Meditation practice has been a very large party of my healing, and growth journey. When I meditate it gives me peace, perspective, healing, grounding, inspiration, and my personal connecting to my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and my angles.
I’ve always believed in prayer, but I was craving a stronger spiritual connection to my Heavenly Father. I didn’t know what that looked like because in my religion we are taught to pray, but I was never taught to be still and listen. Meditation was looked at somewhat of a taboo practice.
It wasn’t until I went to a women’s retreat where they talked about meditation. The mediation music, pad, pillow, a Tibetan singing bowl, sage, crystals, all the things! Everything they were saying I was soaking up. I knew that this practice is what was going to bring me a stronger spiritual connection.
What I didn’t know is all of the health benefits that come from calming our minds. In an article by HealthLinetalks about 12 science-based benefits of meditation. A few are reduces stress, fight addictions, improves sleep, and can decrease blood pressure.
If you have never meditated before, I’m sure you are reading this thinking all of this sounds fantastic, but how do I get started? Mindful has an article on basic meditation for beginners. 1) take a seat. Find a place that feels calm and quiet to you. 2) Set a time limit. 5-10 minuets is good for beginners. 3) Notice your body. Make sure you are in a position that you can stay in for a while. 4) feel your breath as it goes in and out. 5) notice when your mind has wandered. When it does return your attention to your breath. 6) Be kind to your wandering mind. Don’t judge yourself. 7) Close with kindness. Notice how your body feels. Notice thoughts and emotions. I would like to add an 8th step- journal how you felt, and thoughts you had during meditation. Its important to journal immediately after so you can remember experiences, inspiration and ideas. You may think that you wont forget but you would be surprised. Plus It’s always fun to look back at my meditation journal and the experiences I have had while meditating. I also feel the more diligent I am with journaling after my meditation, the more I receive and retain.
Once you figure out what works for you to get started its important to be consistent. I always compare preparing for mediation like getting ready for the gym. Think about it, when you are getting ready for the gym you are training your brain to get into the right state of mind to work out! You put your gym clothes on, you put your tennis shoes on, and you may or may not drink a prework out. What that is all doing is telling your mind that you are getting ready to the gym and to get ready. The same goes for meditation. If you create a routine before you meditate, it tells your mind what you are about to do and it trains it if-you-will to get in the right state of mind for meditation.
What I do is I put my air pods in and play a mediation playlist on Spotify. (Some people love to follow guided meditations which are great too!) I have a meditation mat that I lay out with a little pillow. I have a tray that I also bought at target and on it I have sage that I burn, a candle that I light different crystals that I have collected and a Tibetan Singing Bowl .
Once I get all of that set up I get in a comfortable position and take 4 deep breaths of sage to cleans my mind and spirit. I light the candle and hit the singing bowl 3- 5 times. Each time taking a deep inhale and exhale. When I inhale I visualize light going through my whole body and out my head going up. When I exhale all negativity and conscience thoughts. Focusing on my breath helps calm my brain. The calmer my brain is the more peaceful I feel and connection to Heavenly Father, and my angles. Sometimes I meditated for 10 minuets, and sometimes its 40!
I want to end by telling you that there is no right or wrong way to meditate. It is finding what works for you, and the best way to find out is to just start. I am not a meditation guru but I do know what works for me, and I’m open to other ideas as well! The hope is that you find what works for you. I promise that when we train our brain to sit and just be, we find peace, intuition and spiritual connection through meditation.
