Meditation and journaling are forms of self-healing habits you should consider bringing into your life. When you choose to start your healing journey there are a few things you must do. The first step is to identify your issues, figure out what blocks and where you have them in your life. Our body is always speaking to us. With a little bit of attention you will learn to listen and tend to your bodies needs. My Energy Healing blog has references that could assist you in identifying your “blocks”, and get you ready to start your healing journey. I’ll leave that blog post linked here.
Meditation is something that so many, if not all of us struggle with at some point. Through meditation we learn to silence our minds. When we silence our minds, we begin to learn about ourselves and how our minds work. Meditation works with energy. With meditation we learn to focus and relax, relaxation is the only way we’ll be able to engage with energy to heal our blocks. By relaxing our body and mind, we release emotional, mental, and physical distractions. Relaxation puts us in a receptive state of mind where we aren’t holding onto our anxieties. The reasons meditation doesn’t work can be narrowed down to making excuses, treating it as a chore, giving in to our unfocused/untrained minds, and convincing ourselves we’re doing it wrong. In my Energy Healing blog, I mentioned having a healing mindset. The healing mindset requires keeping focus on your goal (intention), having positive emotions/thoughts to create higher vibrational energy, discipline to practice daily in order to create habits, and flexibility to deal with emotions and beliefs as they come up, before returning to your original goal (intention). It's important to carry this healing mindset when making self-healing habits simply because it makes it easier. The key to meditation is being aware of your focus and concentration. When we sit to meditate, our untrained minds will start thinking about everything it possibly can rather than focus. This is where people begin to judge themselves for “doing it wrong” and convince themselves they can’t meditate. When in reality, being able to recognize your unfocused mind is THE sign you’re on the right track. Remember you’re training your mind. Be forgiving, be patient, and simply let go of the thought you were caught up in, and return your mind to the point of focus. With discipline and practice, you’ll find it easier to meditate and keep your concentration for longer periods of time.
Fortunately there are many different types of meditation you can look into. Mantra Meditation is repeating a mantra, which can be a word or a phrase of intention, during your meditation. When you lose focus during meditation, come back to your mantra. This form of meditation works because you can be as specific or as broad as you like. A similar approach to mantra meditation is affirmation meditation. In affirmation meditation you have a list of positive, encouraging statements used to help you achieve specific healing goals. In visualization meditation, you create a “movie” in your head of what your goals (intentions) will look like in your life after you’ve achieved them. During this meditation visualize details like what you would do, how you would feel, what you would think, etc.; make it as real as possible. This type of meditation works best for keeping you motivated in achieving your goals. The next form of meditation is guided visualization. With guided visualization, you follow along with a recording, script, or video and visualize what it tells you to. This type of meditation works best for clearing energy blocks and balancing energies. Guided visualization sometimes works along with sound meditation. This is when you focus on a single sound made vocally, or by striking an instrument such as a singing bowl, gong, rainstick, kalimba, etc. Sound meditation is good for physical issues. The last form of meditation is movement meditation. In movement meditation you involve practices like yoga, dance, stretching, or mudras (hand yoga). During meditation you keep your mind focused on the movements and the energy they’re creating. This practice is good for balancing and redistributing energy.
If you’re unsure what kind of meditation will work best for you don’t worry, you can begin experimenting with meditation by learning to focus. Its best to pace yourself when beginning, you don’t want to do too much at first and burn yourself out. It’s recommended to begin with a 5-minute meditation regime however; some of us may still struggle focusing for even 5 minutes. In these cases I recommend picking up “daily task meditation”. This is not a form of meditation you can use forever but it will definitely ease you into meditation and keeping your concentration. This is when you set a really clear intention while performing everyday tasks like showering, brushing your teeth, drinking water, cooking, cleaning, etc. While doing these simple everyday things, our mind goes on autopilot and we can take advantage, becoming more mindful without any added effort.
When you get a little more comfortable sitting still, you can begin with this simple 5-minute meditation routine.
5-minute meditation
You’ll need to sit in a comfortable, quiet place where you'll have neither distractions nor disruptions. Set a timer for 5 minutes, close your eyes and breathe. Don’t try to force or control your breathing, do it in a way that feels natural. Bring your awareness to your breathing, focusing on how it feels and on how your body is responding. You can choose to do this routine with an intention in mind or simply to practice your concentration. Focus on how the air feels cool on your nose, on your chest moving up and down. Picture the air flowing through your body like a circuit bringing peace and clarity while also pushing out negativity while exhaling. Focus on nothing but that air/breath. If you notice your mind wandering, simply return your focus to your breathing without criticizing yourself. Try meditating this way at least once a day. Some days will be easier than others, some days you’ll feel resistant to meditate at all, some days your mind will do nothing but wander. But you must remember that these things are not necessarily good or bad, they are simply a part of the process and you will overcome it. Don’t lose focus on your goal and keep your healing mindset. After you practice your meditation routine its important to “anchor” this healing, calming sensation to your life to manifest your intentions. When you’re in a high state of relaxation about to finish your meditation, do a gesture that’s simple and practical enough to do throughout the day like crossing your fingers, touching your fingers, clenching your fist, bringing your hand to your heart, etc. When holding your gesture, (lets use crossing your fingers as an example) affirm something like “whenever my fingers are crossed, I re enter this state of mind, where peace flows, and my healing grows”. In doing this you capture that feeling and you’re able to access that state of mind throughout the day when you need to quickly refocus and ground yourself. The more we practice anchoring the easier it’ll be for us to enter the meditative mindset.
This blog provides you with enough information to get started but, if you have any questions, need additional guidance or help figuring out a routine that works for you, don’t hesitate to reach out. I cant stress enough that I am here as a resource, waiting to help.