Mindfulness

Equanimity and Peace: Anchors for a Life Fully Lived

Equanimity and peace. Two words that feel both comforting and at times elusive, especially in a world that pulls us in every direction.

"The Day Came..." Embrace Discomfort and Unlock True Growth

Growth isn't a one-time leap; it's an ongoing process. In those moments of discomfort, we often find ourselves at a crossroads: ill we numb ourselves with distractions or will we choose to lean in, even when it feels like too much?

Breaking the Cycle: How to Transform Success into True Fulfillment

When we learn to sit with ourselves, to really be present with all those messy, uncomfortable feelings, and acknowledge how we sometimes bury our heads in the sand or overlook what's really there, we unlock something incredible: choice

Embracing Change and Living in the Moment: My Journey to Nashville

We often get caught up in the hustle, forgetting to savor the beauty of each moment. But life, in all its imperfections, offers countless opportunities for gratitude and growth.

Unlock Your Brain's 🧠 True Potential: Embrace Change Like Never Before

Ever feel stuck in a loop, reacting to change in the same old ways? It’s not just you—it’s your brain’s mapping system! But what if we could rewire our responses to embrace change with excitement rather than anxiety?

Spring Into Change: Unfolding New Beginnings 🌷

If we give in to anxiety or impatience, digging up the seeds like children, checking in to see how much they’ve grown, we would never actually give them the space and time to take root.

The Alchemy of Self: Transforming How We See Ourselves, and Therefore, the World ✨

"Our states of mind and our states of being dictate our thoughts, which drive our actions, and ultimately sculpt the reality we experience."

Why and How you Can Start Meditating, Now (Especially if you think you can’t!)

Image by Keegan Houser on Unsplash

Image by Keegan Houser on Unsplash

Over the course of my time teaching Meditation and Mindfulness, I cannot count the number of times I have heard “it’s just not for me… I can’t quiet my mind enough to meditate,” or, “I can’t, I am bad at it.” Does that resonate?

I get it. I, too, was a culprit of an incessant mind. I prided myself in my NYC days for being called an Octopus, seemingly capable of attending to eight tasks at once. I, too, initially feared that in quieting my mind, I would lose that “powerful edge.” However, experience taught me that Meditation did not inhibit my ability to think quickly, but instead increased my ability to respond thoughtfully.

And the more I gleaned the benefits, over time I adapted a witty retort I once heard: “claiming your mind is too busy to meditate, is like saying you are too dirty to take a shower.”*

While true, it’s taken years and a more profound understanding to finally grasp: Meditation is NOT about clearing the mind. The mind wanders. It is what it does.

Meditation, instead, is about habituating the mind to a chosen point of focus, again, and again, and again. Whether the point of focus is your breath, your body, a guided meditation, the sounds around you, a tennis ball…(the list can go on), each time the mind wanders, and you return, you are rewiring your brain and building new neural muscles.

Research shows that with only 8-weeks, the practice of Mindfulness and Meditation rewires and builds areas of the brain related to memory, learning, and empathy and rewires areas related to stress.

As we develop the skill to habituate the mind back to an object of focus, we not only increase our ability to focus, but we also discover a new control over our mind. No longer do we feel like our mind has a life of its own we cannot regulate, especially when the fears or anxieties run rampant.

Ultimately, we access greater internal equanimity, greater peace of mind, and even a sharper mind. In truth, Meditation bolsters nearly every leadership development and personal development skill out there. Who doesn’t want that?

So then how do we meditate? Especially when the misconception is that Meditation is about clearing the mind?

One of the most effective approaches to Meditation is to see it as a 4-stage process, with the third and fourth stages being equally critical to stage one.

1. First, you are present: you are focused on the breath, your body, the guided Meditation: a specific, chosen object of focus.

2. Second, your mind wanders to what’s going on in the world, to your endless task list, an argument, something else you “should be” doing at that moment. The brain LOVES to be productive, so it will likely reach for anything that seems “more productive” at the moment, including deciding what you are having for your next meal.

3. Third, a light bulb illuminates in the recesses of your mind, and you realize, “I am no longer present.” Often, a little voice articulates, or rather harshly admonishes, “I am no longer “meditating!”’

Pausing here, this is PART of Meditation. This moment is one of the most potent, brilliant moments in the process. The moment that you have noticed your mind is elsewhere is HUGE: how often are you aware of where your mind is? I love the James Joyce astute quote, “Mr. Duffy lived a short distance from his body.” This brilliant, light bulb moment of awareness is PART of Meditation, and it enables the next critical stage.

4. In the fourth and final stage, you “unhook” from that thought, no matter how tempting or consuming, and consciously bring it back to your initial, intended point of focus.

Meditation is just as much being in the present moment, as it is noticing where your mind wandered to, and then “unhooking” from that thought.

Everyone cycles through these four stages, be it a novice meditator or the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama merely has more practice, notices the wandering more readily, and refocuses more rapidly.

Ultimately, the practice is like going to the gym. Some days will be a tougher “work out” others will feel stronger, and yet, every time you cycle through those four stages, it’s like picking up a weight. Each time, your mind gets stronger.

*Originally shared by Eoin Finn as “claiming you are too inflexible to do yoga is like saying you are too dirty to take a shower.”

** Originally written for and Published by Ellevate Network