How Can We Slow Down?
How do we connect to more peace?
Hello Friendly Reader,
I learned to meditate in college when I was 19 years old. I went to Naropa University a Buddhist inspired school. During my first semester one of my classes assigned mediation homework for 5 minutes a day. We had a meditation room on campus so I went there to practice.
It was awful. It was painful. Five minutes felt like an eternity. My mind was wild and out of control. How could anyone sit longer than 2 minutes? Nope 2 minutes was my max!
Part of it was the pain and discomfort in my body. Everything hurt.
Part of it was the chaos in my thoughts, there wasn’t even a few seconds between each thought, they just swarmed around like a tornado.
I had to get away.
But that’s the thing about meditation, when you sit and face the chaos in the mind you realize there is no getting away. The mind is always there chattering away.
For years I struggled alone with intrusive thoughts. Sometimes my mind was cruel, invasive, hurtful. Sometimes it was creative, a story teller, and thoughtful. Often my mind worried about family getting hurt, about missing everyone in my life, and it dwelled a lot on the past. If your mind is attacking you, get help from a therapist. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help you change the way you perceive the mind and reframe your thoughts in a way that will bring you more peace. It’s ok to ask for help and it’s good to do it sooner than later.
Okay back to meditation.
ONE time while meditating everything was quiet. I heard the birds chirping outside the window. The light coming in looked foggy and mystical. Everything felt sacred and calm. Peace washed over my body.
That’s why I continued to struggle my way through meditation.
Eventually I became fascinated by how distracted my mind was most of the time, bouncing from one thing to the next. I still find myself fascinated by the speed, direction, and immediate commentary of the mind.
The mind is tricky and when left unchecked can pull us mindlessly through our days.
That’s why I loved yoga from the first day I tried it.
Not because it felt good in my body. It felt awful and weird and I vowed I’d never go back. No I went back because of the peace I felt at the end of yoga. How could I get more of that? How could I feel more peace and calm inside of my body and mind?
Here are some of the ways I find more peace and stillness in my life.
Stop going for that second cup of coffee.
Stop checking Google when rogue thoughts grab my attention.
Keep my phone on airplane mode until after breakfast, when I can.
Practice mindfulness and meditation for 2-5 minutes minimum a day.
Try out a gentle yoga class that puts an emphasis on stillness.
Connect to my breath and body.
Dare I say, be still.
By trusting everything I need to do is on the to do list or will get done another way.
By leaning into my spirit more than my mind; the quiet, compassionate, observer that is watching the wildness of the mind swirl about.
If any of the above sounds interesting to you, come join me this month for free yoga or a free meditation challenge.
Don’t worry I will show you some comfortable poses to start with so it won’t suck as much if your new to a meditation practice.
Just screenshot the image above and make it the background on your phone. Or print it out so from the .pdf on my last post so you can get the satisfaction of checking the boxes off each day ☑️
Click the image above to join the Zoom link or click here. The first class is December 6th @ 12:00 Pacific Time.
Thank you for reading this and for sharing it with anyone you know who needs more peace and stillness in their life.
Happy Holidays.
Let’s take care of each other.
Love Always,
Danielle Mallett