part is that now that I’m not overworked from school, I’m less likely to fall asleep every time I try meditating.

Eva
23 June 2011 - 12:13 am

Brandi – That’s a problem I had the past few days, hah… being too sleepy! I hope you get to do it soon. It’s so nice to just sit in calm, even if only for a few minutes.

Misty :)
23 June 2011 - 4:32 pm

This is definitely something I am going to be looking into actually doing! Once I get my whole routine down for exercising and getting that into my normal every day habits. I’m not sure if you mentioned it in this post, your last post, or if you’ve mentioned it at all but do you recommend meditating in the mornings, afternoons, or evenings? Or does it not really matter when you do it? For me, I’m thinking mornings would probably be best. That way I start the day out stress free and hopefully it continues to stay that way. Plus, it’ll put you in a better, more relaxed mood. Which is always good to start the day off with!

Eva
23 June 2011 - 7:11 pm

Misty – I hope you do give it a try and I hope you don’t mind if I answer your question on my next meditation post – I love that you asked me a question on this topic! : )





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