Meditation – Where To Start?

Over the next few weeks I want to review the best methods of meditation that I have come across so far.

The start of this year has given me many signs that further study and practice of meditation is needed for me.

The word Zen has featured hugely in envisioning who I want to be and what I want to become.

Zen meaning chilled, controlled, blissful, content and calm. Words to live by in 2015.

 (image from pinterest)

I get asked all the time about meditation – people would like to try it but they are not sure where to start?

There are also a lot of people who say that when they tried meditation they couldn’t do it, they had too many thoughts and it’s not for them.

If clarity, better focus, rejuvenation, less stress and the ability to be calm in tense situations is not in your agenda than leave meditation alone.

But if that sounds like just what you need then why don’t you give it a try?

What a lot of people don’t realise is that thoughts come and go in meditation. To suspend thought is one of the hardest things you can do and rarely happens, especially in our busy world. I do love those moments, some people call it the gap, the time in meditation where thoughts are gone and you “come to” realising that you have gone deep,  but its not something that happens in my general meditation practice.

What happens is I sit or lie down* and immediately thoughts will come to me. I need to call that person, pay that bill, let my husband know about this or that, get the kids labels for school and by the way what are we having for dinner…..

I try and let them go and go back to repeating the mantra or focusing on my breath. Over and over again I will let the train of thought drop and head back to my breath or mantra.

These thoughts are clear and fast and most times it gives me clarity for after my meditation. I’ve thought of things that I probably wouldn’t have thought of because I had sat down and kind of “gathered my thoughts” together.

You don’t have to do it for long, start with five minutes a day and work your way up. If you are enjoying yourself then keep going. SOme meditations are beautiful, some tedious, some hard work, some frustrating, some amazing, some calming and some full of love. You just never know whats going to happen in that gorgeous brain of yours this time.

Originally I found the whole “meditation” thing a bit out there. I thought that saying outloud “I’m off to meditate’ was weird and I shyed away from it.

If that sounds like you then try to think of it as a bit of a rest, a break, a pitstop in your day.

If you need more convincing then just think you are going to be zen like Gisele Bunchden, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey and Katy Perry who are just some of the famous celebrities that take daily meditation practice.

And if you are too busy???

Just think …if multi-billionaire Oprah Winfrey can do it…then you possibly can fit it in too.

*every serious meditation practiioner will tell you to sit up. This is so that you don’t fall asleep or fall into that space between sleep and reality. I don’t easily fall asleep during the day and rarely find myself in that predicament so I often prefer to lie down, giving my body a beautiful rest as well as my mind. I still benefit 🙂