My Meditation Journey update

This original post below was from November 10, 2021. At that point, I was about two years into my meditation journey.

I thought I would give an update on my journey since so much has happened in almost 4 years, and I have such a deeper understanding and appreciation of what this practice has brought to me in my life. It is a daily ritual for me, and I can honestly say it has helped to transform my life.

Yes, I am still Megan. I am not a saint, and small or silly things can get me worked up. However, I am much more aware of these situations and able to calm myself down more quickly. I try to look for the lesson, try to look for small things to be grateful for, and have a daily gratitude practice. All of this, in return, has helped me become a less reactionary, more compassionate, loving, and generous person.

In the past four years, I have taken two different certifications. One of them was with the Deepak Chopra Institute. It was a 16-week course in which I was able to dive much deeper into the science behind meditation as well as deepen my own practice and then become a certified teacher. I also took a mindfulness certification with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. I never really went into these certifications thinking that I was going to be a teacher. It was always about learning how I could strengthen my own practice. However, 25 years in the corporate world and training in that industry, I found that it really gave me purpose to share knowledge. As knowledge is power. As one of my spiritual leaders always reminded me, to be the ripple, to share my stories, to share my learnings. So that has become my purpose and part of my healing. I have been working the last six months on writing my own meditations to share and became a certified meditation leader on Insight Timer, which is the app that started it all for me in my practice, and I still continue to use on a daily basis.

But first let me give you just a little more background on meditation. No, you don’t have to just take my word for it. There is actually scientific data even from the Mayo Clinic with results and benefits that from daily meditation, the mind becomes more clear, health starts to improve, you become happier, calmer, more joyful, and less stressed. There is no condition that doesn’t benefit from daily meditation, 1000’s of studies show this.

Meditation is a journey from activity into silence. In meditation as the mind settles down and becomes quieter, the body automatically calms down. Meditation can help you break free of old patterns. Stress release also is very important. However, meditation is much more than just stress relief, meditation is a spiritual journey. Some of the must successful people in the world all start their day with meditation, google it.

Our true self has been covered up by all the stories, beliefs, fantasies that we’ve created for ourselves. Meditation allows us to uncover our essence and to find out who we really are. Meditation doesn’t involve learning anything new. It’s just remembering what we already know, and then integrating it into our lives. When we make that journey in meditation, we go quieter and quieter into the levels of thinking until we slip into those places between our thoughts. It’s not that you stop thinking it’s you recognize that something has pulled you away with a thought and you go back to focusing on your breath, mantra, or whatever you are focused on in your meditation practice.

We don’t just meditate once and immediately experience the possibilities. It’s a cumulative effect. Think of it like exercise for your brain. If you wanted to lose weight or gain strength you workout, you don’t just do it once it is something that you incorporate into your life on a regular basis. As they say it takes 30 days to create a new habit.

Meditation doesn’t require any changes to our lifestyle or beliefs. It simply requires that we sit quietly and comfortably and close our eyes. I read that praying is asking God for what you want and meditating is listening to what God has to say. So if you are already a spiritual person and have the practice of prayer, wonderful, now start to meditate after and go into that quiet place within, and when you come out of your meditation practice, you might be surprised at some of the answers you receive.

By regularly taking this meditation journey, inward between activity and silence, we begin to restore our true potential into our lives every day. It only takes 5 to 10 minutes every day; that is the minimum amount of effort. Clearly, for me, other practices have come into my meditation practice, and I will meditate for 20 minutes or more some days and sometimes less, and then journal about what comes up during that meditation, and then I will read and listen to music. It has become my morning ritual of my time, giving back to myself, my self-care. It has changed my life!

Did any of that resonate with you or make you wonder how this practice might help you in your life to find more peace, joy, calmness, purpose, and/ or happiness?

