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How to Meditate
If you’ve ever been curious about meditating, and you’re wondering how it gets done, we hope this will be of help to you as you embark on that journey. Establish presence, practice mindfulness and embrace gratitude. Whether you choose to sound bath, pray, sauna or hum, put these steps into practice and see how it changes your life.
Are you ever curious about what it means to genuinely meditate? Like, seriously. Maybe you, like most people, have at one point or another mimicked something you saw on television or at the movies, like mindless hmm and hawing or some variation of assorted affirmations and relaxation exercises.
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the term meditate as a verb that means “to engage in contemplation or reflection.” In another entry, they define the term as a verb that means “to engage in mental exercise (such as concentration on one’s breathing or repetition of a mantra) for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.”
At the end of the day, meditation is always a practice that is carried out with intention and expectancy. Whether your expectation is to feel more present, fulfilled or well rested, there is always a reason for employing the practice of meditation in one’s life. Today, we’re going to discuss three steps you should take when deciding to meditate.
Step One: Establish presence.
Eckhart Tolle is one of the most well-known spiritual teachers in the world. According to his website, his bestselling books, The Power of Now and A New Earth are published and distributed in 52 different languages – an impressive feat for literally any single person. Moreover, his work has very much been focused on inspiring and empowering people to lead more mindful lives and embrace the advent of being present in each moment of life.
Being present, according to Tolle, is about experiencing the freedom and joys of life. In a popular video of his, he illustrates the importance of being alert, or aware of what is happening around you. He spoke about how our awareness grows and recedes based on the nature of the moment you are living in.
Step Two: Practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a hot topic of discussion in today’s social landscape. Possibly because so many of us have misunderstood what it means, or we’ve found ourselves caught up in fringe conspiracies about its place in the aimless musings of abstract thought. Fortunately, psychologists were able to agree.
“Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention to the present. This state is described as observing one’s thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad.” (PsychologyToday)
When preparing to meditate, it is important that you understand what it means to be present, and to be aware of and alive in the moment. Some exercises to activate mindfulness include paying attention, living in the moment, focusing on your breathing, and other practical activities recommended by Mayo Clinic, The Harvard Gazette and others.
Step Three: Embrace Gratitude.
Once you’ve established presence, and put mindfulness into practice, there’s only one thing left to do. Embrace gratitude. According to research conducted in the field of positive psychology, “gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” (Harvard Health)
The embrace and expression of gratitude is linked to a long list of positive outcomes for those who use it in their lives. Stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, closer relationships and more are all linked to the implementation of gratitude in one’s life. In 2010, Greater Good Magazine actually published a segmented list to review the positive effects of gratitude on the physical, psychological and social levels.
If you’ve ever been curious about meditating, and you’re wondering how it gets done, we hope this will be of help to you as you embark on that journey. Establish presence, practice mindfulness and embrace gratitude. Whether you choose to sound bath, pray, sauna or hum, put these steps into practice and see how it changes your life.
Why sink when you can SWIM?
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A Mindful Daily Routine With Ashley Graham
In a recent article, published to The Wall Street Journal, Ashley opens up about how she prioritises her time, and sheds light on her daily routine. Here are three things that stuck out to us, and why we ought to consider establishing these practices in our own lives.
The model, icon and activist channels mindfulness in these three ways.
Ashley Graham is an icon in her own right. She is a woman of many firsts, including the first curvy or plus-sized model to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine (2016) as well as Vogue Magazine (2017), although (mindfully) she is not a fan of the term “plus-sized”, a stance she has expounded on in her 2015 TEDx Talk at TEDxBerkleeValencia.
In a recent article, published to The Wall Street Journal, Ashley opens up about how she prioritises her time, and sheds light on her daily routine. Here are three things that stuck out to us, and why we ought to consider establishing these practices in our own lives.
Getting Up Early in the Morning
As a mother of three children, Ashley notes that it is important to her that she be up ahead of them to ensure enough space for her to have some alone time before their day begins. Early in this case is approximately 06:30a or 06:45a depending on the day. For others it could be the same, or a bit earlier or later depending on the person.
Getting up early is an important thing to consider. Studies have long demonstrated a link between getting up early and increased productivity or overall wellness, although each case is different per person. For more information on why you should consider getting up earlier in the morning, check out this article published to Healthline, listing ten benefits observed in the adoption of an early riser’s lifestyle.
Taking Vitamins
Mindful of all that her body has gone through in its 32 year journey on this planet, Ashley shares that she is in fact a vitamin consumer. She mentions that she is actually currently working with a naturopath to “regulate literally everything” going on in her body.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition reports as recently as 2019 that nearly 80% of all adults in the United States are using vitamins or dietary supplements. In the same year, the American Osteopathic Association reported an even higher number, however, they made note that out of all the people taking vitamin supplements, “only 21% have a confirmed nutritional deficiency.”
Most people, confirmed nutritional deficiency or not, do not have the means to hire a doctor specifically for the compilation of vitamin supplements, let alone visiting a doctor outside of their primary care physician. So for all our multivitamin consumers out there, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s The Nutrition Journal published an article that lists out some things you should consider before taking vitamin supplements regularly. Here’s a brief look at what they recommended:
“Reasons to use a multivitamin:
I am eating a limited diet or my appetite is poor so that I am eating less than usual.
I am following a restricted diet for longer than one week. This could be prescribed such as a liquid diet after a surgical procedure, or a self-imposed diet such as on with the goal of weight loss.
