Meditation As A Tool

Ten minutes into my first meditation class, two people were asleep and snoring. The instructor guiding us told us in a gentle voice to "Ignore all distractions and let all of your thoughts float past you like clouds." As the class continued we did breathing exercises, visualization techniques, and stress-reduction techniques... if we were awake. Meditation is proven to aid in concentration, mood, and neuroplasticity, and after practicing meditation for 2 years, I have come to value it greatly.




One of my favorite meditation foci is appreciation and gratitude. I will visualize filling my body up with white light and while I picture all of the people and things I am lucky and thankful to have in my life. And ironically this has personal benefits. Not only does it make me more patient and less self-focused in daily life (believe it or not), but I am clearer headed and more upbeat. It made me realize that a practice of thankfulness should not be reserved just for thanksgiving.

If I decide to focus on clearing mental blocks in a meditation, I will find the reality of each block, then take deep breaths while focusing on the solution. For example if I am nervous before a presentation, I will take five minutes, sitting anywhere, to recall in my head several presentations that I did very well on. I will fill myself up with confidence until it is flooding out of me. And if doubt rises up, in true Taylor Swift fashion I will easily "Shake It Off."

My favorite types of meditations are the ones that use visualizations. you can practice visualizing and holding the visual of anything you can think of. One meditative friend I have is very creative. When I feel my mind swimming, she tells me to visualize colorful roses around my head that will ease and lighten my thoughts. Or, in the morning, I will visualize bright neon lights flowing through my body, getting rid of any early morning tiredness left over in my muscles.

While I don't think I'll be going on a silent retreat anytime soon, meditation is a useful practice that I keep close very to my heart.