Meditation For The Rest Of Us

“Meditation” conjures up images of monks in a secluded mountain monastery, cross-legged and intoning a haunting note.

Me? I meditate at my desk sometimes.

Meditation isn’t prayer, not in the traditional sense, anyway.

According to Wikipedia, Meditation is:

Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or as an end in itself.

Which is awfully fancy-schmancy, if’n you ask me.

When I mediate, I take deep breaths, close my eyes, and relax.

Sometimes, I count my breath. Breathe in (one…two…three…four), breathe out (one…two…three…four).

Sometimes, I daydream, often inserting myself into a particularly vivid world, or befriending wonderful characters from stories I’ve been exposed to recently.

This Reddit Thread has even more wonderful options, such as visualizing that you are a glass container filled with dark smoke. Every inbound breath adds white smoke, swirling through your body while exhaling dispels some of the darkness.

One person even imagines themselves breathing in all the hate in the world and neutralizing it with love, breathing out forgiveness.

It doesn’t have to take long. Sometimes, a few deep breaths will do. Other times, I can go for ten or even fifteen minutes before I feel truly relaxed.

The trick is to realize there isn’t a right way or a wrong way, and you’re not failing if your brain is scrambling around like a squirrel on a caffeine binge. Acknowledge the worries and grocery lists and to-do list and every other random thought your brain squirrel shoves at your consciousness, then let it slide away. For just a few minutes, those worries are unimportant. They’ll still be there for you when you’re done. You’re not shirking your duties or being a bad person.

You’re just sitting quietly, breathing.

And sometimes? That can make all the difference in the world.

Related posts:

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Yoga the First
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