I have a condition that reduces my body’s ability to absorb nutrients (celiac disease, ulcerative colitis) or have undergone surgery that interferes with the normal absorption of nutrients (gastric bypass surgery, Whipple procedure).
I temporarily have increased nutrient needs, such as being pregnant.
I’m very busy and just can’t eat a balanced diet every day.
Reasons that may not need a multivitamin:
I eat well but am feeling tired all the time (discuss first with your doctor so they can investigate other possible causes).
I eat a pretty good diet but want to improve my health as much as possible, so it couldn’t hurt to get some extra nutrition from a vitamin.
I have osteoporosis and need more calcium, or I have iron-deficiency anemia and need more iron (in both scenarios, you may only need to take those individual nutrients rather than a comprehensive multivitamin).”
Of course, at the end of the day, what you choose to invest is between you and your doctor.
Utilising Meditation and Prayer
Another note Ashley touched on in her discourse with Lane Florsheim, the author of the article published to The Wall Street Journal, was one of meditation and prayer.
“Usually in the mornings, that will be my time for a true meditation prayer. Justin (her husband) and I have been doing it together for years, and we started inviting Isaac into prayer time, and he loves it. Alone time, which is just as important for me, is really when the children go down. Justin and I have a thing where we just know that in order to be better for each other, we also need to have our own time and our own space.”
The impact of meditation and prayer on our mental, emotional and physical health has been studied for years, with varying results. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says “much of the research on these topics has been preliminary or not scientifically rigorous. Because the studies examined many different types of meditation and mindfulness practices, and the effects of those practices are hard to measure, results from the studies have been difficult to analyze and may have been interpreted too optimistically.” Adversely, this article published to the Emory News Center at Emory University notes the benefits observed by a practising psychologist in Sri Lanka following the tsunami of 2004.
Although conclusive research on meditation and prayer is still minimal, the testimonies of those who already use these methods for mindfulness and wellness may make the consideration worthwhile.
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How To Let Go Of The Past
Among the many challenges compounded by one’s decision to live in the past is the barrier to balanced decision making for your present and for your future. Today, let’s look at four action items you can employ to let go of the past and live in the present.
Have you ever felt like your life was on an endless cycle? Like you were stuck on a loop and just couldn’t figure out how to successfully turn the page in your life? Have you ever felt like you just couldn’t let go of the past? In this post, we will explore four action items to help you let go of the past and live in the present.
Living in the past comes with a whole lot of consequences. Take it from certified health coach Karen Ann Kennedy:
“Living in the past is a problem because it robs you of the opportunity to enjoy the present.”
Among the many challenges compounded by one’s decision to live in the past is the barrier to balanced decision making for your present and for your future. Today, let’s look at four action items you can employ to let go of the past and live in the present.
Give Yourself Grace
Have you ever said something mean or belittling to or about yourself? Have you ever been mad at yourself for doing something wrong, or underperforming? Sometimes, if we’re not careful, we hold ourselves back through negative self-talk and other behaviours that convince us of our insufficiency or our ineptitude.
Give yourself grace.
Maybe you woke up late this morning because your body needed some extra rest. Give yourself grace. Maybe you spent a little more than you had planned for this month, and now you will have to restructure your finances in order to meet your goals this season. Give yourself grace. Maybe you said something unnecessarily harsh about someone else, or passed judgement a little too quickly instead of working to understand the situation better. Give yourself grace.
Everyday we are presented with new opportunities to learn, grow and improve as individuals. In order for that to happen, we have to uproot the behaviours that tell us we are unworthy of that growth or that progress, and we must provide ourselves a safe space to bloom.
Choose to Be Present
All your feelings are valid. They all have context and purpose because they all come from something, someone or somewhere. Your feelings are legitimate, but they are not good leaders. As a sentient being with the power to make up your own mind, it is your responsibility to manage your emotions and decide what you will believe and do in each moment of life. If it sounds like a lot, well… that’s because it is.
Choosing to be present puts the power back in your hands. When we choose to avoid conflict, difficult situations and big decisions, we deceive ourselves and give into delusions of inferiority where we play the role of someone who is incapable of rising above their life’s problems. When we decide to be present, we are able to balance the reality of what is happening with our desire and our ability to create change.
Feel your feelings. Communicate your experiences. Build understanding and progress towards your dreams through mindfulness and intention.
Choose to Build Positivity
Research has found that on average it takes five positive experiences to counteract one negative experience. That seems like a really challenging statistic in the face of what would seem to be a non-stop barrage of negativity in the world today. Fortunately, we have the power to build experiences of positivity.
The key to succeeding in this area is to build positivity without fear or worry of experiencing negativity. Don’t wait until something bad happens to try and turn it around while you’re feeling down. Start building positivity in your work, your education, your finances and your relationships now. And whatever you do, keep going. Never stop building positivity while you are able.
Hold Yourself Accountable
Grace means nothing without accountability. The universe, as we understand it, operates on cause and effect. That means there are consequences for the choices you make, the words you say and the actions you take. Get clear about your values and your objectives in life, and hold yourself accountable to making them happen.
Hopefully with this post you are inspired to take action and be present more in life! After all…
Why sink when you can SWIM?
During this course, students will reflect on the reality of their past, present and future identities, and the significance of interpersonal relationships and habitual practices to build self-confidence and determination.