age is really just a number

Meditation is the art of silencing the mind. When the mind is silent, concentration increases, and we experience inner peace. This elusive inner peace is what attracts so many people to meditation.

It may seem strange to some that since I have a very busy life; I feel happiest when sitting in perfect silence. The experience is hard to explain in words. I feel peaceful and relaxed like I just hit the proverbial pause button. It is also true that every meditation is not the same. Sometimes meditation is a struggle to control the mind, while at other times it feels effortless. In the beginning, I struggled to clear my mind. Now I just channel my inner blonde! Just kidding!

Benefits of meditation:

1. Improved focus and concentration – A clear mind makes you more productive, especially in creative disciplines like writing. Meditation has definitely helped me learn to hyper-focus.
2. Teaches you to not sweat the small stuff. – We do not worry about meaningless things but focus on seeing the bigger picture. It is the nature of the mind to magnify small things into serious problems. Meditation helps us detach. We learn to live in the here and now, rather than worrying about the past or future. 
3. Improved health with reduced stress – Many studies point to the health benefits of meditation. Meditation reduces stress levels and alleviates anxiety. If we can reduce stress, many health benefits follow.
4. Self-Awareness – Meditation makes it possible for us to have a deeper understanding of our inner self. Through meditation, we can gain a better understanding of our life’s purpose.

How to Meditate

Meditation requires practice. To get the most from meditation you need to do it every day. This requires a place and time where you will not be disturbed. Totally unplug from the world for 5-30 minutes. The rest of your day will be more productive if you learn to take the time to meditate.

Sit with a straight back. Don’t try to meditate lying down because you are likely to fall asleep. Meditation brings relaxation and peace but at the same time this is a dynamic peace. Meditation is quite different than the relaxation of sleep. When we really meditate, we are fully alert and conscious. Our sense of awareness is heightened. Afterwards you’ll have a positive feeling for the world and a renewed sense of optimism. I meditate early in the morning as a way to energize the beginning of my day. You can sit in a yoga lotus posture or just in a straight back chair.

At first, I learned guided meditation with my Peloton app. Then I moved on to just using a mantra, which is a word or phrase repeated over and over, focusing on clearing your mind. However you learn to meditate, you must learn to concentrate on one thing at a time. Usually, the mind tries to hold several different thoughts and ideas at once. When you sit down to meditate for the first time, you realize how cluttered the mind is. However, the mind can be tamed and forced to concentrate on a single thought.

One helpful technique is concentrating on a candle flame. Narrow your gaze to the small tip and block out all other thoughts. When you get distracted, go back to focusing on the candle flame. You can also use other objects like a dot or a flower. The important thing is that you concentrate only on one thing at a time.

After you’ve practiced concentration and learned to focus on one thing at a time, you can proceed to the next stage: no thought at all. Achieving a silent mind is difficult, but when you attain it the experience is powerful. A technique I advise is viewing your thoughts as separate from yourself. When a thought appears, make a conscious decision to throw it out of your mind. Over time you realize that you are capable of allowing or rejecting thoughts. Your real “I” is not a collection of thoughts, but something far deeper. This is the most significant realization of meditation – that you do not have to be a slave to your thoughts.

Through meditation, you attain the power to control your thoughts, and on occasion stop them completely. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t attain a silent mind straightaway. It takes time and practice. There is nothing really else to it; meditation is a simple and spontaneous action. Unfortunately, our mind is used to complication and it takes time to unlearn bad habits.

I challenge you to find just 5 minutes a day to meditate. After this becomes a habit, you will open a whole new world of self-awareness and find your focus greatly improved.