A Take 2 Minutes article by Gabrielle Curry.
Meditation is an amazing practice that allows you to control your thoughts over time and become more present in the moment.
When you first start, it can feel like a fools errand. The idea of clearing your mind of all active thoughts and just being feels foreign to anyone who suffers from anxiety, restlessness, or distractibility.
However, with practice, you will be able to slow down your mind so that if a thought creeps in, you’re able to put it down for the moment. For the first few weeks, you may want to keep a pen and paper by you so that you can write down any festering thoughts that come to mind so you don’t have to be concerned about forgetting them.
Over time, your notes will become shorter or not necessary at all as you begin to embrace the full experience of meditation. Let’s talk a little bit about what meditation means, how to create the right environment for the experience and finally, how to live in a meditative state all day long, no matter what you’re doing.
When you think about the past too much, you often ruminate on what you would have done differently or choices you regret making. But, no matter how much you dissect your past behavior, you have to move on at some point. When you heal from your past trauma and accept where you are at with no strings attached, you will experience a new sense of freedom you’ve never known before.
When you think about the future too much, you may experience anxiety or doubt about things to come. While future planning can be an important step on the path to growth, thinking too much about what things may come to pass is a waste of the precious time you have right now.
Living in the current moment is the only way you can ever feel fully in control. You may not have everything you want in life, but you can be thankful for where you’re at and the opportunity to move yourself in the right direction today.
Meditation allows you to learn to control your thoughts that lead you into loops ruminating on the past or hyperfocused on the future. It is a way to embrace and elevate the energy that is currently in your body allowing you to release the things that don’t serve you and fill yourself up with new energy from the breath you’re putting in your lungs or the sunlight beating on your skin.
While some people can meditate anywhere, and you will be able to with time, it may be easiest to start your meditative journey in a designated space or out in nature. It’s a lot easier to embrace the freedom of lack of thought when you’re experiencing a cool breeze and sunshine.
When you first begin meditating, try doing it in a variety of locations to get a sense for what you find to be the most tranquil and calming. Then, try to replicate that energy in a special area of your home called a meditative space.
While it’s nice to get out and enjoy the world around you, having a dedicated meditative space in your home will allow you to take your prace to the next level. You can fill it with things like a cozy floor pillow, yoga mat, soft blankets, supportive blocks, sage and palo santo for cleansing and welcoming in new energy, and incense to elevate your experience.
You may also want to invest in essential oils or crystals that give you a calming and connected feeling when you hold them. Learning about essential oils and crystals are both entire fields on their own that we won’t go into in this article. But, there is plenty of material out there if you would like to learn more.
Once you’re able to master meditating in nature and the dedicated space in your home, it’s time to welcome the practice into your day to day life. It may take you months or even years before you get to this step, but the sooner you integrate it, the more joyful every moment will become.
Start by cleaning and organizing all of your belongings. I want you to go through every box that you have tucked away and decide what you want to display, what you can give away to someone else, and what needs to be repacked away for a later date.
You should be able to unpack almost everything. The only things you should put away are items that you are saving for a specific purpose later down the line, holiday decorations for other times of the year, craft and art supplies to break out late, collectible items that will appreciate in value, items for when you have a larger space, or items you are storing for someone else.
Once all of your things are organized and stored away appropriately, it’s time to do a deep clean of all the nooks and crannies in your home. Imagine yourself as a dental hygienist getting in between someones teeth for the only time in the last three years. Your work is that important and powerful.
Next, go through all of your clothes and get rid of any that you will never wear again. Then, put the clothes that are out of season or the wrong size to the far end and organize the items that you wear most often to be accessible.
While there are many YouTube videos out there that will introduce you to the practice of meditation with tips and tricks to stay focused, I hope you found this article to be helpful in teaching you how to make meditation part of your day-to-day activities.
Slowing down and focusing your energy by removing the distractions of clutter and living in the present moment will open up more space for you to take on new goals and feel more at peace.
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