Meditation: Finding Your Happy Place

DocTalk

By Heidi Kline, D.C.

Our minds process millions of thoughts; we are multi-taskers and usually take on way too much. Do you feel spread too thin to be there for yourself, your children, your partner? I know I do. A tool I have found to help is meditation. Meditation knows no specific creed or religion; it just is. It is the act of focusing our consciousness on an act or object. Perhaps that act is your breath or the object is a beautiful flower that you visualize in your mind. I always pick a plastic block that is 2x2x2. I don’t know why.

A misnomer of meditation is that the practitioner’s mind is supposed to be void of thought. This is simply not true. One must experience the thought like a wave, acknowledge it, let it pass, and then return to the focused consciousness. I found the library to be a useful resource for audio and written meditation guides.  Be picky though, some are good, some are not.

Meditation is like taking a bath. You light a candle or two, put on some calming music, and relax. It’s finding a place of silent stillness and focused consciousness daily— a ritual of sort.

Here is a simple meditation if you’d like to follow it:

• Find a quite space (if possible) where you will not be disturbed and sit in a comfortable position, either cross-legged or in a chair with both feet on the floor to ground you; hands placed open to the ceiling wherever they are comfortable.
• Devote the energy of your mind, body, and spirit to stillness.
• Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths to settle into this posture
• Turn your attention inward and be aware of the breath as it enters through your nose, goes into your lungs, travels down to your stomach area and then back out.
• Don’t worry if you find yourself thinking a lot. This is normal. Over time, you will gain the ability to quiet yourself more and more. Like anything else, it just takes practice.
• If any part of your body starts bothering you during your stillness, adjust your posture and continue.
• Finding and maintaining stillness of the mind and body is one of the hardest challenges of meditation. Practicing is the way to reach that peace of spirit, mind, and body.

I would like to invite you to try this as you make your way through the upcoming holiday season. It can be for as little as five minutes a day. Please let us know how well you do and what results you have…good or bad. If you are an meditation expert, you’re welcome to share your tips with us.  Peace be with you, Namaste.

Photo by Abigail Charlise