Years ago, I took a week long training on hands on healing prayer. It was during that week that I learned a technique for quieting my mind so that I could become truly still in meditation.
It’s really simple. First, as a human being, no matter how “good” I am at meditating, thoughts will enter into my mind. The idea is not to resist this. Quite the contrary. I am to notice the thought, acknowledge that it is present, and consciously release it. Sounds easy, I know. I tended to get stuck on the release it part. Until the instructor suggested creating a visual representation of my thoughts and how I could release them without interrupting the rhythm of my body in the meditative state. For me, the thoughts became logs that I pushed gently into a river that carried them away.
Next, I learned to keep my eyes slightly open. By this, I mean cracked slightly. The reasons here are two fold. By keeping my eyes open a tiny bit, I was assured I wouldn’t fall asleep. Also, with the eyes slightly open, there is a soft focus, where light is visible and voices are heard, but there is a sense of spaciousness and possibility.
Also, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth is a practice that works well for me. It helps ground me. And, it helps me to set the pace for the meditation.
And finally, I learned that a practice of meditation develops slowly over time, and that if I insisted that I was going to do twenty minutes a day, I was not likely to be able to stick with it. However, when I began to give myself permission to meditate when I felt moved to, I realized that the more I did it, the better I felt and the more I wanted to do it, and the longer the amount of time I spent meditating.
For this Peace Walker, meditation is one way that I feel Peaceful. On the days I meditate, I feel more fully alive, more in tune with my body, more aware of the people around me. It makes me feel connected.
I am so profoundly grateful for the training I received that week, particularly around meditation. You see, prior to that, I was convinced I would never to meditate correctly. Today, I believe that all meditation can be healing, and can help us to find inner Peace.
For me, a daily practice which includes meditation is essential to keeping me at Peace. When I include meditation regularly, I am centered and focused.
Do you meditate? What’s something you have as a part of your daily practice? What can you do to connect to the energy of a daily practice? And what are some of the ways you meditate?