Hello & Happy Weekend!
One quick note - rather than try to stick to a Friday 5:55pm post, I'm going to do my end of the week recap just sometime on Friday or Saturday. I've found that working my meditation habit into my daily life is not as cut and dry as I expected, so being flexible with the check-in based on what time I'm able to do my 5th or so meditation is just going to work better! :)
So let's dig into my daily thoughts.
Day 1
We were all home on this day (Columbus Day), so while I planned to make my practice habit time 3/3:30pm (a time I'm almost always at home), I wasn't sure what the day would hold and I did my meditation in the morning. I started with the 10% Happier app - something I've been very curious about. There are only about 7 free meditations here (I didn't realize all the rest came with paying accounts only, bummer), so I picked the one that spoke to me the most. It was called "Dictators of the Mind" by Joseph Goldstein, and it was a perfect first meditation. Not only was it short, but the main lesson was exactly what I needed in starting this challenge. He explained that when we leave our thoughts to their own devices, they can have great (sometimes dangerous) power, but when we learn how to observe them objectively, we are able to see them as really nothing much of anything. We gain control. With meditation, we are the masters of ourselves, our thoughts, and so our lives. Perfect sentiments for day 1.
Day 2
I chose one of the Tara Brach meditations on YouTube with the themes of Opening and Calming (here). This meditation was exactly as advertised - extremely calming. It was a little more of a challenge to keep my thoughts organized (probably just because it was longer, without a new profound thought to focus on the way Day 1 provided), but it was incredibly relaxing. By the end, I felt very, very relaxed and calm, and not ready to come out when it ended. Be warned - she ended this by ringing a gong or a bell to call you back to focus, and it was jarring for me! But I really liked this one overall.
Day 4
I counted this as my 3rd day of meditation, though some will probably debate this as meditation. This is my journey, though, right? ;) It was in the evening, at my yoga class, during Savasana. Here's a confession that my yoga teacher will probably nudge me for when she reads this: I don't always pay attention to the relaxation she guides us through in Savasana. I used to - relentlessly. But I've been doing this with her for 2.5 years now, and you know how that brain of ours can fall into a neural pathway its created with ease, once it understands it? It tries to consolidate and condense as much as it can. And when I lay down in Savasana now, my body already knows exactly what to do. I can reach the feelings of calm relaxation and flowing prana in seconds - without having to pay any attention to the systematic relaxation she's guiding us through. Her voice is calming and peaceful, though, and its presence is like beautiful white noise that keeps my mind and body in this relaxed state. My breathing relaxes into a calming pattern, and I can just be.
This leaves room for my brain to do its monkey thing, though, and sometimes I've let it. Lately, though, I've been trying to meditate instead. This time I was thinking of loving and healing thoughts (I recently kind of abruptly decided that I want to eat non-inflammatory foods only - I make all my decisions sort of abruptly like that) so that I could clear my body of toxins. As I was thinking this, I sensed a glowing ball of white light approach me from the top left corner of my head. I accepted it, and pulled it down into my head, and when I did I could feel a buzzing warmth on the tip of my nose. I focused on it, and then pulled it around my body. Sometimes I could visualize where it went, and then shortly after I'd feel the buzzing of where it had been. By the end of the meditation, it had passed over all of me and I felt energized. I also noticed a sort of mantra while it moved along its path. You might think I'm crazy for this, but I heard the ball of light saying, "it is love it is love it is light it is light", set to what I'd translate as a sort of tribal drum beat. Anytime a negative thought intrudes during my daily life now, I say that mantra in its place to clear it from my mind.
This wasn't exactly guided meditation (unless you count my instructor's voice in the background - but I wouldn't, because it wasn't guiding me). But it was a new experience that I think I reached only because of my work lately. Do you think I'm crazy? Probably, but that's okay. It's a practice that I will probably turn to again, because it was wonderful! And I love that new mantra.
Day 8
Here I am, beginning again. And not only did I begin again - I was proactive about it. I knew that my day was going to be busy, so I made sure to do my meditation early in the morning so that I wouldn't neglect it later. Since I still have the 10% Happier app, I decided to just pick something there to make it quick and simple. There was a quick informative interview video before the mediation began, which helped set the tone - I liked that. The meditation itself focused on the two biggest struggles that people have in meditation - feeling restless or getting too sleepy. I never would have thought to look at the struggles in this way to clear them out of the way, so it felt like a good way to begin again!
