Aug 4 2015

The Meditation Continues…

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It has been a long time since I have written a post!  I never wanted this blog to become one of those stagnant websites you come across where you check to see when the last update was and it states it was years ago.  The only way I would let that happen is if I were to pass away, then it really will be a website locked in time.  Although, the website address might change if I were to pass, as I am paying $18 a year for my website name (let’s be brutally honest here hah…) So here it goes, I am feeling the inspiration and flow to get some words out again.

I have been a bit silent lately because I have been dealing with some life changes and anxiety (those two really go hand in hand don’t they?)  Old destructive thought patterns have been coming up for me again and I caught myself on the teeter totter of desiring past addictions, but fortunately as time passed the cravings vanished.  I kept remembering that just because in one moment I was craving a past addiction, it doesn’t have to become a big story.  It was just one moment, one passing thought, one passing craving and the next moment starts anew.

My meditation practice has been the same (20 minutes on most mornings), but with that I have felt that I reached a plateau and haven’t gotten as much out of it as when I started a few years ago.  I guess I had some fantasy when I first started practicing meditation that it would lift me up fast and that life would be like heaven every day.  While there has been some amazing transformation within me since first starting meditation, life as a human is still exactly that.  I have to feed this body, excrete stuff from this body and care for this body……honestly, it’s a lot of work!

The other fantasy that I had about starting a meditation practice was that I thought it would help me to elevate my consciousness to such a degree that all my dreams would come true and that everything would be happily ever after.  Hah!  Just typing that out makes me crack up, because in reality it did the complete opposite.  It shattered the idea of my dreams, it made me realize that a lot of my dreams were actually never even mine to begin with.  It ripped apart the idea of what I thought I was supposed to be and do in this life.

Meditation has quieted my mind and has helped me to focus in on what my true desires are.  It has helped me in becoming patient with what is in any given moment or situation, be it blessing or a curse occurring.  Meditation has shown me many things that I need to work on and many things that I have avoided for a good majority of my adult life.  It has made me realize that you can shift everything around in your outer life all you want to try to find happiness, but truly….everything is actually discovered when you go within.

I actually just made three major changes in the outer circumstances of my life, so I am being a little hypocritical with the above statement, haha.  However, I feel that meditation helped me to focus in on what I truly want to do with my life, so I have begun taking the steps and signs have come along with that informing me in a synchronous matter that this is the path that I need to be on right now.  I’m sure that some uncomfortable things will come up on this path too, but that will give me the experience I need to keep on my path of following my bliss.  I am excited for this new path and am going to try to post more frequently!

37 comments on “The Meditation Continues…”

  1. Mediation is the food for soul… The more you will do… The more strength your soul recieve.. ..
    One day this mediation will take you to new journey… . God bless u.. Keep meditating… He is watching your efforts ..

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  2. You may now join the club of bloggers who intend to keep their hard-won momentum going, but at some point recognize that sometimes life gets in the way. Don’t be unkind to yourself…even a valued meditation practice can’t cover every contingency that might present itself.

    All sorts of diversions are possible in life…many times they are valuable pointers towards a needed change, and we can benefit much from close proximity to our inner selves in just the same way as we can from a kind of closeness to our beloved others.

    Your contributions are important here and we wish you well….John H.

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    • Thank you John for your kind words! Your comment really made my day. I appreciate it. And you are totally right on the point, great insight. Many things don’t go according to how we want them to maybe, but we late find out it was actually exactly what we needed 😉

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  4. I have found I get the most from meditation without intention. By letting go of any hopes or expectations I can simply be with whatever shows itself. The power is in the acceptance of what is, clarity and inner space…. which then expands into our lives. Sound like that’s exactly where you are 🙂

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    • Thank you Val for reading and commenting! Yes, it has been a huge act in letting go, including letting go of any attachments to taking the spiritual road. Your comment reminds me a little of this Pema Chodron quote: “When we are training in the art of peace, we are not given any promises that, because of our noble intentions, everything will be okay. In fact there are no promises of fruition at all. Instead, we are encouraged to simply look deeply at joy and sorrow, at laughing and crying, at hoping and fearing, at all that lives and dies. We learn that what truly heals is gratitude and tenderness.” 🙂

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  5. Beautifully written.Lots of clarity. The bit where you talk about ‘uncomfortable things coming up’. I love the idea that uncomfortable things coming up are ‘perfect’. Funny how we attribute only good things to the word perfect. I’m working with the idea that everything that comes into my life is perfect. Perfect means it’s here, it’s a fact, This way of using perfect means I’m not pushing like hell against those experiences that I don’t like…it means I’m discovering more of me through the experience. Using the word perfect deflects the temptation to fall into victimhood…that’s its key I reckon.

