“Obstacles in meditation are not a problem, they are the path to finding freedom amidst it all.”
– Jack Kornfield
WHY MEDITATE?

 

After nearly twenty years of practicing meditation, I can honestly say that it has helped me in immeasurable ways (including managing this unpredictable and challenging world we live in). It is also one of the the keys to good physical and mental health! We spend so much time, money, and energy learning how to take care of ourselves by eating well and exercising properly, but how much time do we spend understanding and exercising our minds? Meditation is one of the most cost effective and useful tools you will ever have to improve your overall health and wellbeing. It’s been around for nearly 3,000 years for one simple reason – it works! You need a good teacher, a supportive community, and a desire to learn how to do it! Here’s an example of why meditation works…

A man walks into a cave and proceeds to draw on the wall with chalk. He draws an image of a scary tiger, with jaws wide open, ready to pounce and eat its prey. The man then looks at the scary image he has drawn and immediately runs in fear out of the cave and away from the scary tiger on the wall.

We do this all the time. We create stories in our heads that trigger fear and activate our Fight or Flight response. Our bodies don’t know the difference between real and perceived threats, and we respond as if we are in immediate physical danger, causing all kinds of harmful effects on our bodies, like a rise in blood pressure, interruption in sleep, stomach upset, muscle tension, migraines, mental fog, stress, and so much more.

HOW TO TAME THE MIND
When you sit down to meditate, you are learning how to meet your mind. And when you do, you will find it is akin to a really bad roommate (who won’t leave). It is often noisy, chaotic, messy, fearful, judgmental, scary, and talking incessantly (even keeping you up at night). This is why so many people don’t want to meditate or say it doesn’t work for them. They don’t want to meet their minds and can’t get that awful “roommate” to leave. But the only way to lessen the influence of thoughts on your body, psyche, and health is to learn how to meet those thoughts and work with your mind in healthier ways. It is possible and life changing!

You aren’t getting rid of your thoughts. That is very hard to do. You are establishing a different relationship with them. As you learn to simply watch your thoughts, without reacting to them or diving into their content, you begin to understand the incredible, life changing truth that thoughts are just thoughts, they are not facts, and you don’t have to believe them.  

With practice, you can get very good at seeing thoughts as just thoughts and letting them come and go. You can choose not to believe them or get swept away by their contents. Once you learn this skill, you become less reactive and less triggered. Over time, your thoughts have less power over you. This is a game changer!

WANT TO GIVE IT A TRY?
I invite you to join us at Pause to be Present to learn this superpower! I promise you that anyone can learn to meditate! We still have a few spots left in our Spring Meditation Retreat that is the perfect place to help you explore your mind, befriend it in a safe and supportive setting, and better understand how to harness the power of your mind to lower stress and anxiety and boost your health and wellbeing!  Join us in one of our classes and workshops or organize your own private group! We love to share this incredible gift of meditation with you! And we all need it now more than ever.

xo-
Cheryl

🙏