Meditation isn’t as hard as people might think. I hear all sorts of things people think meditation is. So many meditation masters telling people how to meditate correctly, how you should do it, and shouldn’t. Not a fan of the “shoulds” myself.
What I have found is that meditation is nothing more than mindfulness. It does take some practice to be mindful, but simply being aware of your mind and yourself is all that is needed. From there, you choose what makes sense for you.
Some people do yoga as their meditation. Some people pray. Some run, jog, walk or bike as their meditation time. I sometimes do some of those things also. My typical practice of meditation is sitting on a meditation cushion in front of my fireplace, with soothing, brain wave sounds playing. I light some sage or Palo Santo. I choose a card from an oracle deck, read the meaning, think about how it applies to my day, write a mantra for it in my book, and then sit with it. I don’t think on it specifically. I just let my mind go and take me wherever it wants to go. Sometimes that takes about 10 minutes to do. Once I feel done sitting still, I begin to stretch and move. I do a series of stretches for my back, continuing to let my mind be free and wander. I do planks and push ups, then stand and stretch. Some days I also do about 8 minutes of Tai Chi. All in it can take 20-30 minutes. It is never exactly the same, but some of it is a routine.
This practice has taken two years to develop though. I started when I went to the acupuncturist, and she said that my muscles were so tight the needles were having trouble going in. I said to myself, I kind of need to do something about that. I started doing some stretching in the morning before getting out of bed. I told the chiropractor about this stretching ,and she mentioned that remembering to breath deeply while stretching is important. I used my watch to time my breaths. It has an app for breathing technique. I was then stretching and breathing in patterns for 10-15 minutes, and my meditation practice began. I noticed right away that my chronic pain was much better when I did it. If I missed a few days it definitely affected my arthritis and lower back pain.
About six months into this practice I began to study more about spirituality and actual meditation. I realized I was already doing it and decided to add something more for mindfulness. I started to focus my mindfulness with Buddhist chants and prayers. I bought a cushion to sit on to meditate and my practice moved from the bed to the fireplace.
Lots of time passed on the cushion. All the while deepening my ability to be still and allow my mind to just be present with itself and connect to spirit. Some days are better than others, of course, but most days I am free and sit quietly very well.
About six months ago my chiropractor suggested adding the Tai Chi a few times a week, which is how that was added. I took a course on controlling your own mind, and so that is where I learned about the brain waves.
I still do my chants, which I found on Amazon Music. I just do them while in the shower and getting dressed. There are 3 of them I listen to and repeat for 30-45 minutes while getting ready for my day.
None of this was taught to me directly. I tried different things. I listened to different teachers about meditation. I listened to my acupuncturist and chiropractor, and most of all, I listened to my higher self. I did what felt natural and helpful to me.
That is my most important message. You can choose how to meditate and connect. What works for me may not work for you. It doesn’t need to work for you. It only needs to work for me. You get to choose what meditation looks like for you. Sit still, move, stretch, listen to music, be silent, burn something or don’t, read something or don’t. You get to choose what it looks like for you. You don’t need to always do the same thing either. Mix it up a bit now and then and try different things.
The purpose of meditation is to ground and center yourself so that you can better connect to the energy of life that surrounds you. There is no correct way for you to do that. You get to choose. Listen to yourself and your higher self for the wisdom you already have about how to begin or deepen your meditation practice. That is the key word though. You will need to practice it. Like anything one sets their mind to, it will take practice to keep it going.
Namaste