    I think I have just gone on and on. You have allowed me to clarify for myself more of this ‘perfect’ concept. Thanks so much.

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    • Thanks Denise for your kind words! And so true…that what we are given (even when initially we are pushing against it) is perfectly what we need. Glad this post could give you some of your own clarification too! 🙂

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  6. First of all, may God continue to bless you, your family and friends.

    I don’t remember where I read it, but having difficult problems is one way we know we are making headway through life. If we were satisfied with our bad habits and old ideas we could never advance in our spiritual lives. We would be stuck in a rut and not even know it.

    Meditation helped me get through my wife’s passing, losing my job and losing my townhouse, all within a five year period. Since then I have found a new and exciting path, although it forces me to examine myself, motives and ideals. I was challenged lately in the financial area. After a couple of months I found myself laughing and thinking of a song from that famous bard, Bob Dylan. As he so wisely sang, “When you ain’t got nothin’, you got nothin’ to lose!”

    I wish you wealth, health, and love, and the time to enjoy them.

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    • Thank you for your sweet comment and well wishes! Much appreciated! I am so sorry to hear of all the tough situations that befell you all within a five year period, I bet you are so very strong though because of them! Love the Dylan quote, he is one of my hometown heroes (I’m from Minnesota) 🙂 Sending you loads of love and light!

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  7. Nice to read your words. All we can do is walk our paths and sometimes pause and rest. But, then that is part of our path, too. It can all be part of our meditation.

    Thanks for your post,
    Scott

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  9. What you are discovering on your own is very similar to my own experience and many others on my path to awakening. You’re burning through some unrealistic expectations. What remains is a clearer focus on what will make you truly happy. Bravo on your progress. What a brave soul you are.

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  12. I can relate very much to your words – big life changes, and being faced with those limiting thoughts, louder than ever! I haven’t posted much this summer either…it’s been hard to keep up with all the internal and external changes. I look forward to reading more of your words and I wish you lots of peace and joy in your transitions. Aleya ❤

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  13. “I have to feed this body, excrete stuff from this body and care for this body……honestly, it’s a lot of work!” you bet! Its been nearly a year since my life turned upside down. Crisis that unleashed depression and anxiety and i thought it was all over. Long story short I learned to reinvent myself, voila! the only problem for me is that it IS hard work as you say; data cleansing (mind), exercise, eat healthy, listen to metaphysics coaches lectures, write my own stuff, affirmation, gratitude, yoga, meditation…..etc. grrrrrrr! every time I get a hold of one side and move to the next I feel I’m losing grip of the first one 🙂 but its ok, I guess the challenge makes it interesting.

    I have a tip for you when it comes to creeping thoughts that won’t go away. Until last week I thought I’m “cured” but after an unpleasant encounter I was unpleasantly surprised to find that my old demons were waiting for me on my pillow that night. Anyway, what helps me is what some call mindfulness, or being aware of the now or “isness” as Eckhart Tolle prefers to call it. Don’t under any circumstance try to control the thoughts, fighting it makes it stick. Instead, acknowledge it and let it pass, how? by focusing on the current moment you’re living, you can only live in the now, not the past nor the future. Be aware of your surroundings, be grateful for each small detail: your health, your eye sight, your couch…..etc. Bottom line: focus on that moment and nothing else, you’ll realize how blessed you are. I really hope this works!
    Thanks for a nice post!

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    • Thank you so much for your kind comment and the great depth of your comment 🙂 It is wonderful. Thanks for sharing your own story. I love Eckhart Tolle so much, The Power of Now changed my life, I came across it in the beginning stages of my awakening. Meditation has helped me so much to become aware of my breath, so every time I catch that my mind has gone out of control, I simply focus on the in and out breath and it immediately brings me back into the “now.” Keep doing your wonderful things and writing, and please keep in touch :)!!!

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  15. Hi. It happens to me that sometimes I skip meditation for 2 or 3 days and only then I see how much good meditation does for me (when all those awkward thoughts suddenly come back and won’t go away) even when absolutely nothing special happens when I sit.

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    • Yes, that is a great point! Variety is the spice of life :). I think certain types of meditation can definitely be more helpful with certain ailments. Thanks for reading and commenting! Peace

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