Meditation and our crazy beautiful mind – 6 steps to mindfulness

Meditation, mindfulness – it’s the same.

Meditation can happen anywhere.

I do it by sitting in bed before the day takes over with its business and exciting things to do. It works well.

It’s easy.

1) Wake up in the morning.

2) Sit up.

Well, maybe first put the heater on and go to the toilet. Everything has its place.

3) Make yourself comfortable with one or two or three pillows to support your back.

4) Pull up a second doona or blanket to keep yourself warm.

This is crucial if you live in a colder climate. It helps if this cover is soft and you can wrap yourself in it up to your neck.

5) Comfort is important when meditating.

The feel good factor helps relax into the ‘here and now’.

6) They also say to watch the breath.

Now, that’s another story.

The mind doesn’t like it. It goes here and there and everywhere else, except the here and now of the breath.

There is a trick to it to it though, and once you ‘get’ it, it gets much easier.

You catch it, when you suddenly become aware that you are thinking, thinking about all kinds of things.

Maybe you think about the day ahead, maybe of what happened yesterday, maybe of work, a conflict, your new love, dreams, the future, the past… the possibilities are endless.

When you catch this, you have a moment of consciousness.

That’s when coming back to your breath is handy. It helps you take a break from your thoughts.

Then your thoughts race off again to the next important and/or exciting thing – you catch it again and come back to your breath.

Occasionally there are thoughts that are really, really important, and you want to remember them.

Sometimes you can also get really, really creative when meditating.

Maybe these thoughts just don’t want to let go, and you are concerned that you won’t remember them after the meditation.

When this happens, it helps to have a notebook nearby where you can jot down a few words.

Knowing that its brilliancy has been captured, your mind can relax, and you can get back to watching the breath.

Now, you might ask why you should go through this. It sounds like torture.

There are a lot of good things that can happen through meditation.

People feel less stressed.

Less caught up in their emotions.

They are more centred.

Calmer.

They actually go through the day slower – and at the same time they achieve more.

Meditation has a transformational effect on people.

Try it!

Don’t worry if you have difficulties at first. Send me an email.

I have many more tips about meditation.

Preeti