Day 9
I decided that today was the day to give Thich Nhat Hanh a try. My yoga instructor told me that he's a bit hard to understand so it might be difficult to get into meditations by him, but she also said that he is wonderful so I had to give it a try. I happened to think that his sentiments were kind of adorable. His meditation was a lot more of a series of gorgeous suggestive imagery than a specific practice, so going into this one you should already be in position and maybe even spend some time with your breath before pressing play. I loved the way he talked about smiling like a flower, and found his urging to be solid like a mountain helpful in an unexpected way. I did feel like it went on a bit long, and I was too restless by the end so I didn't end up finishing the last 5 minutes. If I'd had more time, I might have pushed through it, but I was too anxious about getting my kids off to school! (I'd done this one earlier in the morning but went back for a screenshot later for this post.)
Day 10
"Begining again" had become the theme of my week. I was determined to live this week with self-care and family service at the forefront of my mind. They aren't my natural mode of operations, so I fail and/or get frustrated a lot, and I started telling myself - just begin again. So early in the morning, knowing that we had a busy afternoon, I turned back to the 10% Happier app and was delighted to find a mediation on simply beginning again. It was perfect.
Day 11
You know, I never thought early meditation could be my jam, but since I'm trying to do my best this week I'd loosely scheduled it into my morning routine and found myself easily turning to it in the dark early morning hours. It's also nice to know that whatever happens the rest of the day, I did get at least a taste of mediation into my day. On this day, I wanted something a little different, so I just searched for a meditation on YouTube and found one that sounded great. It was wonderful! Calming and peaceful and effective. When I found myself getting antsy and ready to come out, I opened my eyes only to see that the video was seconds from ending! So this one was really perfect for me, and I think I may use this in the morning more often.
Day 12
On this day, we all woke up late and I didn't have time to meditate in the morning. I wasn't able to make it happen in the afternoon, either. So in the evening, after dinner, when the boys were playing with my husband, I put my sign on the door and chose another Tara Brach meditation. She gives a wonderful speech about fear vs love (which was interestingly fitting since I'd had that exact conversation with a friend earlier in the day), which was profound and beautiful. There was a specific point in this video that actually made me cry a little! The meditation itself comes towards the end of the video and is fairly short, but exactly what's needed after the lesson she delivers. She ended this one with her little gong/bell thing, too, so be ready for it ;)
Overall Thoughts on Guided Meditation
Well, I've liked exploring different types of guided meditations more than I expected to. I think that it's a great way to help you get centered and calm, though I can't say that I really reached anywhere deep or profound. I think that my original assessment of guided meditations (that they are "meditation lite") is still accurate, but I still enjoyed them more than I expected to and I think that I will turn to them more often than I used to. They encouraged me to look at certain ways of thinking that I wouldn't have done on my own, which had me going inward for understanding in my every day life - a valuable skill to practice! And so I see them as a great resource for finding profound ideas to ponder over.
My Favorite Experience
It's hard to choose! I want to say Day 4, but it wasn't even guided meditation! I also really liked Days 11 and 12 - I wonder if that's more about the actual meditations or that I'd started to feel more connected to the process? I also really liked basically everything Joseph Goldstein had to say!
My Least Favorite Experience
I'm hesitant to say Day 9....because I actually really liked him and the meditation! But it was a bit long, and it's hard to keep your mind focused in that dreamy place of symbolism and levity for so long when you're still kind of new at this. I think I was the most restless on Day 9, but that doesn't mean I disliked it!
I still have 2 more guided meditations to fit in before switching gears, but I gotta say - I'm kind of excited for this next type of meditation! I have a feeling I'm really going to connect with it, so I'm looking forward to it!!
I know there are not many of you here (and that's okay!) but I'm curious - did you meditate along with me this week? Or did you explore the idea of guided meditations at all? If you did, I'd love to hear from you! If you didn't, though, I'm just happy to have you along for the ride! Taking on a challenge in life is a lot less fun if you don't have anyone to report your findings to ;)
I'll be back bright and early Monday morning to chat about my next type of meditation! Have a gorgeous weekend until then. xo
One quick note - rather than try to stick to a Friday 5:55pm post, I'm going to do my end of the week recap just sometime on Friday or Saturday. I've found that working my meditation habit into my daily life is not as cut and dry as I expected, so being flexible with the check-in based on what time I'm able to do my 5th or so meditation is just going to work better! :)
So let's dig into my daily thoughts.
