Meditation.
It’s a concept I mention in a lot of my posts.
I believe it’s one of the best tools for relieving stress and anxiety.
And it’s been proven scientifically to help with changing habits and learning new concepts.
But I realize that meditation can seem like a woo-woo concept.
I used to think it was woo-woo.
And that’s probably why It took me a long time – years – to understand and appreciate it, and then to finally do it daily.
I first learned about it through one of my mentors, Dr. Wayne Dyer.
Back in 2003.
My youngest, Melina, was just a baby.
And my mom had passed 3 years earlier.
Everything in my life was so different from what it had been, and I felt a little lost.
I was looking for answers.
But I was also a logical-thinking, I’ve-got-to-see-it-to-believe-it engineer, and conflicted about the idea of meditation.
I loved the ideas I’d heard, that meditation could help me feel more peaceful.
And that maybe it could somehow connect me to my mom, and help me make sense of it all.
Truthfully, through, the woo-woo of meditation kind of scared me, but my curiosity got the better of me.
A couple of the things I remember actually wondering were:
- Would I go to a place where there’s no thought?
- Would I leave my body and experience something mystical?
- Would I hear voices or “see the light”?
It seems weird looking back that I had these ideas about meditation.
Of course, as I learned more about it, practiced it, and even understood the science behind it, I realized that it’s not really those things.
So, here’s what I’ve learned and why I think meditation could be an important tool for you:
Meditation is presence
The meaning of the word “meditation” means to ponder, reflect, or even to study and rehearse.
When you meditate, you’re basically just practicing being present.
With the constant distractions of life – cell phones, internet, media, and constant thinking – being present isn’t easy.
So how do you meditate?
Here’s a simple way to do it:
- Sit or lie down, quietly and calmly, and become aware of what’s going on around you.
- Close your eyes, or keep them open with a soft focus.
- Notice your body and also the surrounding sounds, smells, and sensations.
- And then turn your attention to your breath.
- Count each breath, and when you lose count because your mind got lost in thought, gently return your attention to the breath.
- Keep repeating that last step.
The reason for a focal point, like your breath or an object, such as a candle flame, is to help keep your mind present.
But, even as you try to keep your attention on the object of focus, your mind will get distracted by thoughts.
It happens all the time, it’s supposed to, and it’s normal.
Because the goal of meditation ISN’T to NOT think.
The goal is to notice when you’re distracted by your sub-conscious thoughts, and then consciously refocus your mind on your breath or the object.
In doing this over and over again, you realize that you have the power to get your mind to a calm place, beyond the thoughts you think.
Meditation shows you your thoughts
Your mind offers you around 60,000 thoughts a day, most of which are repeated on a continuous loop.
You don’t have to spend any effort thinking them, they just show up in your mind.
Most of the time you aren’t even aware you’re having them.
And many of them aren’t necessarily true.
They feel true, but they’re really just a product of what you’ve learned in your early life, as well as an interpretation of the experiences you’ve lived.
Once you notice what these thoughts are, you can question them, and choose which ones you want to continue believing.
And you can confirm that YOU are not your thoughts.
You are the awareness behind your thoughts.
I love the analogy that your continuous thoughts are like clouds, and you are the sky.
The clouds are just passing through, but the sky is ever-present.
And this idea has been my biggest “a-ha” since practicing meditation.
Knowing that I’m the sky feels like freedom to me.
Meditation improves your connection
Once you notice your constant thoughts, and you learn that you’re not your thoughts, you discover something amazing.
You realize that you’ve got a whole other mind: The CONSCIOUS mind.
It’s this conscious mind that notices the constantly-thinking, sub-conscious mind.
Your conscious mind is awareness (or the sky in the analogy above).
When you’re aware, you’re in a state of connection or one-ness.
You feel connected to your mind, to your body, to other people, to your environment, and beyond.
And that connection can make you feel good.
Less alone, less isolated.
So, contrary to what some people think, meditation isn’t a disconnection.
It’s not a way to escape.
It’s actually the complete opposite.
Meditation It brings you to a place of being totally, awake, aware, and alive.
Connected to everything.
Meditation changes your brain and body
Although you may experience benefits from meditation like a sense of peace or well-being, there are physical changes that happen too.
Your brain changes.
In a process called neuroplasticity, you create new neural pathways.
And not only that, the pre-frontal cortex of your brain actually thickens, your hormone levels shift, and you have an increase in grey matter.
So, what does all this mean for you?
- Better focus and concentration
- Improved memory
- Improved decision-making
- Reduced feelings of overwhelm, stress and anxiety
- Slower mental aging
And of course, when you reduce stress and anxiety, and get more focused and concentrated, your body is in a calmer state more of the time.
And is more likely to release body fat.
When we spend too much time in stress, our bodies hold onto fat.
It’s a protective mechanism, and it’s fantastic if you’re in immediate danger.
But it’s not so great when weight loss is the goal.
So allowing your body more time in a calm state, will let it know that you’re safe.
And you can shed the pounds much more easily.
Meditation helps create your future
Another amazing thing about meditation is that it can be used as a creative tool.
Once you interrupt the stream of automatic, sub-conscious thoughts, you create space in your mind for new ideas.
Creativity flows when you calm your thoughts.
So, if you want better physical and mental health, more prosperity, a new career, to become a better parent or person, then meditation can be a powerful, creative tool.
When you’re in the state of meditation, you can introduce new thoughts.
Choose thoughts that align with what you want in your life.
So, what thoughts do you want to think?
Focus on those thoughts in your meditation.
Visualize yourself in the life you want, doing what you want to do, saying the things you want to say.
Your brain doesn’t know the difference between a real, physical experience, and an imagined one.
So, if you imagine an experience vividly and consistently enough, you can actually change your future.
And that’s the key.
Because right now, without interrupting your incessant thinking, you’re also creating your future, and it looks a lot like today.
But if you really want something to change, choose new thoughts, new beliefs, and create new neural pathways.
Be the person you want to be in your mind first.
And then you begin living the life you choose.
Is that woo-woo? Maybe a little.
But I think it’s worth a try.
Do you practice meditation?
There are so many ways to practice meditation.
I mentioned sitting or lying down, and using your breath to focus.
But you can do walking meditations, loving-kindness meditations, guided meditations…
And there are tools out there that you can use like Headspace or Calm.
For me, meditation has become a non-negotiable.
It’s part of my morning routine, and I use it to calm my mind and body.
It’s helped reduced my fears and anxieties around public speaking, uncertainty, and even death.
Now I’m using visualization to help me be create my future.
Imagine what you could do with it.
Keep moving forward,
Debbie
P.S. If you’re curious about meditation, and how you can use it to lose weight and feel better, then I’d love to talk with you. Book a time with me: https://calendly.com/debbie-harbec-coaching/free-consultation