Getting Out of Your Way: A Guide to Starting Your Meditation Journey
If you find yourself enthralled with the idea of meditation and have not yet gotten around to it for some reason, you are not alone. This piece will delve into how to start your meditation journey.
Why Practice?
Most are familiar with the idealized meditative postures and positioning; however, beyond the poised postures, meditation is achieved by settling both the mind and body into a calm state. Where our attention goes, our energy flows. Likewise, our true power lies within where and how we direct our attention. Hence our attention (aka energy) is our most valuable asset. The practice calls us to pull our attention away from the many things that may distract us from residing in the present. Contrary to popular belief, meditation is not a restrictive practice that requires you to assume complex postures and positions; it is a fluid, adaptive practice that can be curated to meet you exactly where you are. Hence there is no right or wrong way to practice, as you can sit, stand, walk, lie down, or do any of the many commonplace activities of daily life.
One would think that simply being able to focus on any particular task equates with being in the here and now. Only singularly focusing your awareness (aka attention) on just one thing is more nuanced. Thanks to the many distractions continuously competing for our attention, it is often easier said than done.
However, the key to meditation resides in refining your ability to reclaim control of where you place your attention, despite the many competing distractions that continuously rally for your attention. From the inner incessant mental chatter to the many external noises that reside outside of our control, distractions are literally and figuratively at every turn threatening to derail your highest intent. However, the good news is with consistent practice you can take your power back by developing the habit of practicing meditation.
Meditation is paying in-distractible attention to all that is unfolding on a moment-by-moment basis without judgment or attachment to a preferred outcome. Objective observation (without judgment) empowers one to transition from identifying with your thoughts, beliefs, actions, fears, worries, and anxieties to observing and accepting them is.
When we hold on to the things that cause discomfort out of fear of loss or the unknown, we disrupt the flow of life, causing dis-ease (aka pain) and creating suffering. In essence, what we resist persists. In other words, the more we hold on to, internalize, replay, retain, and internalize thoughts of discomforting experiences, the more we regulate ourselves to live in every other tense but the present, now, moment.
Releasing judgment and accepting all that passes through your awareness frees you to reside within the present. In classic human fashion, you will not always like what passes through your awareness. Hence, observing it all, including the good, the bad, and the ugly, without internalizing them may seem simple, but it is no easy feat. So how do you get out of your way? So glad you asked.
Getting Out of Your Way
No matter how many times one may prepare to ready themselves to begin ( aka actually start to practice) nothing compares to actually taking the first step. Hence, the only way to get out of your way is to follow the advice of the infamous Nike slogan, “Just Do It.” So let’s begin by doing just that.
Designate a quiet space where you can sit undisturbed for a relatively short period.
Sit in an upright position with your feet planted firmly on the ground.
Release any physical tension from your face, neck, shoulders, or any other areas in which you may sense tension within your body.
Take a few deep cleansing breaths by feeling into the natural rhythm and flow of the breath.
Gently lower your gaze, or close your eyes, breathe, and observe the physical mechanics of the breath. The key is to direct and lower the gaze to the tip of your nose or close your eyes to unhook (aka redirect your awareness away from the external world so that your attention is refocused within.
Lowering the gaze disrupts and blurs our visual focus, making it much harder to focus on anything outside ourselves. At the same time, closing our eyes to the external world frees us to redirect our awareness instantly. From the free-flowing fluid movement of the chest to the subtle physical sensations, notice all that is passing through your awareness without judgment or resistance.
Root your attention on the functionality that can only occur within the here and now, the breath.
Observe and notice with each passing moment the flow of life force energy that is perpetually fused with the breath to supply our being with all the essential elements to sustain us to thrive.
The breath is perpetually unfolding and evolving to reflect our current state every second of the day. A still restful state sets the pace with an easy, full relaxed flow. Whereas, a stressed, tense state charts the course for rapid shallow breathing, giving way to our current well-being or lack thereof.
To center our awareness in the present, you must focus on the very functionality that can only occur in the present, the breath. Unlike the unpredictable flow of our thoughts and mental chatter, which free flow between all tenses in time, from the past, present, to the future, one cannot propel the breath into any other tense but the present moment. In other words, you cannot breathe in the past, future, or any other tense but the now moment.
With each passing moment, life forces energy fuses with the breath as it courses through our bodies, supplying us with all the essential elements not only to live but to thrive. The breath is perpetually changing every moment; the more stressed you are, the more rapid and shallow the breath, the more relaxed, the more free-flowing, nourishing, and easeful the breath.
In other words, the breath is one of the most reliable measures of your current state. By centering your attention on observing the breath, it reacquaints you with all that is occurring within.
The mind and body are synchronously interconnected. For every active physical movement, the mind busies itself with mental activity. The busier the body, the more the mind occupies itself with mental chatter. Meditation calls for you to center your awareness on observing the breath. This roots you within the present moment, as the breath can only occur within the now.
Whenever you get up in a series of disruptive, take a moment to stop, pause, and take a few cleansing breaths through your nose (Mindful Minute). Taking the time to pause, and breathe, empowers you to anchor your awareness within the present moment, as the breath is an essential function that can only occur within the now.
Our true power lies in our ability to pause and selectively choose what we want to allow to enter our awareness. No matter how challenging it may seem, we can all use the power of awareness, intention, and breath to create new habits that empower us to selectively choose where we would like to direct our attention.
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