Day 1
We were all home on this day (Columbus Day), so while I planned to make my practice habit time 3/3:30pm (a time I'm almost always at home), I wasn't sure what the day would hold and I did my meditation in the morning. I started with the 10% Happier app - something I've been very curious about. There are only about 7 free meditations here (I didn't realize all the rest came with paying accounts only, bummer), so I picked the one that spoke to me the most. It was called "Dictators of the Mind" by Joseph Goldstein, and it was a perfect first meditation. Not only was it short, but the main lesson was exactly what I needed in starting this challenge. He explained that when we leave our thoughts to their own devices, they can have great (sometimes dangerous) power, but when we learn how to observe them objectively, we are able to see them as really nothing much of anything. We gain control. With meditation, we are the masters of ourselves, our thoughts, and so our lives. Perfect sentiments for day 1.
Day 2
I chose one of the Tara Brach meditations on YouTube with the themes of Opening and Calming (here). This meditation was exactly as advertised - extremely calming. It was a little more of a challenge to keep my thoughts organized (probably just because it was longer, without a new profound thought to focus on the way Day 1 provided), but it was incredibly relaxing. By the end, I felt very, very relaxed and calm, and not ready to come out when it ended. Be warned - she ended this by ringing a gong or a bell to call you back to focus, and it was jarring for me! But I really liked this one overall.
Day 4
I counted this as my 3rd day of meditation, though some will probably debate this as meditation. This is my journey, though, right? ;) It was in the evening, at my yoga class, during Savasana. Here's a confession that my yoga teacher will probably nudge me for when she reads this: I don't always pay attention to the relaxation she guides us through in Savasana. I used to - relentlessly. But I've been doing this with her for 2.5 years now, and you know how that brain of ours can fall into a neural pathway its created with ease, once it understands it? It tries to consolidate and condense as much as it can. And when I lay down in Savasana now, my body already knows exactly what to do. I can reach the feelings of calm relaxation and flowing prana in seconds - without having to pay any attention to the systematic relaxation she's guiding us through. Her voice is calming and peaceful, though, and its presence is like beautiful white noise that keeps my mind and body in this relaxed state. My breathing relaxes into a calming pattern, and I can just be.
This leaves room for my brain to do its monkey thing, though, and sometimes I've let it. Lately, though, I've been trying to meditate instead. This time I was thinking of loving and healing thoughts (I recently kind of abruptly decided that I want to eat non-inflammatory foods only - I make all my decisions sort of abruptly like that) so that I could clear my body of toxins. As I was thinking this, I sensed a glowing ball of white light approach me from the top left corner of my head. I accepted it, and pulled it down into my head, and when I did I could feel a buzzing warmth on the tip of my nose. I focused on it, and then pulled it around my body. Sometimes I could visualize where it went, and then shortly after I'd feel the buzzing of where it had been. By the end of the meditation, it had passed over all of me and I felt energized. I also noticed a sort of mantra while it moved along its path. You might think I'm crazy for this, but I heard the ball of light saying, "it is love it is love it is light it is light", set to what I'd translate as a sort of tribal drum beat. Anytime a negative thought intrudes during my daily life now, I say that mantra in its place to clear it from my mind.
This wasn't exactly guided meditation (unless you count my instructor's voice in the background - but I wouldn't, because it wasn't guiding me). But it was a new experience that I think I reached only because of my work lately. Do you think I'm crazy? Probably, but that's okay. It's a practice that I will probably turn to again, because it was wonderful! And I love that new mantra.
Day 8
Here I am, beginning again. And not only did I begin again - I was proactive about it. I knew that my day was going to be busy, so I made sure to do my meditation early in the morning so that I wouldn't neglect it later. Since I still have the 10% Happier app, I decided to just pick something there to make it quick and simple. There was a quick informative interview video before the mediation began, which helped set the tone - I liked that. The meditation itself focused on the two biggest struggles that people have in meditation - feeling restless or getting too sleepy. I never would have thought to look at the struggles in this way to clear them out of the way, so it felt like a good way to begin again!
