I'm disappointed in myself for not having done a blog post in a few weeks. I promised myself that I would be diligent about doing this weekly yet I'll fell off the wagon very quickly. Oh well. Perhaps if I publicly exclaim, here and now, that I will write something every week - and you've all heard me now - I won't have any excuses to not do it!
Anyway, here we are now. I've been really ill for the past 2 weeks; I don't get sick very often, but as with everything else, when I do, I do it really well! I've had a very hard time trying to meditate while being ill; the coughing stops me in my tracks and then I lose all focus. So today, I'm finally feeling a little better - still not 100% and still coughing but not as much - so I decided to spend some time this morning in meditation.
I often tell my students in our Meditation Monday class that meditation is a practice. It's never perfect. Sometimes it's great; others, well, not so much. That's why we practice! I really stuggled today to get back on track and caught a whole lot of thoughts intruding into my space. I just could not seem to focus at all. So instead of giving up, I thought I'd try something that I've preached in my classes and you know what? It worked.
So what did I do you ask? Well, it is actually so very easy. I focused on my breath. That's it. Simplicity at it's best.
But what does that mean you ask? Well, every time I found a thought intruding and taking my attention, I would note that it was there, picture it in a fluffy white cloud and push it out of the way. Then I focused on my breath and used it as a mantra. I repeated: Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out ... in my mind as I took each breath. It is amazing to me that by doing something as simple as that I was able to clear my mind and get back to what I was trying to do. Thoughts still came in and each time, I just noted them and refocused on my breath.
I wouldn't say I had any profound experiences in my meditation today, but what I did have was those few moments of focus and clarity that set me up for the remainder of the day. I also feel that I am in control and if I'm having challenges with clearing my mind, I'll just pull out this very handy tool. And now I can't wait to get back there tomorrow morning for my next session.
Are you having challenges establishing your meditation routine? If so, email me at Sally@Spirit-Talks.ca and I'd be happy to help!
Stay tuned next week for What's New at Spirit-Talks. I've got some great classes starting in September that I'm sure you won't want to miss! Have a wonderful week!