Your outer world is a direct reflection of your inner world. If your life is chaotic and you want to change it, look inside yourself to initiate that change.
All too often, we look to external sources for gratification. We look to an “other”, or to material things such as grand homes, flashy cars, fancy wardrobes and exotic vacations to provide us a sense of safety, security and happiness, when in reality no person or “thing” can provide you with those feelings. Only you can create happiness and wellbeing and a feeling of peace and serenity. It is an internal event.
If you define your self-worth by the externals you have in your life, you become stuck in the never-ending race to accumulate more, to do more, to be more, all in the name of trying to find fulfillment.
Stop. The externals in life will never be the means to happiness and peace. You already have those feelings inside of you. If those feelings are currently not predominant in your life, you can begin to access and fully embody them through the practice of meditation.
“But meditation is hard”, “I can’t stop my mind from wandering”, “I’m too busy to sit still for 20 minutes every day”, “there is NO WAY I can be quiet for that long”…I’ve heard every excuse under the sun from clients and friends when I tell them how vital meditation is to transforming their lives from a state of chaos to one of purpose and fulfillment.
The analogy I love to give about meditation is this. Imagine a bucket of sandy water. If you shake up the bucket, the water becomes murky as the sand swirls every which way in the bucket. But if you allow the bucket to sit still for a few minutes, the sand settles to the bottom and you are left with clear water. Clarity. The sand represents all of the thoughts racing through your mind. You need to quiet your mind in order to be able to hear your true self. In order to have clarity.
There are many methods of meditation and gifted masters willing to teach you the finer points of the practice, but the most important thing to do right now is to start. Take baby steps. Commit to five minutes every morning when you wake up and another five minutes before going to sleep to sit quietly with your eyes closed and breathe. Breathe deeply and slowly and concentrate your awareness on your breath.
If you find your mind is wandering, acknowledge the thought that has come in and then release it, bringing your attention back to your breathing. It can be helpful for someone having difficulty to silently repeat a mantra as you breathe. For example, “It is safe to be me” on the inhale, and “I belong to love” on the exhale. Or “love” on the inhale and “forgiveness” on the exhale. Choose a word or phrase that is meaningful to you. The repetition helps to keep your mind clear and focused.
Once you are regularly meditating for five minutes daily, increase it to ten. Work your way up gradually until you are spending 20-30 minutes every morning, and evening, in meditation. The results will encourage you to continue the practice.
You will begin to be more productive in less time, you will sleep better, be less anxious throughout the day, react more calmly to situations that would normally cause you stress and generally you will feel more peaceful and at ease in your own skin.
I teach my clients in my private coaching practice an integrated approach to wellness including nutrition, yoga, meditation and spirituality, but if I had to choose just one thing that would make the biggest impact on someone’s life, I would choose to teach them how to meditate. That is how profound of an affect I believe it will have on your life. (And this is coming from a major foodie whose primary focus has been on the nutrition side of things!)
Try it! It takes a month to create a new habit. Commit to developing a daily meditation practice for a month and start to watch the changes unfold.
