Meditation

WEEK THREE — We Are More Than Our Physical Bodies

Why would you meditate in the first place? When was the last time you spent alone time? Not thinking about all the areas of your life: Kids, Husband or Wife, Finances, Job, and anyone of a thousand other areas. When was the last time you really spent not thinking about anything…blank? It has probably been a very long time if ever. And, that is to be expected because as humans we are conditioned, from birth through childhood into adulthood and old age to remove ourselves from the present moment. So much has happened in the past, guilt and understanding, sadness and joy, missed opportunities and winning moments, bad decisions and good decisions that living back there offers safety and familiarity.

And, however comfortable and familiar the past is, the future is unknown, a mystery. How will my kids turn out, will I be rich, what will happen to my marriage, where will I be working? But the truth is, both places the past and future fails to hold the sheer force of the present moment. All your power to create remains in the present moment…it is what is going on in this nanosecond that offers you the ability to design your own reality.

So, what does this have to do with meditation? Well, the best chance you have to access answers to many of the questions that you entertain on a daily basis await you, in the present moment — disconnected from your thoughts. Meditation “is a holistic discipline by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive “thinking” mind into a deeper state of awareness.” By transcending “Thinking” we can access higher levels of consciousness that have greater ability to “know” what is in our highest good. Our thoughts, which have been conditioned over many years of experience, perspective and our unique understanding of the world, become for many us the guiding force behind our decision making. But, our thinking brains are clouded.

Stuck in the past or focused on the future — our brains — our thoughts fail to see the grand picture…because its perception is limited.

Here it is…have you ever made a decision right away and knew it was the right decision for you, but then after “Thinking” about it you changed your mind to find out that you should have gone with your instinct? That’s it! Meditation offers you the opportunity to connect with the “Higher” part of “You” (and your guides, which we will not discuss here) that sees the bigger picture of your life’s path. Or, have you ever been “In the Zone?” Athletes refer to it as “In the Zone” because of the ability to achieve “a mental state of focused concentration on the performance of an activity, in which one dissociates oneself from distracting or irrelevant aspects of one’s environment.” In layman’s terms, everything goes your way. “In the Zone” is the same as “In the Present Moment.” That is the state you achieve through meditation.

So, meditation is typically done in a quiet place, free from distraction so your mind can go silent allowing you to connect with higher levels of awareness. But, I have found that as long as you are able to clear your mind you can meditate almost anywhere. As long as you are able to become grounded in the present moment unfettered with thoughts of past or present you can connect to your higher self. I have meditated at work, hiking, before sleep, walking, sitting on a park bench, at the beach, in the forest, or even in the bath…it all works.

I can say that since I have realized the power of meditation, I often consult myself for answers rather than seeking advice from others. Many business and personal questions have been answered in the bath, at night, when everyone else is sleeping. The water grounds me in the present and is just a good medium, for me, to quite my thinking. For you, that place could be anywhere if it offers you the ability to quite your thoughts: In nature, on a walk, in a bath, right before falling asleep, right after waking up, in the shower, on a long or short drive (unless you are the driver). As long as you can find a place to quiet your thoughts, you can meditate.

Next time you are at the crossroads and don’t know which path to take spend 5 minutes sitting, standing or laying down and quietly drain your mind of any thoughts and you will be surprised to find out that the answer to your question lies inside.