Meditation: The Internal Journey

In a recent Podcast called PGP (Pretty Good Podcast) I was interviewed about what I do and how different aspects of my work actually work. Click here to listen One of the topics we focused on was meditation. Gina Grad, one of the hosts of the show, asked me to help her understand what meditation is for. What she thought it was, and what many people seem to think about meditation is this; sitting with your eyes closed trying to clear your mind and not have any thoughts. After about 30 seconds of attempting to do this, boredom sets in, your mind wanders, and the lack of understanding about what it is all for becomes frustrating and seemingly impossible to do. This deters the effort and yet another person just moves on and does not think about meditating again.

In the beginning I thought exactly what I described above. As time went on and I began to study different techniques of meditation and asked questions about its uses and beneficial aspects, I saw many reasons to do it and the potential for what it can do for me in my day to day life. What I found to be the common denominator of what any meditation is all about, is the internal journey.

Our lives in this culture indicate to us that the most important thing is the external journey, and some may say that it is the only thing.  We go from sleep to breakfast to car to work to lunch to car to home to dinner to sleep. We plan and consume and worry. Basically once we awaken in the morning the rest of the day is about what is the next thing to do. Where to go, what to buy, what to say. When we meditate our direction is to go within.  This internal journey is the simplest form of presence. Each day that we set forth to go within allows for the external journey to be more expansive. The fulfilling things become more fulfilling and the aggravating things become less aggravating. Meditation helps one balance the external world with the clarity and balance that comes from one’s internal world. You become present, and life becomes balanced and grounded by taking the time to go within.

To use meditation you have to be able to wrap your mind around how to do it and why you are doing it. How to do it is simple; all it takes is you and some time. You sit in a chair or on the floor, close your eyes and begin to do rhythmic breathing, in through the nose for 3 to 5 seconds and then out the nose 3 to 5 seconds. Following the breath with your mind will allow you to become more relaxed. Just focusing on your breath alone, for five to ten minutes a day will change your life. Thoughts will creep in…and that’s OK. Simply move your attention back to your breath and keep going.

Once you settle in and feel comfortable with your breath another technique is to visualize a grounding cord. You will want to focus your mind on a light beam or imagine a tree trunk or root from your tailbone to the earth. You want to keep this focus and connect with the earth throughout your meditation. Imagine this grounding cord---actually see it in your mind’s eye—and know that it goes all the way to the center of the planet. The focus of your breath and the grounding cord will keep you present so that when the past thoughts and future thoughts begin to rush your mind you can notice them and then go back to the image of the cord and the acknowledgement of your breathing.

The practice of daily meditation gives you fuel for the day. When you meditate you align your bodies for the day (spiritual, emotional, mental and physical bodies) and just like putting gas in your car to enable it to run, so too is doing a daily meditation. You are giving yourself a state of being that will allow your walk through the day to be more expansive, patient and alive.

Meditation allows you access to presence more readily throughout your day. When you are using the grounding cord to connect you to the earth you are present. This process done every day will change your life! The day to day aggravations will lessen, and you will begin to notice that in former moments of pain, such as conflict with a loved one or a stranger (road rage!) you will be able to revert back to being grounded and find that you are not reacting to, but rather are beginning to respond to, situations.

Finally you will notice that your health is improving. You will see that your spiritual body is affecting your emotional body in a positive way. When your emotional body is in a positive state your mental body will feel strong as well. When your mind is strong your physical body follows and the synergistic flow of who you are is living in a peaceful, expanded, and full state of being.