Finding a few moments of peace is possible

After my crazy day the other day, I realized I really needed to take some time out! So on Sunday, I  packed-up my six-year-old son and took him up to my favorite spiritual center. Common Ground is in Corona, California which is over an hour from my house. Thus, I don't get there very often. But I knew I really needed some spiritual renewal, so I made the trek. It was well worth it! The service is extremely calming and the human energy in the room is warm and comforting. I was a little worried about taking my son with me, as they don't have childcare. But he did a great job! He played quietly with his toy cars while I was able to meditate and listen to the speaker.

Insterestingly enough, the speaker, Yogi Dada Nabhaniilananda, was talking about why people don't meditate. It honestly comes down to the fact that we just don't take the time to meditate ~ see my last blog post about crazy, busy, days. Yes, there are other reasons, such as when people feel like they don't know how to meditate or when they try and their minds wander. But I can attest to the fact that with practice meditation becomes easy and  very renewing for body, mind and spirit. Back to my original point though... I (we) often don't take the time to practice. Yogi Dada told a story about how once when he was in Thailand he saw a Buddhist monk scolding other Buddhist monks about the fact that they weren't meditating. The monk said to his brethren, "The Buddha is not meditating for you!". So it's not just we Americans who don't meditate when we really should be. It's Thai Buddhist monks too :)

The moral of the story is that it only takes a few minutes each day to meditate. And those few minutes will add peace to your life. This is actually empirically proven by brain scan research. Brain scans of yogis and monks meditating show that the brain slows down and rests, much like in sleep. Some neuroscientists believe that the rest the brain receives from meditation is even more beneficial to humans than sleep. Please email me if you want me to dig-up the citations for this research: sdyogamom@yahoo.com

So, some of you may be saying, "okay Jen, but it is really hard to find the time!" This is true. I know from my own busy life. However, I took a meditation class at the Deepak Chopra center last summer and learned that we only need to meditate twice a day for fifteen minutes. Davidji, the lead meditation teacher at the Chopra Center, said to just do it once when you get up in the morning and once at the end of your work/ school/ etc. day. Even if you can't fit in two fifteen minute sessions, I bet you can fit in one. And even one is very beneficial.

So here's the challenge:

For the next week find fifteen minutes per day to just sit quietly. Maybe it will be first thing in the morning. Or maybe you can find time in your office, with a closed door, during your lunch. Or maybe it will be with some soothing music on the car stereo in the parking lot before you leave your work for the day. For you stay-at-home moms and dads, try finding the time while the kiddos nap. Or set them up with something educational (or just entertaining :) ) on TV and go to your bedroom or outside.

Here are some helpful tips. Try one or all of them.

1. Concentrate on listening to your breath. Inhale for a count of four, exhale for a count of six, and count in your head with both inhale and exhale.

2. Listen to soft music.

3. Try using a mantra ~ a repeated word or phrase. This can be in any language you prefer. I prefer to chant mantras in Sanskrit because that's how I learned them. But you can use English or anything else. My favorite Sanskrit easy chant is, "Om Namah Shivaya". It roughly means, "amen to my one true self". I inhale and then chant on the exhale. Many different chants can be found on the internet. Try http://www.buddhanet.com/

4. Listen to a guided meditation. These can be found in recorded versions online. I have purchased some from http://www.audible.com/. You can probably find them for free if you search though. They are usually longer than fifteen minutes. In fact, guided meditations can be up to an hour or more. To me, that is complete luxury!!! I loovvee the long ones and often feel in absolute la la land after listening to one.

5. If your mind strays, that is okay. Our minds (especially mine) are chatterboxes! Let it go and then bring it back to the breath or the mantra. Sometimes I feel like my mind is chattering during my entire meditation, and yet, miraculously, I feel rested and renewed anyway :)

6. Don't meditate or listen to guided meditations while driving, biking, or probably even walking. There are walking meditations, but they are usually done in a labyrinth so you don't wander off. And, walking the pattern of the labyrinth is part of the meditation.

Hopefully these "tips" will help with your challenge this week. Happy meditating!

PS ~ more to come on meditation on Thursday. I'm going to a meditation workshop at Common Ground on Thursday morning. For information on Common Ground go to http://www.commongroundcorona.com/

PSS ~  People have been telling me that they are trying to post to this blog, but their posts aren't showing-up. Please let me know via email if this happens. I can be reached at sdyogamom@yahoo.com
I am moderating the posts, so it will take up to a day for them to appear.

Love and Light!

Jen
The San Diego Yoga Mom