Day 9
I decided that today was the day to give Thich Nhat Hanh a try. My yoga instructor told me that he's a bit hard to understand so it might be difficult to get into meditations by him, but she also said that he is wonderful so I had to give it a try. I happened to think that his sentiments were kind of adorable. His meditation was a lot more of a series of gorgeous suggestive imagery than a specific practice, so going into this one you should already be in position and maybe even spend some time with your breath before pressing play. I loved the way he talked about smiling like a flower, and found his urging to be solid like a mountain helpful in an unexpected way. I did feel like it went on a bit long, and I was too restless by the end so I didn't end up finishing the last 5 minutes. If I'd had more time, I might have pushed through it, but I was too anxious about getting my kids off to school! (I'd done this one earlier in the morning but went back for a screenshot later for this post.)
Day 10
"Begining again" had become the theme of my week. I was determined to live this week with self-care and family service at the forefront of my mind. They aren't my natural mode of operations, so I fail and/or get frustrated a lot, and I started telling myself - just begin again. So early in the morning, knowing that we had a busy afternoon, I turned back to the 10% Happier app and was delighted to find a mediation on simply beginning again. It was perfect.
Day 11
You know, I never thought early meditation could be my jam, but since I'm trying to do my best this week I'd loosely scheduled it into my morning routine and found myself easily turning to it in the dark early morning hours. It's also nice to know that whatever happens the rest of the day, I did get at least a taste of mediation into my day. On this day, I wanted something a little different, so I just searched for a meditation on YouTube and found one that sounded great. It was wonderful! Calming and peaceful and effective. When I found myself getting antsy and ready to come out, I opened my eyes only to see that the video was seconds from ending! So this one was really perfect for me, and I think I may use this in the morning more often.
Day 12
On this day, we all woke up late and I didn't have time to meditate in the morning. I wasn't able to make it happen in the afternoon, either. So in the evening, after dinner, when the boys were playing with my husband, I put my sign on the door and chose another Tara Brach meditation. She gives a wonderful speech about fear vs love (which was interestingly fitting since I'd had that exact conversation with a friend earlier in the day), which was profound and beautiful. There was a specific point in this video that actually made me cry a little! The meditation itself comes towards the end of the video and is fairly short, but exactly what's needed after the lesson she delivers. She ended this one with her little gong/bell thing, too, so be ready for it ;)
Overall Thoughts on Guided Meditation
Well, I've liked exploring different types of guided meditations more than I expected to. I think that it's a great way to help you get centered and calm, though I can't say that I really reached anywhere deep or profound. I think that my original assessment of guided meditations (that they are "meditation lite") is still accurate, but I still enjoyed them more than I expected to and I think that I will turn to them more often than I used to. They encouraged me to look at certain ways of thinking that I wouldn't have done on my own, which had me going inward for understanding in my every day life - a valuable skill to practice! And so I see them as a great resource for finding profound ideas to ponder over.
My Favorite Experience
It's hard to choose! I want to say Day 4, but it wasn't even guided meditation! I also really liked Days 11 and 12 - I wonder if that's more about the actual meditations or that I'd started to feel more connected to the process? I also really liked basically everything Joseph Goldstein had to say!
My Least Favorite Experience
I'm hesitant to say Day 9....because I actually really liked him and the meditation! But it was a bit long, and it's hard to keep your mind focused in that dreamy place of symbolism and levity for so long when you're still kind of new at this. I think I was the most restless on Day 9, but that doesn't mean I disliked it!
I still have 2 more guided meditations to fit in before switching gears, but I gotta say - I'm kind of excited for this next type of meditation! I have a feeling I'm really going to connect with it, so I'm looking forward to it!!
I know there are not many of you here (and that's okay!) but I'm curious - did you meditate along with me this week? Or did you explore the idea of guided meditations at all? If you did, I'd love to hear from you! If you didn't, though, I'm just happy to have you along for the ride! Taking on a challenge in life is a lot less fun if you don't have anyone to report your findings to ;)
I'll be back bright and early Monday morning to chat about my next type of meditation! Have a gorgeous weekend until then. xo
Comments
Post a Comment