Ch 2: Meditation & Mindfulness
As mentioned in Ch 1: My Awakening Begins, 2020 changed the direction of my life for the better. It catapulted me to re-examine what was most important. Life threw me into a tailspin of worry and fear of the unknown and eventually a spiritual awakening. I’m sharing my experiences as the story transpires.
I would not be who I am today if I were drinking. By the summer of 2020, I was home with the kids for several months, hiding from covid. It turns out I was drinking myself to death without realizing it. Thank goodness after months of self-abuse, I became sober curious. My body, mind, and soul needed a break from the toxicity of alcohol. That was over a year and a half ago, and I don’t miss it.
Disconnected from Social Media & News to Re-connect with Self
I wanted to hide from the chaos and re-group, so I deleted the Facebook app from my phone. With my fears at play, I didn’t need commentary from people who didn’t feel the same about the severity of this virus. Also, 2020 was an election year, so we all know the lies and liars were in full bloom. It was too much. I quit watching the news too. The media is all biased. ALL. OF. IT. We need Truth TV that is not supported and bought off by the selfish and ridiculously rich. But sadly, greed is at play, and there is no money to be made from fact-checked TRUTH. Sorry, I digress. Limited social media and no news made for a more peaceful mind.
Every direction I turned, there was a stressful decision following me around. Do the children attend school in public or online? Do we hang out with family and friends, or do we continue to isolate? Should I spend time with my elderly mom or keep her home alone but safe? There was a tremendous amount of anxiety about who would get sick, how sick would they get, and are all going to die?
We would meet with our small circle of friends, the bubble as we called it, at local parks to let the small children run and explore. We also decided that chlorine killed covid, so we felt comfortable hanging out at our friend’s pool. LOL Everyone did the best they could during that year. So many people were saying different things about how to stay safe. It was hard to know who to trust about my family’s health.
Meditation
About a month without alcohol, in August 2020, my friend Amanda, who is a local yoga instructor told me about a 5-week virtual “Introduction to Meditation” course she was teaching. What better time to learn how to meditate than during a global pandemic? I knew that meditating and quieting your mind was good for you, but the idea of sitting with a silent mind was incredibly intimidating. My mind is anything but silent.
Amanda went through 5 of the many different meditation practices and explained how and why they are effective:
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training — simple practice of tensing each muscle group at a time followed by a relaxation phase with the release of the tension. You can begin at the feet and work your way up to the head.
- Guided Meditation Visualization — a relaxation technique that involves visualizing positive, peaceful settings like a beautiful beach or a peaceful meadow.
- Meditation with Mala Beads —hold the 108 beads in one hand and as you repeat a mantra or inhale/exhale, then move to the next bead. This is a way to bring yourself into the present moment and be calm.
- AUM Meditation technique — when chanting AUM, we move the energy from the abdomen to the brain. It is a scientific way to listen and commune with the sound of AUM — OM. This sound is the primordial sound of the universe, reverberating everywhere & in everything in the cosmos.
- Yoga Nidra Meditation — while lying down the goal is to move into a deep state of conscious awareness sleep, which is a deeper state of relaxation with awareness. This state involves moving from consciousness while awake to dreaming and then to not-dreaming while remaining awake — going past the unconscious to the conscious.
My favorite was the progressive muscle relaxation method. Amanda’s class and the app Ten Percent Happier helped me understand more about the importance of calming my mind. Yes, in the beginning, I sat in silence for a second and focused on my breath; for example, then my mind wandered. I learned that when you REALIZE you are not focusing on your breath when the magic happens. In this recognition, you pull yourself back into the present moment.
With practice, your meditation muscle grows strong, and you can focus on your breath longer, get distracted less often, and come back to the breath quicker after each distraction. Meditation is a lifelong practice of quieting the mind. I’m human, and sometimes I have a monkey mind. But, that’s OK! There is no way to mess it up. Simply focusing on this moment and this breath while observing the thoughts and choosing not to engage with them is the goal.
Mindfulness
The practice of mindfulness is my favorite method of daily meditation and can be done while doing your regular tasks. For example, while doing the dishes, take in the smells of the soap and how the bubbles feel on your skin. Notice the sounds of the pans clattering in the sink as you savor the warm water on your hands.
Focusing on the “now” allows us to observe, acknowledge, and accept the thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judging them. One step along the spiritual awakening journey is to realize you are not your thoughts. If I am not my thoughts and I can watch them, then who is the “I” observing the thoughts? I call this our soul or essence. We are more than just a body (sometimes called a “meat suit”).
Next time you are with the people who mean the most to you worldwide, please stop to take a slow, deep breath as you look them in the eye and say, “I love you.” Hug them tight and tell them how grateful you are for them. Take this time to be mindful of the people you love so that each moment is cherished and not taken for granted.
Benefits of Meditation
This mental training practice teaches you to slow down your racing thoughts, let go of negativity, and calm your mind and body. It reduces stress levels, lowers your heart rate, improves immunity, and you get more sound sleep.
For me, mindfulness meditation was a game-changer, especially mindful eating. It slows down the process, allowing you to savor each bite. Chewing slowly as you taste the flavors on your tongue, allows you to realize when you are full. It may be before you clean your plate; listen to your body, not the amount of food on your plate.
