Meditation in a Busy Life

Our own hectic schedules are crammed with crises, to-do lists, issues marked urgent and overflowing in trays... Far away through everyday events, at your core, lies a place of quiet, calm, serenity, and stillness... Feeling connected to life as well as your core can be an everyday and effortless activity. Mark Thornton

Should you meditate? The short answer is "Yes! inch So if that's all you wanted to find out, you can stop reading right now. But I hope you don't because next I'm going to provide you with my take on the what?, why?, when?, where?, and how? of meditation.

First off I'll warn you that I am not a purist when it comes to meditation, so if you're looking for a lecture on Buddhist spiritual principles on meditation, you've arrived at the wrong place. I'm a busy, working parent who uses meditation to calm myself, to bring peace and joy into my heart, and to bring awareness and clarity into my life. If you're looking for more of a Buddhist perspective, you may try reading the author Lama Surya Das. But if you're looking for an approach less wrapped in spiritual language and more tailored to a contemporary, hectic life, then I hope this article helps you.

What

There are more formal definitions for what meditation is, but really actually comes down to is just a basic focusing of attention and quieting of the superficial thoughts of the mind. It's becoming aware of what's going on in your head rather than being on auto-pilot as usual. Meditation is a chance to:

* contact the inner stillness that is available beneath the level of your thoughts

* bring your calm attention to an issue or feeling you want to resolve

* stay relaxed at anytime under any situation

* relax your mind and body

* connect, on the spiritual side, with the innovative energy of life.

And guess what - you already do a form of meditation all the time. You focus attention upon replaying the argument you had with your spouse, on how fat you are, or on how little money you have. If non-e of those work, how about the ever popular, unconscious meditative refrain of "I look like crap today. " These are the kinds of negative things your mind turns to when you're asleep at the switch, when you're not consciously paying attention to what you're pondering.

When you decide to meditate, you choose to be consciously aware of where your attention goes and you can choose to let go of thoughts which don't support you in a positive way. When you decide to meditate, you can also choose to become quiet inside - something your own personal thinking mind rarely lets you do.

Why

Here's a short list of some of the benefits of meditation:

1 . Reduces stress amounts in the mind and body

2 . Can help with depression, fears and conflicted emotions

3. Improves self-confidence

4. Helps develop peace and happiness in your life - it can actually raise your innate ability to be happy

5. Slows ageing and improves memory

6. Helps heal the body, strengthen the immune system, reduce PMS, and relieve headaches

7. Lets you bring calm to any situation

8. Helps you to create a more purposeful life

9. On the spiritual side, many who else promote meditation state that it's a way to consciously connect to the creative force of the Universe or God

10. Permits you to focus your creative energy to attract the things you desire into your life.

When and Where

Anytime! Anywhere! Yes, you can put aside a specific time for meditation and sit in quiet contemplation for an hour or more in your meditation room that you created using feng shui, but you don't have to. I know that method certainly isn't an option in my life right now, but I nevertheless benefit greatly from meditation.

You can meditate in the shower in the morning, when you're in line at the grocery store, for 20 moments during your lunch hour, for a few minutes before bed, whenever - the options are endless.

Many meditation proponents recommend setting aside 10-20 minutes right when you wake up in the morning and right before bed. Those are good choices if they fit your personal schedule. Those times don't fit my schedule so I take 15 minutes during my day at work to meditate and i also slip in "mini-meditations" throughout my day when I'm standing in a line or waiting at a traffic mild or anytime I feel tension building in my body.

Find the time of day that works for you for a longer meditation, or slide in a mini-meditation while you're waiting for something or walking somewhere. Don't deny yourself opportunities to meditate because you think you can't discover the perfect time or place.

How

There are as many ways to meditate as there are experts to tell you about them. Should you be new to meditation, one of the most important things I want to tell you is that there are no rules except relax! Meditation is not a job or perhaps a competition. It is a path to calmness, gentleness, kindness, and relaxation.

Years ago when I first considered Meditation is a Quiet Revolution, I thought I had to conquer the relentless voice chattering away in my head, the relentless thoughts. And guess what - I could rarely quit the voice, so I thought I was a failure at meditation most of the time. I remember going to a two-day silent meditation escape where a teacher guided us in sitting meditations and walking meditations. By the end of the second day, I lastly experienced a quieting of my mind. I went home feeling incredibly joyous and peaceful. But by the following day my doubts about meditation returned. If it took me two whole days in silent meditation to get to a place where my mind was quiet, how was I ever going to fit meditation into my life?

I have since found that you don't have to silence your thoughts to meditate. You can simply become aware of the fact that you are thinking and then let the thoughts float away. A person beat yourself up over the fact that you can't stop the thoughts. In fact , it's better if you accept the fact that the mind can be a busy place and just turn your attention to what you want to focus on over and over again when your mind starts to stray. Think about your mind as a playful puppy and gently lead it back to where you want it to be. In time with practice, viewers it's easier to let go of the inner distractions and bring your mind to where you want it to be whether that is to internal silence or to focus on a specific issue.

Also, unless you are on a specific spiritual path, there is no specific way you have to sit down or stand to meditate. Sit, stand, walk, lay on your stomach at the beach and watch the waves -- whatever works for you is fine. Don't limit yourself because you think you have to be sitting a certain way - that's an excuse for not meditating.

