I have not always been a person who sits in meditation.. it has actually taken practice and effort to be where I am today. almost a discipline that I have adopted in order to keep my energetic field feeling clear and aligned. If you haven't yet checked out, Alignment through Chakras, I highly suggest adding to your reading list.
Early on in this practice i had always heard, read articles or watched facebook videos, sharing the benefits of meditation on the physical body and the mind. I could only try to understand what it was all about. I still never got further into my practice of meditation because I thought there were specific guidelines to adhere to, that it had to be a certain way, lineage, etc. a perfect example of my self-limiting belief system that I had draped over this idea of meditation.
Now, let me tell you, I carve the time out to treat my mind and breath to stillness. If i find that I have not sat quietly to gather my thoughts from the day or night in reflection, then I am not the most vibrant Breta anymore. It's almost as if I become a bit dull because my energy will be lost in thoughts and stories that I create in my mind. whereas when I sit, I find clarity in my energetic field that wants to radiate and share with everyone. i cherish this form of self-love, that over the last few years, has taken commitment to honoring my self-worth of sitting in silence.
Here are some tips I can share with you -
-be gentle, patient and loving toward yourself as you learn how to sit silently -create a ritual that is unique to you. light incense, diffuse essential oils, have your crystals near by, use a singing bowl before and after your sit. make it fun and something special that you will look forward to! -start small there is no rush here, instead a cultivation of practice. recognize any self-limiting beliefs here, write them down and throw them away. Set a timer for 5 minutes and gradually work your way to a treat of 15-20 minutes each day! -begin your practice with a sankalpa, an affirmation. examples of this- "I am going to meditate," "I can find peace in my monkey mind," or something like "today I would like to observe my behaviors to situations that arise." by planting this seed in the morning you allow for the affirmation to become affirmed. -at the end of your time, bring your arms up to the sky. your heart opens to all the possibilities that can come from today! then release your hands to the heart center, bow to your glorious worthiness. (a fun way to imagine this is as an hourglass funnel. when you open your arms to the sky feel the gratitude that surrounds you after the sit, all the clear energy will become filtered at the heart for the rest of the body to open into the lower half of the hourglass. this brings the clarity into the physical reality for you to perceive. As above, so below.) This path of meditation is a journey, not one that happens instantly. once you find your own true home you may see the beauty and glory of the heart.
In the silence of my mind, I bow to your radiant heart
Breta Moon