How often to you take daily time out just for you?
Not a break in your day to put the washing on, clear the kitchen and all the other LIFE stuff that has to be done, time out for YOU.
Daily time for YOU, to sit, breathe, let your mind wander away from the Pain and tangle of your To Do lists, the worry over rising costs, your relationship concerns, the way you Drink / Eat / Shop, your Fears for your future, your sadness and regrets over your past, and back into Peace?
Do you even know how to switch off, to create a PAUSE, to still your mind, to calm your heart, to comfort YOU?
I am going to tell you something now about what I do daily, that I would have laughed at in my drinking years, in my struggle, my anxiety, my fears and shame, and yet it is one of the simplest spiritual practices that has had the most profound affect on my LIFE, on the Peace of my LIFE, on the CHOICES that I make, on the way I think and feel about every area of my LIFE, and that is that I MEDITATE.
I used to view Meditation as whoo whoo stuff, that I didn’t have time for. I had huge resistance to anything ‘spiritual’…..It didn’t make any sense to me.
I wanted to change my LIFE, to stop ‘doing’ the things that hurt me, that hurt my son, I wanted to change what I was ‘doing’, so focused more on trying to stop my ‘doing’, my areas of Pain, oblivious to the simple fact that I was looking in the wrong direction for Peace, that I needed to focus gently on how I was ‘Being’ and to change that….
I didn’t understand why anyone would Meditate, and I thought those that did, were already in a space of calm and Peace, that I could never step into.
When the truth is, Mediation creates that calm and Peace.
A calm and Peace that even on the most stressful of days, offers true comfort and support as well as the clarity to make better choices you simply cannot see in the darkness of your Pain.
I can’t tell you when I started to Meditate, or when it became part of my daily Morning Routine, it seems like it has been forever, but I can tell you why it works, and the reason even the simplest of Meditations can enable profound change, easily.
Taking the time so PAUSE, and to take the conscious decision to slow your breathing down, to take deep, long, slow breathes, instantly takes you out of stress, and into calm….if you don’t believe me, just try it right now. And before you think, “I don’t have time”, remember, you are going to breathe anyway, so consciously CHOOSE how you breathe.
Now in that state of calm, focus on a single thought that serves you, that makes you happy, that fills you with joy, if joy is what you want to feel, or peace, or relaxation, and notice how your whole being shifts out of the thoughts that haunt you in your struggle, and the feelings those thoughts create, this is called the Meditative State. This is the state of true relaxation and calm.
So, Meditation calms your mind, it quietens your critical voice, it loosens the knots of your thinking….it allows you to expand out of your contracted thoughts and feelings, the ones that cause you distress, and in the expansion, allows you to see and feel other possibilities, opportunities which do serve you better, in every area of your LIFE.
I now use guided Meditations, that I create myself, for when I am stuck in any area of LIFE.
I write a loving script, record it on my phone, and play it whilst I meditate.
I take myself into the space of calm, and ask a question about what do do next, and let the answer come to me.
It always does, sometimes a one word answer, sometimes, if its to do with my LIFE Recovery Coaching practice, I get an intuitive download. One thing is certain, when I ask anything in my meditation, I always get the answer that serves me best (often one I don’t ‘see’ outside of my Mediation), because I have quietened my critical mind chatter……it will be the same for you too.
If you took 5 minutes to meditate before you picked up your glass of wine in the evening, you will end your conflicting inner voices, and your feelings of cravings/need a drink will disappear.
It is exactly the same with food, with stress, with struggle, with overwhelm, with anxiety, with any worry you have that you are fighting with.
Why?
Because you act on how you feel in the moment, not in how you want to feel the next day…..please read that again and let it settle.
So, when you take the time to make yourself truly feel better in the moment, by simple Meditation, you act differently, effortlessly.
And of course Mediation cannot change the situation / circumstance, but it can and will change your thinking perspective of your distress, which changes the way you feel, which again, allows you to act differently. LIFE can actually be very simple.
Just 10 minutes at a time of day that works best for you (I prefer the morning as it resets me for my day, you may be different), of Meditation, will bring you Peace, it will release Stress, Anxiety and Overwhelm, it will change the way you Drink / Eat / Shop. and it will bring Clarity to whatever your struggle is, as well as different opportunities/possibilities as to the next best step for YOU.
You can’t get Meditation ‘wrong’. You don’t need a Yoga mat, a pose, any special clothing or candles, you simply need to be in a quiet space where you can sit, or lie, comfortably. I often now meditate as I walk, keeping my eyes open, I let my mind drift away.
And in the early days, thoughts may well pop into your mind, and all you have to do is view them as clouds that drift on by. That’s all your thoughts are anyway until you ‘buy’ in to them.
Don’t overthink your Mediation (not even the timing, simply set an alarm for up to 10 minutes on your phone), and enjoy the time and space you gift yourself, as well as the sense of Peace, expansion and relaxation that will flow over you, and then go about your day, safe in your knowledge that you can, at any time, take yourself out of whatever is causing you Pain, and go back into Peace
Be kind and gentle with yourself
Sonia
PS. I have created a beautiful FREE guided ANXIETY MEDIATION to support you in finding freedom from your Pain, and to take you back into Peace, if you would like a copy, contact me (HERE) and put YES in the Subject line x
