A Roundabout Approach to Meditation

Published by BR365admin on August 27, 2020August 27, 2020

Jumping on the Meditation Train

Now more than ever, meditation seems to be a big buzz word. As someone who strives to live a healthy life, incorporating meditation into my daily routine seemed like a natural step for me. At the beginning of my meditation journey, I struggled to ‘find my flow.’ I was focused on reaping the benefits of meditation, but I did not fully understand the process. This left me lost for a little while, but I continued to persevere through the discomfort of sitting still with my thoughts and spent a couple of months navigating the world of meditation to find my place in it all.

Am I Doing this Right?

It’s worth mentioning that while I am a healthy individual who believes in nurturing the whole self – body, mind, spirit – I find it hard to slow down. I am always on the go, and I usually like it that way. So, for me, learning to meditate was a goal that I really had to work toward. When preparing to meditate, I found myself with a racing mind and fidgeting body, struggling to feel at peace.

Prioritizing time to meditate each day took effort – especially because at the beginning – I did not see any major changes. Meditation did help me to slow down and breathe, but I preferred to do that with a book or a walk on the trail. I felt like I was forcing meditation and often felt rushed to ‘fit it in.’

I can now see that I was going about it all wrong.

I knew that through meditation, a deeper level of consciousness could be achieved. Although this made sense to me, I felt like a fraud. Sometimes my day following meditation would go very smoothly, and other times I would experience conflict or discomfort just minutes after meditating. What good was it to me if I was ‘conscious’ and ‘present’ when I was in my ideal meditative setting, if it did not transfer to the rest of my day?

What Does it Mean to be Conscious?

This is something that I am still learning about, but right now, I understand consciousness as being free from thought and connecting with one’s deeper self. Part of this includes directing attention to the Now and being fully present in each moment.

Finding a Purpose

It was not until I read a passage in The Power of Now that I had a moment of clarity that really brought things together.

In his book, The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle writes:

“The best indicator of your level of consciousness is how you deal with life’s challenges when they come. Through those challenges, an already unconscious person tends to become more deeply unconscious, and a conscious person more intensely conscious…If you cannot be present even in normal circumstances, such as when you are sitting alone in a room, walking in the woods, or listening to someone then you certainly won’t be able to stay conscious when something ‘goes wrong’ or you are faced with difficult people or situations, with loss or the threat of loss. You will be taken over by a reaction, which ultimately is always some form of fear, and pulled into deep unconsciousness. Those challenges are your tests. Only the way in which you deal with them will show you and others where you are at as far as your state of consciousness is concerned, not how long you can sit with your eyes closed or what visions you see.” (Tolle, page 74)

The major takeaway for me? My quiet, scheduled meditation served very little purpose if I could not recall this same consciousness when I needed to apply it in more challenging situations. This immediately gave me purpose, and I love having purpose.

I shifted my perspective on meditation and began to understand it as not only time to slow down and breathe, but also time to better myself and develop a deeper understanding of my body and mind. I no longer felt like I was wasting time that could be better spent exercising, socializing, or working. I was ready to connect with myself.

The real appeal for me was in the potential to develop my ability to stay present in the Now and become more conscious in my day-to-day activities. To me, this translated to increased understanding and control of my emotions, less reactivity, less input from my ego, and ultimately becoming a better human being for myself and others. Knowing that I could ‘level up’ as a person motivated me to devise a meditation plan that worked for me.

After some trial and error, I decided to divide my meditation time between a few different methods to reap all the benefits while still trying to keep my consciousness in check.

Benefits of Meditation

Research shows a multitude of health benefits associated with meditation, including the following:

• Reduced stress
• Increased energy
• Decreased anxiety
• Improved breathing patterns
• Decreased anxiety
• Improved memory

Sharma H. (2015). Meditation: Process and effects. Ayu, 36(3), 233–237. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-8520.182756

My Approach

My current approach to meditation consists of the following:

1. A quick, guided meditation that focuses on connecting with the body and emotions
   1. Example: body scan or gratitude-focused guided meditation
   1. For this portion of my approach I use an app that talks me through each step and provides prompts to help focus my attention appropriately. The scaffolding offered by the app allows me to slowly improve my meditative abilities with a gradual release of responsibility.
2. Silent meditation that focuses on breathing and consciousness
   1. I spend a few minutes each day focusing on my breathing and staying completely conscious. Sometimes this is easy, and sometimes it is incredibly difficult. But I still show up for myself and make sure that I regulate my breathing each morning.
3. Integrating consciousness into my daily living
   1. This one takes some serious work. My goal here is that when met with challenges, I can stay conscious and present rather than allowing my ego to take over. This is by far the trickiest for me, but also the most rewarding. Sometimes, when my mind starts to spin with ideas, I’m able to catch myself and redirect my focus onto the present. However, I often recognize opportunities for consciousness during later reflection, once the moment has passed.
   1. Reading or listening to podcasts on topics of consciousness, connectedness, and spirituality every day and setting a positive intention for the day helps me monitor my level of consciousness.

The Takeaway

Meditation is not a straightforward path. Progress in meditation will look different for everyone.  Discovering your purpose for meditating is an important first step. Begin with small goals, use supports (app, book, friend, etc.) and try to stay consistent.

This is a quick glimpse into my meditation journey. I know that this is just the beginning for me, and there is still a lot to learn, but it is my hope that someone can read and relate to the uncertainty that I felt while I was finding my flow, and perhaps be inspired to grow their own meditation practice.

Written by Healthy Living Expert, Melanie Grice

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