I was reading an article the other day called
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE "OM "
It talks about taking a meditation vacation. When everyone is getting ready for summer, the perfect vacation time, this suggests that one of the vacations we should plan on taking is learning to relax, focus and meditate.
I have told you before about what I was like when I first learned the concept of meditation, I was a basket case, I truly thought I couldn't control my mind racing, and the thought of being in the moment was scary to me. What about all that had happened in my life, and what about all the things that could happen in the future? All I can say is that I am very grateful for my dear friend who taught me the importance of listening and knowing my body, plus she taught me how to meditate and control my thoughts. No easy task on her part.
Do I still do it? YES! When do I do it? When my body tells me that I am overloaded. When I am in doing my cancer check ups, especially when I am inside the MRI machine. The only way I can stay focused and ok in that tiny place is ... to go to my Happy place. I use it to sleep at night. I use it when I am multi-tasking to the point that I realize I am not enjoying the here and now. I watched my daughter and daughter in laws practice and use it during childbirth. I used it during my tests and surgeries, and I will have to use it tomorrow morning when I have my root canal.
How grateful I am that I know how to control my thoughts and how to escape to my Happy Place. I need to do it more often, so that my body gets a break. So yes, try it yourself...it is an amazing and peaceful feeling. Here is part of the article, that I got out of my Costco magazine by Matthew Robb...
"Pushed and pulled from every direction, millions of Americans identify stress as a major health concern.
Research clearly links chronic stress to a host of conditions; anxiety, insomnia, depression, anger, hypertension, infertility, diabetes, accelerated aging, heart disease and more.
Meditation, by contrast, acts as a mini-vacation, re balancing an inner world turned upside down. Once you gain proficiency in this 3,500-year-old practice, you can enter a calming state at will. In minutes, racing thoughts coast to a welcome rest, knotted muscles unclench and you start to feel relaxed- even serene.
If anything is about meditation is difficult, it's escorting newcomers past all those Age of Aquarius, pass-the-granola stereotypes says Sarah McLean an author and meditation instructor.
Because our multitasking, rapid-fire world rarely requires our brains to focus intently for long periods of time, she notes, practitioners of meditation achieve and maintain a restful state "by focusing on something heard, something seen or something felt."
Sound...Hearing sounds like a gentle surf, or a prarie filled with birdsong, can provide a restful ambience.
Sight...Focus your eyes on a candle flame, or use your mind's eye to visualize yourself in a peaceful surrounding
Touch...go for a walk, notice your breathing.
Remember meditation is a gentle practice, not a competitive sport. Stay in the present moment, where our lives are actually happening.
Good night dear friends, I am going to head to bed and meditate myself!
"The best medicine is that which you will actually do" ~ Sarah McLean
"Your mind is your instrument. Learn to be its master and not its slave."
"The body needs material food every day. The soul needs spiritual food."
