There exists a place within each of us where anything is possible. In meditation – whether we’re aware of it or not – we get in touch with this place within where limits cease to exist. Accessing it, even for a moment, is the key to getting unstuck.
“You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.”
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I’ve been meditating daily with Oprah and Deepak’s guided meditations for almost two years now, and if you’ve been following along for all that time, you’d know that meditation almost single-handedly released me from the grips of anxiety that I had suffered for years.
There was a part of me that knew I “wasn’t me” during those anxiety filled years, and I wondered if I’d ever get back to feeling truly like myself again. I started meditating, not as a way to “fix” myself really, but as a way to find calm and space in my mind after reading a book on Buddhism in the Fall of 2014. I thought if I could learn how to meditate and make it a habit, like brushing my teeth, then I could master a new skill.
What I didn’t know was that it was going to literally cure me of the anxious mind I had fallen victim to.
Within two months of meditating every day, I felt lighter, lifted, calmer, and able to see things clearer and in a way I hadn’t for years. I wasn’t really keeping track of what was happening, I just knew that I was reacting to things differently and had coping skills for what previously ailed me. Four months of 20 minute daily mediation, and my anxiety was literally gone.
I know I’ve talked about it here for what seems like the billionth time, but these guided meditations were all I used and I love when I can add a new one to my roster. I download the ones I really like to my meditation library app and when I wake up in the morning, I grab my phone, tap the one I want to listen to and meditate for twenty minutes before I start my day.
I’m not sure I’ll ever “master” meditation, but the clarity of mind that comes from doing it daily, is beyond anything else I’ve ever tried. I think it worked though because I wasn’t using it for the purpose of freeing myself from my mind, but that’s exactly what it did.
I also have a few mantras I’ve memorized that I chant to myself when I have moments of quiet, or if I’m hiking and among the trees. I think the blank space in between the mantras where there is no “thought” is quite powerful for literally reconfiguring your brain.
Admittedly though, these past few months, I’ve had a bit of a difficult time focusing and sometimes will even fall back to sleep while meditating in the morning.
To make sure I keep my mind clean though, I oftentimes listen to The Secret of Healing – Meditations For Transformation and Higher Consciousness while stretching at night before bed or I fall asleep to it at night and let it run through my subconscious mind while I sleep.
Taking care of your mental health daily is just as important as taking care of your physical health, though takes far less time, surprisingly. I hike for about an hour a day and do another 45minutes of stretching at night for my body and physical health, yet my mental health only takes about 20 minutes a day.
It may seem like a lot, but it’s nothing in comparison to the wonders it does for your mind.
The easiest way to commit to anything is to turn it into a habit. Once it’s part of your every day, you never forget to do it. It takes a little bit of work in the beginning, but it’s worth it on so many levels… I recommend it wholeheartedly, and over anything else. {Though, combined with a healthy diet and regular physical activity, make for an even better overall human mind, body, and spirit… just saying :)}
Happy Meditating!
* Inspirational images taken from the Oprah/Deepak Chopra Meditation Facebook page.