How to meditate will probably depend on your purpose. I vary how I meditate depending on what I wish to gain from the meditation. If I'm stressed, I choose to focus on my breathing or on consciously relaxing different parts of my body. If I have a goal I'm trying to achieve, I focus on sending energy to that goal. If I want to connect with the lining peace that I know is somewhere inside of me, I focus on the silence in my mind and try to let all believed float away.

Here are a few different meditation techniques that I use depending on the situation and what I hope will be the result:

* Inhaling and exhaling meditation: My preferred breathing meditation is to put my attention on my breath as it comes in and out of the nose. I gently follow my breath there and notice how it moves naturally into and out of my figure. This is the place (my nose) where I find it easiest to keep my attention. I find this technique instantly soothing. Others suggest consciously noticing your breath as it passes from your chest down into your diaphragm or belly after which back up. When my attention drifts away from my breath, I gently bring it back. If I have some thoughts, I just note that I'm "thinking" and I shift attention back to the breath while allowing the thoughts to drift aside. I use breathing meditation to calm myself, relieve stress, feel happier and more at peace, to clear my mind, and to interact with the stillness of the Universe. This can be done in a longer meditation session or in mini-meditations at anytime during your day. When you are getting extremely upset at something, focus for a second on your breath and you will find it gives you a little bit of space within your emotional turmoil.

* Visualization meditation: If you have an issue that you feel needs your mental and emotional attention, the visualization meditation can often help. Breathe slowly and use your imagination. If you have a goal you want to accomplish, focus on the objective as if it were already complete - imagine how you will feel when your goal is complete and feel this particular positive feeling inside of you. If you have a person who you are feeling angry toward, imagine a positive energy inside of your body as a white light of kindness, and then surround an image of that person with the light while consciously saying "I forgive a person for any pain you've caused me. " (When you forgive someone and release your anger, it enables you to release negative energy stored inside of you, it allows you to react more calmly to that person, and it allows you to discover better solutions to any additional problems with that person. Forgiveness allows you to find peace within yourself. ) I use visualization meditations with regard to goals, for improving relationships, and for energizing myself. If I feel like I have low energy, I imagine that white gentle of positive energy flowing through my body.

* Awareness meditation: This is simply the process of becoming consciously aware of your individual actions, your body, or your surroundings. This is an easy way to reduce stress, bring quiet or stillness to your mind, as well as bring calm understanding to almost any situation. It can also be done anywhere, anytime for a few seconds or for much longer intervals. The technique is to simply notice what is happening. I like to use this when I need to relax or slow down, or when I begin feeling worried or uptight about something. The point is to calm the mind and allow you to consciously decide where to place your attention rather than allowing your untamed thoughts to keep running the show.

1 . If you choose action awareness, concentrate on exactly what you're doing and how you experience it. If you are walking, become aware of how the sidewalk looks and how it feels whenever you put your foot down to take a step. Become aware of the temperature of the air and the sounds in your environment. If you are eating, become aware of how your food looks, tastes and smells. Try to become aware of how your body feels as you eat. For anyone who is washing dishes, become aware of how you hold the sponge and what the water feels like running across your hands.

2 . If you choose body recognition, try the process of feeling the energy flowing in your body. Can you feel the energy in your hands? There is life pulsing through your fingers so there is definitely energy there! How about feeling energy in your legs or your shoulders? Can you locate any pressure in your body and bring awareness to it? Notice how it feels.

3. If you choose awareness of your surroundings, notice where you are, whatever you see, what it sounds like, what the temperature is, and whether there is silence that you can find between the sounds.

Common Issues

* "I can't stop thinking! " This is really common and as I discussed above, you don't have to stop contemplating. Allow the thoughts to be there, return your attention to where you want it, and let the thoughts float away.

* "When We quiet my mind, I get upset. " This means that you have something unresolved emotionally that you need to deal with. If it only occurs when you quiet your mind, then you are using continuous unconscious thinking to cover it up. Try to allow yourself to accept the feelings and let it run through you. Cry, punch a pillow, or get professional help from a therapist to help you work it if necessary.

* "My to-do list is running through my head and I'm coming up with things I avoid want to forget. " Keep a note pad next to you. Write down the item and then let it go from your mind. It will be within the pad when you're done meditating.

* "I don't have time for this. " Surely you have 2 minutes while waiting around at the traffic light or in line at the store. In fact , if you do a mini breathing meditation while waiting in line in the store, you're much less likely to get annoyed by the fact that the person in front of you is paying in pennies.

* "I keep falling asleep. " Try changing the time that you start meditating, your position (sitting or standing rather than reclining), or acknowledge that maybe you need more sleep and go ahead and take a nap.

* "I'm bored. " So what? Accept that your bored stiff. That is just a thought trying to divert you from your purpose. It is brought about by the fact that you are consciously choosing to slower your mind down. Don't let it derail you. Know that you can stand to be bored for 20 minutes and you will discover that your thinking mind stops using this as an excuse.

Adding meditation to your life can be truly rewarding and there is usually space for it. It can help you become more peaceful, healthy, self-confident, kind, relaxed and creative. It can help you come to understand yourself better and become more powerfully connected to your life. The information I've provided in this article can get you started and may be enough for most of us. But if you want to learn more about meditation and its benefits, please visit my website for additional recommended reading.