Intro To #30DaysofMeditation: Meditation Mentation.

Meditation for Villains I first started meditating the winter of 2010. I was reading a slew of books by Jack Canfield, who talked about doing it, and so one night I just decided to try it. I sat down on the floor, cued up "Adagio For Strings" by Samuel Barber, closed my eyes, and breathed in.

And my life completely changed from that point on.
It's hard to describe what happens when I meditate, because the sensations and the experience can be different each time, and definitely are different for each person. And talking about it sounds a little "woo-woo", which is just not me, and it's what kept me from meditation for so many years in the first place. But basically, it's the most intense calm I've ever experienced, and it can be trippy-er than acid. And again, your experience will most likely be different, but for me, I know I'm doing it right when my whole body starts tingling and I start smiling and weeping at the same time. 
Yeah. I know. It sounds a little crazy. But the experience of it? Is amazing.
Meditation is both the easiest and the hardest thing I've ever done...it depends on the day (and you'll probably find this to be true, as well). Some days we're feeling good, peaceful - things are vibing, we have plenty of time to do everything we want to do, we feel rested and calm. Meditation is like a Lionel Ritchie song on those days - easy as a Sunday morning.
And then there's the days when we feel fucked (and not the in the good way). So much crap is going on, we can't seem to think straight, we're rushed and hurried and actually kind of pissy. Those are the days when meditation feels impossible.
And it's also the exact days when we need it most.
Here's the thing - meditation is a practice. It's a practice because it's also a skill, and the skill is the ability to quiet your mind and calm your body. 
Relax. 
Connect with a higher energy. 
On demand. 
The people I know who tend to have the most trouble with meditation are the ones who also have the hardest time relaxing. They could be lying on a white sandy beach on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific ocean, being handed a tropical drink by Jennifer Aniston, and would still be all geared up with to-do lists and anxious thoughts and ridiculous worries. They can't appreciate the relaxing quality of their surroundings because they've never learned to appreciate the purpose of relaxation in the first place. They think that, by relaxing, they're being lazy. Wasting time. 
So you can imagine how easily they take to sitting around for 20 minutes with the purpose of not thinking or saying anything. 
And I totally get it! 
Because before I learned first-hand the radness of meditation, I was exactly the same way. When I've got stuff to do, it's really hard to convince myself to sit and breathe in and out for 20 minutes and notdo those things. 
But here's what I always remember, and it's a quote from my girl Gabby Bernstein -
"I don't have time to meditate." Do you have time to feel like crap?
Which I have found to be completely true. When I don't make time to meditate, to center myself, I and my day ends up feeling like total and utter crap. I can tell when I haven't practiced. Other people can, as well. You probably could, too, if you took a scroll through my Twitter feed. All of that negative energy gets scrunched up inside and comes out in snarkinesss (and not the funny kind. The "WTF is her problem?" kind), moodiness, laziness, and yes, depression.
When I make that space for myself - when I take just 20 minutes out of my day, just for me - I feel more productive, more in tune, more kind, more creative, more relaxed, more happy.
Here's the message I want to make sure I get across, both in this post and with #30DaysofMediation - meditation practices are not meant to be perfect. That's why it's called a meditationpractice, not meditation perfection. And what I mean by that is: there's no one right way to do meditation, all the time. Even those of us who have been practicing for years need a little help from time to time and have found benefit in shaking it up. 
So during this #30DaysofMeditation, I'm going to tell you about different methods and resources that have worked for me. I'll also include a little exercise in each post to help you practice and try some new shiz.

It will be way less boring than that sounds, though.

Promise.

How about you? What got you interested or started in meditation? Got any favorite meditation resources that you love sharing with other meditation-minded friends?

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