And How To Start One
My world is chaotic. Maybe you feel that yours it too? Most days I feel I get yelled at by the news, social media, advertising, and maybe loudest of all, my internal voice. Over the years my internal voice learnt from the avalanche of:
"You should..."
"You could..."
"You must..."
"Don't miss out..."
"You have to..."
"You can’t be without..."
All these messages land on me daily. How about you?
Do you ever feel like your mind cannot stop? That you cannot sit in silence without pulling out your phone to distract yourself? Does your mind ever feel completely fatigued at the end of the day? Fatigued by the thoughts that will not stop? Or from the weight of holding back those thoughts through distraction?
Why do we feel this way? Three of the biggest factors that continue to fuel this internal stress and anxiety are:
Being constantly connected, available, and open to distractions
The, often fake, urgency of all the messages we see (advertising, news, social media, etc)
Our addiction to both of those things (fuelled by businesses nurturing that addiction)
This leaves us feeling exhausted, anxious, stressed, and overwhelmed. We are busy, worried, and distracted. We cannot think about this week, let alone this month or year. We over-react to what goes on around us because we have not spent time cultivating a peaceful inner world.
Therefore, we need meditation practices.
When I say, “meditation practice”, I mean something:
that allows you to disconnect from external stimulus and messaging for a time
allows you time for reflection
and cultivates a calm and peaceful mind
When we give ourselves this meditative time, some of the things we gain include:
Rest within our mind, with our thoughts
A baseline for our emotions, a peace to return to
Space in to intentionally choose how we will respond (or not respond)
Here are some ideas for cultivating a meditation practice and a meditative mind:
Turn off your phone/computer/TV/devices and disconnect regularly (Honestly, when was the last time you did that?)
Get into nature without your device, use your eyes and enjoy what you see, stay curious and open
Spend time journaling while your device is off. Write what is on your mind, what is bothering you, what the week ahead holds, your goals, values, fears, anything!
Download an app, like Headspace, that will teach you to meditate and provide guided meditations
Join our March challenge! It is a meditation practice with meditation prompts each day of the month
If you decide that you want to develop a meditation practice, let me know how you go. I’d love to help you out if you’re struggling, or to hear about your experiences!
Email me at rachel@rachelamycounselling.com
