It can be challenging to stop doing and shift our focus to simply being—pausing to give ourselves just a moment; closing our eyes and taking in a few deep breaths. This practice is very simple, so why do we struggle with accessing our inner calm? Why are we so resistant to the simple practice of quieting the mind?
Take a moment, right now, and focus on feeling your body as it breathes. Is it shallow? Do you feel disconnected from your body, worried, anxious? If so, close your eyes and take in a long, deep breath through your nose. Place your focus on the movement of oxygen as it travels into the lungs, allowing your belly to expand as oxygen is received.
On the exhale, as you slowly liberate the breath through the mouth, feel the belly relax and the lungs decompress, as the converted oxygen, now carbon dioxide, is expressed out into the world. Do it again, maybe a third time.
As you relax, letting go of the tension, can you feel the tightening in your chest release its hold, your shoulders dropping down a notch or two, your arms relaxing?
Just taking a couple of minutes to focus on our breath can really make the difference with what we carry forward into the next segment of our day. So why not offer yourself the gift of this good-feeling focus?
Image by Hannah Williams from Pixabay
Meditation: A Tool For Clarity
Meditation has the power to break us open as we let go and allow ourselves to loosen the mental grip on how we view life. Just sitting quietly with a focus on breathing can contribute to an awareness of who we are in the present, absent the influence of perspectives, assumptions, or interpretations from our past. The past has its place, but being awake to how monkey-mind uses precedent to influence our present experiences—clogging up our stream of awareness by focusing on what has happened in the past, reinforcing a doped up haze of illusion—can free us in so many unexpected ways.
A consistent, daily meditation practice is a rhythmic art—homeostasis for the Soul. Over time we may not even notice what’s not present in our thinking . . . like fear, doubt, guilt, or blame.
What is noticeable is the well-being that is felt, moments of satisfaction, increased confidence, feeling more relaxed and engaged with the world around us—appreciating a friend, the beauty in a flower, being stopped in our tracks by a fiery sunset. That’s one of the most pleasing returns we can gain from such an investment—simple abundance, simple pleasures!
Owning What Belongs To Us
When we are young we are like sponges, taking in the world around us. In order to survive we are driven to be accepted by our tribe—we want to please those who have the power to keep us alive by mimicking our surroundings in order to fit in. We don’t know who we are yet, at least not consciously at this point. We haven’t lived long enough to develop any degree of discernment regarding our new environment.
A Scenario To Contemplate
Imagine your little three-year-old self. Your father is trying to focus and you keep distracting him, you want his attention. He becomes agitated by the distraction, and in short order he loses his temper and barks at you. You feel diminished and ashamed, you’ve done something wrong. If this scenario is repeated, over time it becomes deeply embedded in the subconscious mind, maybe for a lifetime. Your three-year-old self doesn’t have the tools to discern the pressure Dad may be under, or something similar in an adult world. Children will absorb shame and blame without question . . . “I am not enough”.
Now, fast forward to a future self. You’re twenty-eight years old. Someone barks at you and you respond like a three year old. What happened?
The past is making its way into your present—overriding the moment with feelings of embarrassment, shame, or guilt. Are you aware of this as it is happening (conscious), or are you allowing the past to take control (unconscious)? If the latter, the person who barked at you, or at least you experienced it as such, is most likely going to receive your wrath.
If we’re not present and awake in moments like this, we tend to blame the other for how we feel. When we do that, we are giving our power away, forfeiting control. From unconscious mind we are limited to reacting, not consciously choosing.
If we’re awake and present in that moment, the realization that our thinking has been hijacked becomes available and we are better equipped to respond, choosing instead to take responsibility for how we feel, versus reacting from the past.
That’s how we recalibrate. We understand that our feelings of not being enough is a past trauma reliving itself in our present. No blame or projecting the responsibility of how we feel onto others. The past is not what’s before us now. The present moment, our only point of power, is a new opportunity for us to focus our awareness on what we want to experience, contributing to a future we want to live into.
When we are in that mindset—not blaming others for how we feel—we open up an access that wasn’t available to us before. In that place of ownership, others respond differently to us. We experience more grace and ease in our world. Life is transformed from this state of ownership.
When we commit to a practice of conscious awareness, paying attention to what we are thinking and feeling, we take control of our lives. By giving silence a say, even when it’s only a momentary pause in our day, we are sending out an invitation . . . “Hey, new opportunities, I’m open and receptive!”
When we ask for what we want, it’s then up to us to show up and receive the answer— quieting the mind-chatter and then listening, paying attention. The answer will come and the opportunities will avail themselves to us in ways we might not have even thought possible. This is a formula for how we create our world . . . one thought at a time!
“At first glance one would assume the rock impenetrable, but over time the subtlety of water’s quiet persistence will overcome any obstacle. “
Meditation has the power to open us up to new adventures in thought, action, and being. Like the slow drip of water against a rock—over time the solidity of the rock’s mass gives way to the fluidity of water. At first glance one would assume the rock impenetrable, but over time the subtlety of water’s quiet persistence will overcome any obstacle. Its unceasing tenacity wins the day!
So it goes with meditation . . . as we give ourselves over to this subtle, but powerful practice, we let go of the rope and just be. No expectations, assumptions, or judgements, not in this moment—here we quietly listen and breathe.
Living our best life can start with a simple commitment to just sit in silence each day, giving our focus to what wants to be heard—guiding us from within. And as we do, we serve ourselves and the world, one thought at a time.
Have an awesome day!
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