When I was fourteen I got my first electric guitar. It wasn’t bought for me. I had to save the money myself. And I loved that guitar and would sit there and play for hours.
I would practice like mad but without thinking about what I was doing, and I never really got better with time as a result.
Years later I went to music school and while there picked up the saxophone. But this time I was determined to not repeat the mistakes of my past. So what I did was to think deeply about what it took to be good at playing the saxophone—I learned about learning so to speak. And I taught myself how to play within three months.
The benefits of meditation will only come from a structured practice, much like learning to play a musical instrument. Understanding how to practice is important but, so is understanding how the practice is working for you because this will allow you to understand why you practice.
This feels all very mechanistic but, by understanding what is going on at this level of detail you will better understand just how powerful a regular practice of meditation can be.
If there is no structure then meditation will become like my guitar practice.
Finding Peace Amongst the Chaos
Is the world on fire at the moment? Are we seeing a major shift in how our world is governed? I’m not one to say, but I do know this. There will be a negative impact on people as a result of what is currently happening. From there PTSD can easily take a foothold in our lives that may derail us for years to come.
Have you heard of EDMR? I have but was skeptical to be plainly honest. But this week the Youtube algorithm severed up a video that made me stop and rethink this.
“Your Behaviour Won’t Be The Same” | Dr. Andrew Huberman (Stanford Neuroscientist)
Meditation Tip – Start from a state without tension
For those of you that have a lot of tension in your body and therefore find it hard to settle the mind, one thing you can do to balance this is to begin meditating while laying down.
You can do this in bed, laying on a yoga mat, on the beach, or wherever you like. Place your hands beside your body without touching your body with the palms of your hands facing up.
Then focus on your breathing without following asleep. Master this. Then try the sitting position again while recalling the feeling of being tension free.
