meditation

The Beauty of Meditation

The Beauty of Meditation

If you asked me a number of years ago what I knew about meditation, I would not have much to tell you. I may have responded by saying it was something other people, not me, did to find inner harmony or peace. I did not know then how drastically my perspective on meditation would change. When I started college, I became fascinated with the concept of mindfulness, or “present-moment awareness with acceptance” (Warren & Farley, n.d., para. 2). I felt that when I tried to be mindful, the world seemed a little more beautiful to me. A few years later, I learned that meditation was simply a formal practice of mindfulness (Warren & Farley, n.d.), and, since then, meditation has ceased to be a completely foreign concept to me.

Today, I will share some forms of meditation and the benefits behind them. 

What Frustration Looks Like

What Frustration Looks Like

In my experience, once I identified and described my frustration, I found that it no longer seemed so overwhelming or even real. In describing my emotion, I had to take a step back from my emotion and instead observe it with curiosity. I was no longer concerned with this tangible “thing” that I could see in my mind’s eye, and it no longer seemed overwhelming. If anything, it seemed like a particular zoo animal that I had paused to observe, but I was ready to move on to the next creature.

Mindfulness Through Chaos: Why (and How to) Start Meditating

Mindfulness Through Chaos: Why (and How to) Start Meditating

Between pandemic updates and politics, I've found myself brain-fogged and on edge more than I care to admit. Instead of living in the present, I've let my mind get carried away with doomscrolling and imagining every possible worst-case scenario. It's not healthy to spend all of your cognitive energy trying to understand something that can't be understood. But how do you go from doom and gloom to savoring life again when there's just so much to worry about?

There’s a Puppy in My Brain

There’s a Puppy in My Brain

And that’s what meditation does for you. It trains your brain to observe without reacting until the puppy has calmed down, everything is processed and you can now act from your values instead of Kody running the show. Imagine what different choices you would make if you were less reactive. Personally, I would eat differently, have better relationships, and generally live from a place of greater ease, to name a few.

Are You Present in Every Moment?

Are You Present in Every Moment?

Mindfulness is more than sitting in a dark room and breathing with your eyes closed. Mindfulness is the quality of our moment to moment awareness. Now, don’t get me wrong, this quality of awareness needs to be cultivated! It’s not going to just pop up willy nilly because you decided you wanted it to! It all starts with a few minutes of focused attention each day.