Paramahansa Yogananda said, “Learn to be calm and you
will always be happy.”
People meditate to find this sense of calm, inner peace, and to align with their Higher Self to experience the spark of divinity that is within each of us. Some meditate for the health benefits, including, reduced stress, improved immune system, lower blood pressure, and enhanced sleep.
Yet for many, when they sit down to meditate, the process doesn’t work. This is, at least in part, due to our conditioning of believing that meditation means sitting in lotus position and having no thoughts while chanting ‘Om,’ following our breath, or reciting a mantra.
Those are fine ways to meditate. I learned in that
manner and became certified to teach a mantra-based meditation practice.
However, that’s not the only way to meditate, and it’s not the way I meditate these
days.
Over the years, I’ve come to realize we are all
different, and therefore, it makes sense that the way we get to the calm, peaceful,
heart-centered state, will differ from person to person. Based on this, I introduce
the “Non-Meditation-Meditation Process.”
Using this process, you simply do whatever feels
relaxing to you. This may be cutting your grass, driving a tractor
through a field, taking a bubble bath, basking in the sun at the beach, or
talking a walk in the woods. For me, it’s sitting in the afternoon shade
of an oak tree and stargazing on a clear night. Any activity in which
you are fully present can be meditative.
So, instead of forcing yourself to sit in an
uncomfortable position and trying to meditate like a yogi, figure out what
makes you feel calm and relaxed. Then, take some down time, engage in that
activity, and see how you feel.
This customized process takes away the pressure of
meditating—since it’s not really ‘meditation’ and because you are customizing
the process based on your desires—you can’t do it wrong!
It also resolves the greatest challenge people have with
meditation—“I have too many thoughts.” Well, guess what? We all have a lot of
thoughts! Research has shown we have between 6,000 to a mind-boggling 70,000 thoughts
per day. Even using the low-end number, that’s a lot of thoughts. Based on these
statistics, we are bound to have a thought—or a bunch of thoughts—in whatever we
are doing, including the Non-Meditation-Meditation process.
If you have a thought during the process, so what? Let
your thoughts come and go. Watch a cloud float by or gaze at a twinkling star in
the night sky. Eventually, your thoughts will lessen and if it was something
important, it’ll be there when you are finished with your Non-Meditation Meditation
practice.
“It is indeed a radical act of love just to sit down and be quiet for a time by yourself” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
This blog was written by Sedona Hutton, author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction sprinkled with spirituality.
*
THE PERFECT LAP, His job is
to drive fast. Hers is to put the brakes on him. When sparks fly, will love
cross the finish line?
Reader Review Excerpt: “It was a heartfelt, sweet, foster child
romance that gave me all the feels! Through it, we see how people can rise
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THE PERFECT LAP is a Reader’s Favorite Finalist
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CLOUD WHISPERS: A novel of family and forgiveness with a strong spiritual
message: The daughter she gave away. The family she always wanted. The journey
to redefine her fate….
Reader
Review Excerpt: “A
beautifully woven story filled with love, loss, betrayal and renewal. It
touches the heart of the reader as life unfolds for Liam and Katie. Peppered
throughout the story are spiritual awakenings and life lessons which help to
clarify many of the “why’s” in each of our lives. While Cloud Whispers includes
passionate love stories, it also feeds your spirt and renews your soul. The
gifts from this novel are unforgettable.”
CLOUD WHISPERS was
awarded the IPPY Bronze medal winner for visionary fiction, Reader’s Favorite
Finalist for visionary fiction, and an Official Selection in the Summer eBook
Awards for New Apple Literary. CLOUD WHISPERS purchase link: https://amzn.to/2IZ6DRc.
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Love, & Joy blog newsletter, please click here: https://www.sedonahutton.com/.
Photo by Artem
Kovalev on Unsplash.
