The Making of a Mindful Soul and a Happy Life through Meditation
What if you could find a way to ease your emotional pain and insecurities? To silence that voice in your head that insists on holding you back from enjoying a fully happy and abundant life? You can! The lesson I want to share today is how to slow down that monkey-chatter in your head and train yourself to focus on what’s truly important.
Does your head feel like it will explode sometimes with self-critical thoughts and negative scenarios you just can’t seem to slow down or stop? Living inside your head when it’s like that is awful. I know. I was there, where you are now.
For me, I was in my 20s, but you can be any age of course. At the time, I had so many negative unconscious feelings and trauma that were haunting me without knowing why. I felt anger toward my family. I felt sad in moments that should have been joyful. I felt lost without direction. And most of all, I felt like I was “less than” other people and unworthy of their love and attention.
I sought out so many different solutions and wondered what could help me silence that awful and destructive negative chatter once and for all. Then I discovered meditation. I wanted to know what the buzz was all about. After all, you hear about celebrities, mindful and successful people talk about it all the time. I was curious to know how it worked, and if I could include it in my daily routine.
As this was a new “project” for me, I did my research to find out what tools I would need to be a successful meditator. I bought a meditation pillow, which seemed like an essential tool to help me relax during the process. I also bought all different types of crystals to help me channel the right energy, like rose quartz or amethyst. I bought sage to clear the room I was meditating in of bad energy and bacteria. The list can go on and on and you can build a beautiful altar full of meditation tools.
All these things are exciting but expensive once you add them all up. I am the type of person who likes to buy things when starting something new, so I am well equipped, but that’s not a necessity, it’s a splurge. In fact in meditation, all you need is a quiet environment and some time. I suggest putting on a timer for a few minutes, sitting down on a chair, the floor, or even laying down and just letting go of your thoughts for a few minutes and quieting your mind. That’s all you have to do.
It’s simple for some, but it may take you months or even years of practice to get to quiet your thoughts. Our minds are always working in overdrive, without us even realizing it. If you can’t get into the meditative state, don’t worry. It’s hard for me too. What I do, is I turn to guided meditations. There are hundreds of different ones available for free on youtube, on google, or in podcast form. I typically pick one that speaks to me, such as a meditation for creativity when I am trying to write. They can vary in time from a few minutes to a few hours, so you need to pick the length that works for you and press that play button.
Meditation is an amazing tool to use at the beginning or the end of your day. It can bring peace, understanding and help you de-stress when you are worried or anxious about your day. It has been used for thousands of years, with the earliest records of it dating back to 1500BC.
When I started meditating, I didn’t enjoy it at first. It felt like a chore to me. But with a deeper understanding of how it can help and the tools for how to make it simple, it completely transformed my life. It now helps me to start my day mindfully, with love and gratitude. It’s a far cry from when I was in my 20’s and woke up with various emotions like anxiety or anger, which I couldn’t place and didn’t know how to control.
I hope that you give meditation a try. It is never too late to start learning something new, especially a practice which can positively transform our lives and relationships.
