Meditation

So I began this blog with the intention of the majority of it being about my life as a vegetarian. I feel like I'd like to share more about myself than being just a vegetarian. I am still 100% a vegetarian & continue my research and support of it, but I feel guilty that it's been months since I've written anything about vegetarianism- and if there are any faithful, vegetarian readers out there- I am deeply sorry. I'm not taking a break from being a vegetarian...I suppose there is just more on my mind these days. But that's how life goes- you just have to go with it and follow your thoughts & your heart <3 I do PROMISE PROMISE PROMISE to write a vegetarian post within the next week or two :)


So like I was saying, there has been a lot on my mind these last 2 months. One of the reasons I came to Australia was to get away from my familiar surroundings and try to discover myself a little bit (because, at 23- there's no way I can discover 100% who I am- it takes an entire lifetime to figure that out!) One, if not the biggest problem I have been encountering in the last few years is always. worrying. about. my. future. Like, always. I recently wrote an entry about being worried (here!) and how so much energy is wasted on worrying. For the last 2 years, I have been constantly flooding my soul with worries about making enough money, living on my own, job security, family issues, friend issues, guy problems, debt problems, i-haven't-worked-out-in-2-weeks-and-now-i-think-i'm-fat problems- just CRAP. crappy problems that no matter if I worry about them or not, will still exist in my life. And once those issues are resolved, new predicaments will be knocking at my door, waiting to set up camp in my heart & brain.

I scurried off to the land down under in an attempt to discover who I really am (as best as I could) and to live life right now (along with it being a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, my love of travel, learning about childcare, blah blah blah). I recently just finished the book Eat Pray Love, which gave me extra reminders of being mindful. The sheer thrill and joy that I'm getting by living in this amazing country is nearly enough to keep me mindful, but I just needed something else to help me along.

Eat Pray Love tells the story of a woman on her journey to..for lack of a better term...save herself. She travels to 3 different countries, 1 of them being India, in search for peace, love, forgiveness, sense of self, etc etc. In India, she lives in an ashram and participates in the practice of meditation every single day, multiple times a day, for months. She sits in a cold, quite room- sometimes with other people-sometimes by herself, and completely clears her mind of all stressors, worries, difficulties, & negative emotions. She begins to learn to live in the moment and be mindful.

So, I thought this was super neat and decided to try it! I had actually meant to try it a few weeks ago, but the thought of it was actually pretty intimidating to me. I thought that someone would just be watching me, thinking "um, ok weird girl. sitting on your bedroom floor with your eyes closed at 10pm". I also felt kind of embarrassed- like I don't have any serious problems in my life, so why can't I just live my life & not have to resort to meditating? I suppose that fears of the unknown are common with most anything, so I thought if I just sat down and tried it a few times, it wouldn't seem so scary!

So, one night I finally decided to do it. It was night time (although word-on-the-street is that it's 'better' to meditate early in the morning...) and I had my window open and only 1 light on. There was a fresh, cool, nighttime breeze that flowed into my room. My neighbors also have a fountain, so that- on top of the fresh air- made me feel quite relaxed and somewhat confident about this whole meditation business.

I didn't plan on meditating for any amount of time- I thought if I lasted 5 minutes, that'd be pretty good for my 1st time! While I was meditating, I tried to focus on my breath a lot and tried not to think about anything else. Of course, my knee would start to itch or the wind would get too cold or my clock would be ticking too loud- so it was a bit of a struggle to keep totally mindful. I know that when you meditate, you should essentially be thinking of nothing- or of being in that present state of mind/body/life...but I thought, as a noob, I should probably start out slow. As I inhaled, I 'inhaled' something good in my life- such as being in Australia, Mia, my friends, the yummy dinner I just ate, etc etc. Then when I'd exhale, I 'exhaled' something negative in my life- such as worrying about getting a job in Chicago, where I might live, the HUGE spider that was in my room today, etc etc. This actually (although I know I'm not 'properly' meditating) brought me a sense of calmness and a feeling of being content. I began focusing my breath and my thought(s?) on what was going on right now. I was just picturing myself sitting in my bedroom in Australia- and that was it! Don't get me wrong, it was difficult to control my thoughts and my physical body...but a whopping 10 minutes later, I decided to come out of my 'meditation' state and felt absolutely wonderful! :)

I have only meditated a total of 3 times- 2 of which I came out feeling relaxed & calm, and 1 of which I felt a bit unsettled. After doing a little research, the purpose of meditating is not to reflect on each meditation state (which, I realize this blog entry is exactly that), but about the long term benefits. People say that you won't notice the changes right away- but that they will take time. There are SOOO many! There are physiological ones- such as increased blood flow, fewer headaches/migraines, & enhancing the immune system. There are psychological ones- like building self confidence, helping quit addictions like smoking/drinking, and -HEY! less tendency to worry. And there are spiritual benefits- such as increased compassion, helping to learn forgiveness, and living in the moment <3 

I hoped you enjoyed reading about 1 of my new thoughts :) Have any of you tried meditating before? What were/are your experiences with it? Do you think you'll try to meditate in the future? What do you think about meditating? I'd love to hear any of your thoughts on the subject :) 

Thanks for reading!! If you'd like to check out more benefits of meditation, click here! Also, I've also written an entry about my recent life here- just scroll down to read it :) Thanks sooo very much!

xoxo

<33holly