Meditation
Over the last several months, I have had many people ask me about meditation, and they are often surprised by my response that I meditate almost daily. To be honest, prior to adapting my own routine, meditation seemed strange because it was unknown. Now it has become a regular practice for me.
Let me begin by clarifying that meditation is very different from prayer. I have always had a regular habit of prayer, and it’s a very active process. I started meditating years ago but didn’t establish a routine until September 2016. I would estimate that I meditated at least 350 days during 2018.
As this has become a regular practice for me, I want to share some of my thoughts about meditation in the hopes that you can benefit from my experiences.
How I Meditate
People have asked me how I meditate, and to be honest, my style has evolved over time. When I first started meditating, I used the app Calm. I have nothing to negative to say about it, but I have gravitated toward the app Headspace. A friend asked me the other day if I feel like I still need the app to guide my meditation. I probably don’t, but I enjoy the accountability it provides. I also don’t have to worry about timing myself or occupying my mind with being self-directed. When I finish meditating, I try to record/journal about my experiences, though I sometimes do that sporadically.
When I Meditate
Meditation has become a crucial part of my morning routine. I have found it most effective if I can do it for 10 minutes. When I have too much to do in the morning, I will meditate for only 3 minutes, and that time still leaves me feeling refreshed.
Why I Meditate
My best description of meditation is to compare it to restarting my phone or computer when it isn’t working. Over the last 15 years, I feel like I have called my IT guy hundreds of times to say, “XYZ isn’t working.” His first response is always, “Have you restarted it?” Restarting the device fixes the problem 9 times out of 10. For me, meditation is the same. It’s my hard reset, especially in the midst of a frustration or another serious emotional struggle.
To get even more personal, I’m including some of my post-meditation journal entries from the past couple years. If you are thinking, “These must only be good ones,” I want to tell you that’s not the case. As I read through my journal entries, I don’t recall reading anything like “this seemed like a total waste of time.”
November 27, 2016
Came home from visiting a neighbor and the kids were kinda driving me crazy while putting them to bed. Just did 10 minutes of meditation and I feel amazing. I really feel blessed by my discovery of meditation; it really is unbelievable. My mind and body both feel recharged right now, where 10 minutes ago I felt frustration and potentially even sadness. All of that is gone.
February 15, 2017
Can’t believe I went a week without meditating. This felt amazing. Ten minutes is so critical to my day. It is imperative.
November 21, 2017
Ten minutes and it was incredible. I may have found a bit of a breakthrough. I thought about clearing my head of any trash. I was exhaling anything occupying my head, and it was very therapeutic.
September 26, 2018
Ten minutes and tried something slightly new in that I tried to bring in positive energy and push out the negative energy. The exercise felt really great.
If you don’t know where to start, my first recommendation would be to download either Calm or Headspace to guide your experience. But the most important thing is to just get started. I am excited to get the call or text from someone soon saying, “Dude, I started to meditate, and it has been a game changer.”