A week ago, many of you started our 21-Day Meditation Challenge with my friend, spiritual wisdom teacher Deepak Chopra. With 14 days to go, I want to encourage you to stay with it. My first attempts years ago were start-and-stop, and I kept thinking, "I must be doing this wrong, 'cause my thoughts are speeding up rather than slowing down." "Let's meditate" felt like an invitation for my mind to go whirly-dirly. The chatter and thoughts were incessant; the more I tried to concentrate on a mantra or my breath, the louder and crazier the thoughts. Like CRAY-CRAY crazy (flying elephants and birds with toes, to name a few). That happened every time for about the first week. When I stopped fighting the thoughts -- let them be, come and go, didn't resist, and didn't TRY to do anything or have any expectation -- it gradually got easier.
I've since learned that the more stressed we are, the more forceful the chatter. It's like energy being released through the noise of your mind. Stay with it. With practice, like developing a muscle, your ability to BE STILL and BE ONE with the STILLNESS will come.
My life is better when I get still regularly. Call it meditation or call it quiet time -- doesn't matter. The benefits are the same. If you stay with the practice, it's like developing spiritual muscle. I promise you will become less stressed, more focused.
This post from qbsharon2 brought a :)...
This is by far the best thing I have ever done for myself, and as Deepak said, the experience is a progressive and evolving one, and I've experienced some very interesting things while doing it. And, like a snowflake, it's never the same experience twice. I find it deeply interesting, and sense that it's kind of a bottomless pit in terms of how far you can go with it, or rather how far it can take you. I've been keeping a meditation journal since I started. Looking forward to adding Deepak to my "repertoire." I love that it can be done in so many different ways and that I can bring many different intentions to it, depending on what I'm "working" on. A very creative experience. Fun stuff!
For me, meditation reorders the natural flow of life. Everybody has a flow or stream of consciousness that allows all things to move without resistance. Decisions come easily, things fall into place, and there's no conflict. You're vibing with life 'cause you're in the flow. Hopefully, we've all had glimpses of that way of being. How do you hold on to it? Practice consciously making space for the FLOW to show itself. Meditation is a way to get you there.
Love hearing your comments about how this is working or not working for you. For Kym Moss, who fell asleep during her first session, it's okay. Means you needed the rest, Kym. That's happened to me too. Tomorrow is another day. Give it another go.