Today I want to focus on why we set up a meditation practice. Meditation is a time that we set aside to simply be. This is not an action-oriented activity. It requires only that we empty our mind and become aware of our breath, creating a sacred space within.
Being in the world, not of the world
Imagine that you are watching your favorite television show. There is a scene that has a lot of drama, and you realize this is the perfect time to go to the bathroom or make a snack. You might even choose to fast forward through that part or mute it and cover your eyes! It never once occurs to you to try and fix or change what’s happening on the small screen. You understand your role to be that of the observer. By taking yourself out of the equation you see that you have choice as to whether or not you want to continue to watch the drama unfold or find something else more worthy of your time and energy.
If you were in that dramatic scene of that show, the writers would create lines for you that would reflect your character’s opinions and judgements tying you to the angst being played out before your eyes. That would impact you very differently. Now your energy would be flowing into the experience and affecting you in a greater way. Those opinions and judgements in real life are created in our lower chakras of the body and can greatly distort our perception of our world.
No skin in the game The 6th chakra, located between the eyebrows is called our third eye. This is the energetic center of the body where we are able to stay anchored into our sensory world yet join with universal wisdom. The thoughts generated from this place are beyond what the mind can create, it’s a part of a higher vibrational energy. Our clairvoyance offers more creative solutions to problems than our mind could come up with on its own. We can only get to this place when we transcend our wants and desires that twist the facts in our favor and choose instead to follow our conscience or higher self. That is the voice within that is always guiding us to do the right thing. When we are out of alignment with that knowing, we feel it in our body as guilt or shame. By immersing ourselves in the goings-on, we abdicate our power in a situation.
Finding your lotus position So back to why meditate? Training. Meditation trains the mind to disengage from the ups and downs of life and simply observe what is happening. When anxiety seeps in, we place our awareness back on our breath and put our thoughts into bubbles of light and imagine them floating away. As we do this each day, we increase our ability to move into the role of the observer and out of the role of the reactor. We move back into our power. Now when things happen that are out of control, we are comfortable tuning into our spirit. By relaxing and bringing our awareness into our hearts we begin to connect to others from the higher vibrational chakras. Any thoughts generated from this place are in line with the highest and best of everyone involved.
Initially in your daily meditation practice you may have to use a mantra like om, the sacred sound of the universe, and your breath to bring your awareness back to the present moment fifty times in a row. Don’t be discouraged. Day after day, week after week that need to fill the void with your thoughts will dissipate. You will start to look forward to the space you are creating, because it will be accompanied by a sense of peace and calm. You will note that as you start each day this way, it will tend to go more smoothly. When the shit does hit the fan, you will not allow your ego to run the show and force you to say or do things that you might later regret. As they say…an om a day keeps the chaos away! At least, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that somewhere….
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