If you are like me, you may find it hard to meditate. So much going on around us; so much going on in our heads! How can we meditate?
The first time I seriously engaged in meditation practices was when I first met and married my husband nearly 30 years ago. I knew about meditation, but had never really practiced it. He made it easy for me by creating his own guided meditation that called for relaxing each area of our bodies. I remember relaxing with him and feeling it settle in. We continued occasional meditations until I started traveling (I was a sales rep), and it became impossible to keep a schedule.
The next time I was re-introduced to mediation was in my CSL first Foundational classes in 2011-2012. I remember the instructor taking us outside on a warm spring day, instructing us to find an object in nature to meditate on. At the time, I thought he had lost his mind, but I did my best to follow the instructions. I found a large decorative rock, sat on the ground next to it, and began meditating. Interestingly, I experienced one of the most moving meditations that day, focusing on that rock!
Moving forward to today, I still struggle with meditation. I quit trying to meditate on my own because it never worked for me. I have monkey-mind syndrome and can’t stay focused. Fortunately, my husband and I have successfully participated in guided meditation videos on YouTube.
Today, I read an article by Marianne Williamson on meditation that I found very helpful: WHEN IT’S HARD TO MEDITATE. I found it interesting that, despite her extensive knowledge and background in spirituality, she also struggles to meditate!
Here is one of Marianne’s tricks:
I set the alarm on my phone for exactly the time the meditation calls for. I tell myself, You’re going to do this. You’re not going to open your eyes again until that alarm goes off. Just do it. In other words, I erase choice!
Her closing statement is really lovely:
Some days you’ll crave meditation, and some days you might resist it. But regardless how you feel about doing it, you’ll always feel better for having done so.. We coddle our pain too easily these days, when in fact there is something right in front of us that can do so much to assuage it. The Opponent is not out there, after all; it’s in our mind. And its peak experience is our suffering. It would rather you do anything in the world but sit down, shut up, say your mantra, and love God.
Today, I am deciding it is not hard to meditate!