Our first post in this series was about how to fuel our bodies for optimal balance. This segment we want to talk a little bit about meditation and bringing a more mindful sense of being for optimal balance.
With progress in technology, brings a faster pace of life. This is good and bad. Good in that we have information at our fingertips in mere seconds, but detrimental in the assumption that because we have access we are available 24/7. In turn this access has us constantly plugged in with little time to take a step back and just be in the moment. Being in the moment, appreciating it for what it is, and having a full sensory experience. How often do we do this?
I have the opportunity to teach a class at the University level that addresses just this with a population that REALLY needs to learn ways to recondition themselves. We discuss how to find your own personal Zen, mindful living, & ways meditation can be the conduit. Every semester the conversation varies but always circles back to one simple concept: Meditation is and should be a necessary part of everyone’s daily regiment. Now, meditation doesn’t have to be sitting cross legged on a mountain top chanting Oms. Meditation can be different for each of us. For some just the act of brewing a pot of tea can be so ritualistic it becomes meditative.
So what is meditation? I had a student in a paper define it as a “thoughtless awareness”. I really liked that. We have to practice, just like anything else, to get to the point of thoughtless awareness. And practice means time. That terrible word none of us ever have enough of. Start off small and work your meditative practice into longer sessions. Don’t get frustrated, thoughts will drift into your consciousness, allow yourself to acknowledge the thought and let it go like a cloud floating by.
The other thing I like to share with my class is this YouTube video called It is Always now. It talks about time and what we do with it from the perspective of how short life can be. Give it a glance and have a great week!