There’s so much that can and should be said about meditation.  In my intro I said mediation is life.  I stand by that 100%. Meditation is essentially your direct line to your higher self (also know as God in whichever form you choose to call it *the note here being don’t get caught up on the semantics of the name as much as the meaning of the connection you are forming*)

The first and most important thing one should know about meditation is this….YOU CANNOT DO IT WRONG!!!!!!

I feel that some people tend to think meditation requires you to sit in a room with your legs crossed, and your thumb and index fingers chanting waiting for some profound moment to come. Not all meditations will lead you to some great epiphany. Take the pressure off of yourself and know no matter how your meditation comes out it was PERFECT. Sometimes you won’t be able to quiet the rambling as quickly as you can on other days, sometimes you’ll fall asleep and sometimes you’ll complete it knowing you were able to connect with your higher self.  All of these things are 100% perfect because you are exactly where you need to be in the present moment.  Meditation takes practice, it’s no different than if you wanted to build your bicep, you wouldn’t lift a 20lb weight one time and then get mad you aren’t super buff would you?

As a recommendation *keeping in mind it’s different for everyone* I always say find some soothing music of your preference (youtube has tons of meditation music) and simply find a space where you can get comfortable and quiet.  You can sit up, you can lay down, whatever it is that will help you get settled into the moment is the goal, then you simply listen to the music. I find taking a couple of slow deep breaths helps me settle in then I begin to follow the musical notes.

As you begin to get comfortable with this you’ll notice that there are gaps in time where you aren’t hearing any of your every day mind rambling, and THAT’S your goal.  It’s not a crime to have thoughts during mediation your goal is just not to carry full conversations during that time.   You’re not looking for absolute silence you’re looking for temporary moments of quiet in order for you to actually HEAR what I call clear thought.  Sometimes it will initially seem as if these thoughts are random but if you keep yourself attuned within the day things will appear in your life to make some of these things clear.

As an example during meditation one morning I ended up on a tangent about the Jewish custom of sitting Shiva.  I could not tell you why of all things that was on my mind.  It progressed into a thought about a Jewish man I knew *mostly because I couldn’t imagine him not clean shaved* which then progressed into how he’s such a great and sweet person.  At the moment I determined this was not a CLEAR THOUGHT but everyday rambling and so I cleared it from my mind.  When I went into work that morning I found out that same man was going to be having surgery within a few weeks as a result of having double hernia’s.  My thoughts lead me to him for a reason it just wasn’t clear why until after the fact.  Those thoughts of love directed towards him were called to the front of my mind on purpose.

So to conclude I’d just like to reiterate 1. you cannot do it wrong 2.you can have thoughts just try not to hold conversations (remember you’re learning to make the distinction between mindless rambling and CLEAR thought  and 3. the more you do it the more natural it becomes.

Good luck and happy travels 😀