Meditation: Not what you think
The purpose and benefits of meditation may not be what you think.
Several years ago when my stress level was at an all time high (for various reasons, many of them self-induced), I kept thinking that I needed to learn to meditate. Then I’d have a good day and busy myself with distraction, and once again procrastinate, putting off my intention for another time. The idea of meditation remained on the horizon out in front of me, whispering gently to the instinctual part of me that knew I needed it, luring me closer every time I felt squeezed from responsibilities or knocked down by stressful events. Basically I was telling myself, “I’ll get to it later when I have more time. When I start an exercise routine. When I decide to wake up earlier. I’ll do it when…” And so the story goes.
My reason for wanting to fit meditation into my daily routine was because of my narrow view of what it could do for me, mainly to provide some relaxation in a busy day. I say “narrow,” because as is true of any new-to-me activity, I don’t know what I don’t know. I have a notion about what benefit I’ll receive from a new activity. But until I work it into my schedule and actually do the thing repeatedly, will I experience a different outcome in my life. In thinking of meditation I imagined the result would be a feeling of calm, something to soothe my anxiety. After experiencing meditation over the course of years, what I discovered is far more multifaceted and rich.
Consider wanting to learn to ride a bike because it looks like a fun way to get some exercise. So you get a bike and begin riding every day. And yes, you notice your endurance increasing, your sense of balance improving. These are the results you were hoping for. However, you notice other improvements as well. Your clothes fit more comfortably around the waistline. You can carry things up stairs without feeling winded. You can squat to tie your shoe, then stand up again without holding onto a chair. But even more than that, you have discovered the joy of climbing a particular hill and being rewarded with a very gradual descent on the other side that carries you nearly a mile beyond with very little effort, the breeze in your face, the view of the valley and stream below, the house with a duck pond peeking behind blooming shrubs that infuse the air with a light floral scent - all things you never even noticed while driving in a car. You get to coast past it all, taking it in, feeling completely alive and rejuvenated. Maybe you enjoy these types of experiences so much that you find a community of riders and now you’ve made new friends with a similar passion. Bicycling, it turns out, has so many more benefits than you could have imagined. And it’s because you didn’t know what you didn’t know. And now that you do, you have a new connection to your inner self.
So that is my journey with meditation. I had sort of a one-dimensional idea of how it might help me. Once I practiced regularly and got the hang of it and fit it into my routine, my life improved in a multitude of ways.
Meditation adds structure to my day. I do it each morning and evening so it becomes bookends on my day, a type of self-care.
It makes space in my mind for downloads of valuable info. If I have a problem that’s weighing on me, often a solution or an option I hadn’t considered will simply drop into my mind either in the moment or sometimes a little later in the day. I believe meditation acts a bit like a zip file for my brain! It neatly condenses and organizes thoughts in my head and makes room for something new and ingenious to percolate.
By using my breath to get in the zone, meditation has improved my breathing habits and ability to stay present, which is invaluable for a person who spends too much time in her head. I can better direct my attention away from the future where all my what-if’s reside, and away from the past where rumination occurs.
When I meditate, I am connected to consciousness, and I feel supported. Often I pick up on signals (energy) around me and notice patterns or trends happening in the collective before others recognize them. This can be useful when planning for the future
When I meditate regularly, I sleep better.
Probably the best thing about meditating is being regularly rewarded with invaluable synchronicities. Throughout the day, I’m sharper and more likely to notice opportunities that may have previously passed me right by! I intentionally use the phrase, “rewarded with synchronicities” because I recognized that the Universe is a co-creative force and I am communicating with something far bigger and more powerful than me.
And here’s one I never would have expected: a community of like minded and beautiful souls! I joined a group that meets at a local park on Sunday mornings to meditate together. Did you know that group meditation unleashes even more benefits and magic? Through coherence created by many individuals, people can literally change the energy in their field, in a group, a community, even the world when enough of us meditate together! (Read this, and this.) A better world is nearer than our minds alone are capable of conceiving, and we can break through barriers created by time and space.
If you Google “benefits of meditation,” you’ll probably find several more, and some will be even better aligned with your personal interests and senses than what I have suggested. The thing I like about spiritual and personal development is that it is entirely customizable to what appeals and works well for each person. While one person may enjoy using headphones with binaural beats to get in the meditative zone, another may prefer to be sitting on a blanket outdoors and listening to the sounds of nature. While one individual may choose to sit cross legged in a lotus position, another may prefer standing meditation. There is no wrong way to meditate, only variations; try several and notice how you connect, to your body and to the great beyond. If you manage to pretzel yourself into a full lotus and spend the next 20 minutes focused on how uncomfortable you are, there is probably a better option for you. (You could always practice daily stretching exercises that bring you to a more resourceful place for sitting lotus style, if that position is your goal.)
For me, the bottom line is learning to tune in and give myself what I need for inner strength. Here’s what we are facing… more unpredictability in the economy, the weather patterns, in the systems that govern us, how we see our world and our relationship to it as technology continues to blind us with data that blurs the line between truth and illusion.
And here’s how meditation can help… it improves balance, intuition, and trust in one’s body and its signals. Generally meditation provides a calm center from which to operate. This is the core mission of Calm Beneath, and my reason for stepping out from my comfort zone and into the role of educator and guide. I began digging for ways to help myself feel more prepared for the future and offset my fear of it.
As I have discovered ever increasing amounts of science backed info along with practical tools like meditation, my mind is blown at how we have basically fallen asleep to our own power. Years of research have helped me uncover a user’s guide for our divine bodies and brains. We are actually well equipped to cope in times like this, it’s just that through distraction and conditioning, we’ve lost touch with ourselves. We are living in an extraordinary time right now as one world crumbles and another is being born. We have a choice about the world we manifest; the more quickly we come up to speed on what is possible for us, the less pain and discomfort we will need to endure.
Begin a meditation routine today and track your progress through the coming weeks and months, and feel more empowered to cope with what lies ahead. Stay connected in this community and others like it and together we will welcome a new era by our design!
