Begining Meditation

I discussed meditation briefly in my last post. I think it is something I should elaborate on. You do not have to take a class or be in a group you can do it in the comfort of your own home. You might feel silly at first because it is new and different. But I promise you after the first few times you will come to appreciate it as much as I do.
I stumbled across meditation trying to find peace in my life. I had been through several years of depression that started after I had my children. I could not get back to myself and who I was before children. I know we change when we have kids, we have to, they need us and we love them with all our hearts. But this was different, the me I had always known had disappeared. There was constant anxiety, a lot of sadness and frustration. I did not have Joy in my life. I loved my daughters, they brought me much happiness but that was about the only thing that did. I struggled with postpartum depression. I was fed up with the way I was feeling and I said, "ok, that's it, I'm becoming a Buddhist." I was mostly kidding at first, but I kept saying it. Then I began reading about Buddhism and that led me to meditation. What I found in meditating was something that I never knew existed. It was a calming, quiet way of getting in touch with myself. It was a way to listen without hearing anything, to focus without thinking, to do nothing but feel everything. I really cannot explain the experience you just have to try it!! You do not have to be Buddhist, or Hindu or identify with any group or religion. It is a human experience not a religious one. It can be religious if you choose it to be, you can practice prayer and repeat a religious mantra but you do not have to. It is for mind, body and soul and can be done anyway you choose. There are many different types of meditations.

Transcendental Meditation, is a type of mindfulness practice that uses the repetition of a mantra to help clear the mind.

Zen Meditation, in Zen meditation you focus all of your attention on you breath going in and out through your nose, you are aware of your thoughts but you let them pass without engaging or dwelling on any one thought.

Mindfulness Meditation, Here you focus on the rise and fall of your abdomen upon breathing. You again do not focus on any thought, you acknowledge that you have had a thought and then bring your mind back to your abdomen.

There are many more as well. But how ever you practice just give it a chance it can take a little bit until you are able to clear your mind and calm your thinking. There are so many potential benefits from meditation. It reduces stress, improves concentration, increases self awareness, increases happiness, help with cardiovascular and immune health, reduces anxiety, lowers blood pressure, better sleep....I could go on and on.

I have just a few suggestions that will help you get in to the meditation more deeply. The first is be comfortable. You don't want to be in any pain or feel discomforted in any way. That will distract your mind from the meditation. Try using a pillow underneath you if you're a sitting in lotus pose. You can purchase an inexpensive meditation pillow from yogaoutlet.com and many other online shops. They help to align you spine while in the lotus position.
Another is essential oils. Use of essential oils during meditation can enhance the experience by grounding you and promoting a sense of calm. Oils such as Vetiver, Patchouli and Palo Santo have a grounding effect while Clary Sage, Cedarwood and Lavender have a calming effect. Helichrysum and Frankincense are said to enhance enlightenment and spiritual connection. I get my oils from Young Living https://www.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/new-start?sponsorid=3188849&enrollerid=3188849&isocountrycode=US&culture=en-US&type=member
Music can help during meditation to keep you calm and distract your mind. I find this app very helpful, Relax Melodies, you can find it in the Play Store. I like it because you can choose from many different sound and you can also layer them and use more than one at a time. I personally like the flute and the rain or ocean. But choose what's most calming to you.

Any method you decide to try remember don't give up there is a reason people have be practicing meditation all around the world for thousands of years.

Taking time for me.

Ok so here it goes....I've been wanting to start a blog for a long time. But now that both of the kids are in school I have a little time to do it. I've decide that I'm going to do a lot of things that I have been wanting to do. You see life is short, these last few years have shown me just how short it can be. And I am choosing to get up and live it!! Whether that means starting a blog, continuing to further my physical and mental wellness or taking a photography class. I am going to take charge of my life!! I love my family!! They are my life but it's time to start carving out some time for me. I think that is something a lot of mothers struggle with. I know I do. I feel selfish, I feel like I could be doing something with or for the kids or my husband or something around the house. But here is the thing there is ALWAYS going to be something that needs to be done ALWAYS. Here's a little secret....it will still get done. It will. And when it does you will feel a little better about doing it if you have had sometime for yourself. There will be less frustration when you are sweeping the floor for the tenth time today. I promise. Decide on something that you enjoy even if it is just reading a book. Carve out some time each day or a few times a week. Set an alarm in your phone if you have to, but do it. Then when you get into the habit of taking sometime for you, start to think about doing something you have always thought about doing and begin taking the steps to do it. Use the time that you have already planned out for yourself and push yourself out of your comfort zone a little bit at a time. Your kids are small now or maybe they are in a ton of sports, or maybe you work full time and spend as much time with your kids as you can or maybe you don't have kids yet but work full time or have other commitments. Whatever it is, this part of you life wont last forever. You wont be the same person tomorrow that you are today. Is it fair to deprive yourself of your passions at any point in your life? Go to work, take care of your family but don't forget to get to know you along the way. You are still a person regardless of your job at work or at home. Don't forget to nourish your soul, stay in touch with you. It will go along way for your mind and your spirit. I have suffered through depression, loss, grief and hard times and in all of that mess I forgot about me. I mean literally forgot about who I was, what I wanted, what interested me. I forgot how to be happy and enjoy myself. I never even stopped to think about what I wanted. I started with meditation. It sounded easy enough, you don't need to spend money you don't have to go anywhere, just meditate. There are free guided meditations, you can even search youtube.com, there are free apps (I like Self-Hypnosis for Meditation). Meditation helped me to look inside of myself. It also helped me to listen to silence to enjoy silence, to breath and to relax. There is nothing like it in this world!! You don't have to be a pro. I started with some relaxing sounds (this app is great! Relax Melodies: sleep and yoga). Just listen to the sounds focus on the your breath don't think. This was the beginning of my journey inward.