Are you ready to start meditating? Well, you can click here, and I have several meditations that are already on Insight Timer for free, and I upload new meditations every 2 to 4 weeks. This app is free with over 200,000 different meditations. You can listen to me (which I would love to hear what you think), you can listen to others. When I started, I listened to the same person, the same meditation for 30 days every morning before I got out of bed. I put my headset on and listened to a 10-minute meditation from the same person; that way, I wasn’t scrolling through to try to find what I wanted to listen to today, wasting that time; I grabbed my phone, I opened the app, went into my bookmark. It was right there, and that’s what I listened to for 30 days. I know everyone has 10 minutes in the morning, whether it’s waking up 10 minutes earlier or taking that 10 minutes away from something that you already do; for me, it was flipping on the TV to turn on the news. I never watch the news anymore in the morning, and I did that for over 30 years.

I can’t wait to hear if you already have a practice or this is inspired you to start a new practice or maybe revisit.

As always, if you have any questions comments, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m always happy to share anything that is helped me or struggles that I’ve had along the way.

Happy Meditating, sending peace, love, and joy!

Megan

https://insighttimer.com/megsdivinechoices/guided-meditations/morning-gratitude-practice-wake-up-grateful

Original post from 11/10/21

I’m on a soul’s journey….

What does this mean? I am working to find my sense of self.

I really love this quote from Oscar Wilde.

Meditation Nook

To live is the rarest thing in the world, most people exist, that is all.

I want to live! To do that I had to start to look inward. How do I even begin to do that after 50 plus years? I guess it’s like an onion you have to start to peel back the layers.

The first thing I wanted to do was to add a daily meditation practice to my life. I had tried over a few years, but was never able to keep it up. I always had excuses. Not enough time, distractions, and if everything wasn’t perfect, I couldn’t focus. When the pandemic hit there were no more excuses. They say it takes 30 days to create a new habit. Well, I had that now, didn’t I?

We were on a work from home for a least 30 days. So, I put it on my to do list. I use to live by list, if it wasn’t on my list, I almost couldn’t do it. I had such control issues. I’m working on that as well and it is going much better. (at least I think so we would have to ask my husband) I also no longer have that crazy controlling list going which has given me a freedom. Don’t get me wrong I still have list, shopping or to do to keep me organized, but not that daily time activated list. Anyone remember Franklin Covey planners? I think it was great at the time, but when I think now it was so controlling.

Anyway, back to meditation. There is a lot of talk around meditation and how it can improve your life. Over a thousand scientific studies have been done on the effectiveness of meditation. One of the study’s results found it makes your brain several years younger. Google it!

I had listened to a pod cast and someone said start your day before you even get out of bed. Well, I can do that I love my bed. I found this amazing app called Insight Timer. A teacher that has a soothing voice said you can do this morning meditation laying down in bed. It’s 10 minutes and sets your intentions for the day and helps to feel grounded. I was hooked! It’s now in my daily practice in the morning. I no longer meditate in bed. Insight Timer has 100,000 free meditations, course work and music. It is free or you can upgrade for around $60 for the year that’s $1.16 a week. If it’s not in your budget as I said they do offer it for free just less access. They have course work and have taken several of them. Setting up your vision board to creative writing all with the base of the course around meditation. It has been so life changing for me.

My morning looks like this;

• Get up feed Lola, make husbands lunch and make my coffee. Light my candle and burn my Palo Santo. Sit in my spot.

Tips: Find your spot, set up a quite area. I think you should have some of your favorite things. I have my journal, peaceful candle (scent not too strong) Palo Santo and crystals. Also, I find if I use headset it helps. *Palo Santo helps clear out negative energy. It also smells amazing.

I then open my app to find a meditation that speaks to me. It could be one I have already done or a new one. What do I need today or what do I need to strengthen today? Some days it is harder than others to just sit still, but that is the day I need it more. Some days I will do 2 of them. It’s not about NOT thinking it is about letting go of your thoughts. Focus on your breath… Give your brain a break. Then I will listen to some music from Insight Timer and write in my journal or just write. I will also read after meditation. I could be there for 30 minutes or a few hours it depends what I have going on for the day.

Everyone has 10 minutes in a day. If you look at some of the most successful people they meditate. We all make time for what we want to. For me this was one of the first ways that helped me pull back layers of the onion and look deep inside.

I hope this inspires you to try even start with 2-5 minutes a day. Remember it takes 30 days plus to create a new habit.


XOXO, Megan

*These are my findings. Insight Timer is not paid endorsement