Meditation.
Yikes! The dreaded “M” word. For some, meditation comes easy but for a lot of us, it’s down right scary. I think of the scene in Eat Pray Love where Julia Roberts’ character sits in lotus position and tries to meditate but is distracted with the clicking of a clock, bugs flying around and a busy mind. Some days this is what meditation is like for me too. I find it impossible to sit quiet long enough to quiet my mind, yet there are days I have no problem at all. I came to realize that, what I refer to as “formal meditation” (i.e. lotus position) is not the only way to quiet one’s mind and tune in to the inner you and all that is. There are many ways such as walking in nature or walking a labyrinth, or a stroll along the ocean.
Oh, I can hear the waves crashing now, the seagulls calling out, the infinite blue sky as it touches the blue-green ocean. Ahhhh. My happy place! But I digress.
Meditation is a way for spirit, the universe or inner you to communicate with you.
Meditation is about quieting your mind so you can hear the answers to your questions or receive the guidance you’ve been looking for. It’s a way for spirit, the universe or inner you to communicate with you.
For the record, our questions are answered immediately. Really, they are. We just aren’t tuning in to receive the answers. Often times we have our heads so deep in the sand there’s no reaching us or we have dozens of thoughts, doubts, worries buzzing around our brain that the answer is floating around, trying to find a way in but our heads are too full and there’s so place for it to come in. That’s where meditation comes in. Finding a way, that is comfortable for you, to quiet your mind.
There are many ways to quiet your mind. The challenge, however, is to discover what works for you. I’d recommend you try as many methods as possible until you find one or three that work for you. To get you started I’ve compiled a list of things I enjoy doing to quiet my mind:
- Yoga, T’ai Chi, or Qi Gong;
- Walk or hike in nature;
- Walk a labyrinth;
- Paint, draw, or write;
- Colour a mandala (free mandala created just for you – see link below);
- Strum a harp, guitar or other stringed instrument;
- Play a singing bowl; and/or
- Listen to a guided meditation.
I find guided meditations useful when I’m having difficulty focusing on quieting my mind because I can focus on the voice and words and before long I let go and find myself drifting off to that place where answers await me.
So, it doesn’t matter how you meditate, just that you do. Find what works for you and stick with it. The rewards are worth it!
I’m including a couple of useful links below to help you with your meditation. One is a singing bowl meditation I created one warm, sunny, summer afternoon on the banks of the Blanche river in Gatineau, QC and the other is a mandala I created just for you so get your markers and/or colours ready and have fun!
Enjoy!
Singing bowl meditation (6.8 mb / 7 mins 16 secs)
Mandala (115 kb)
Creativity is the calling of the soul 