We’re going to talk about meditation, why it’s essential to living your best life, and how to use it daily to have everything. Yep, everything such as inner peace, clarity, healing, connection with God, and more.
Last time I shared with you the power of journaling to completely transform your life.
It’s a part of the Essential Growth Farming Tool Kit for personal growth and development through self-Love. And I shared some insights into what my journal practice used to be like and what it is today.
Want to listen instead of read? Cool. Everything in this blog (and more) is in the latest Growth Farming podcast episode. Listen here:
When you hear people say meditation, what do you think?
For many, it has this woo-woo connotation.
I grew up in church in the south and was told a bunch of bunk about meditation that simply isn’t true or accurate. Preachers and Sunday school teachers said that meditation is something those New Age people do that’s not how “you’re supposed to pray to God.” Some of these teachers and influencers said that meditation has a bit of mysticism that a church-going (straight-laced) person should shy away from.
I used to be that straight-laced person. Afraid of coloring outside the lines or doing things out of the ordinary for fear of judgment from others.
If that’s also a part of your story, you’re in good company. So let’s get to the brass tax of meditation and the things we were taught about it.
True meditation is none of the stuff I was taught growing up
Actually, meditation is prayer in its purest form. It’s quieting the overthinking and overanalyzing mind to get centered and connect with your spiritual connection with the Divine.
You can call the Divine, God or source or universe. It doesn’t matter. I call this infinite being Almighty LOVE.
And meditation is one of the best ways I connect myself with this infinite and all-powerful source of LOVE and holiness.
Why? Because I have been a perpetual overthinker for most of my life.
It’s a by-product of heightened creativity. If you’re a super-creative person, you probably spend a good bit of time overthinking too. About most things both personally and professionally, right?
What kinds of overthinking am I referring to? Here are a few most of us overthinkers struggle with:
- What people think about you
- How to make this thing work
- What you need to “figure out” about a problem or system to make that thing work
- Whether or not that one thing you said is the reason why they’re acting a little more differently today than yesterday
- and on and on
Your mind is a creation machine. That’s part of its job and function.
And also why the mind can get in our way and become an obstacle instead of a resource.
What you think about is what you create
Sometimes, when the overthinking part kicks in, the mind focuses on all the problems and creates stress, tension, worry, and doubt.
All of these contribute to growing fear. Growing it within your mind garden.
Consider these fearful thoughts as weeds that choke out the good stuff you want to grow.
Meditation is the ultimate gardening trowel that releases the fear to connect you with the limitless potential inside of you through your connection with God.
And one of the best parts about meditation is, it’s really really simple.
Simple, yes. Easy? Not always.
Like riding a bike it takes practice the first several times when you’re just starting out. But once you get it, you get it.
It’s like those 3D pictures that look like a bunch of colors and pixels splattered on a canvas. You have to train your eye to focus and then let your sight go blurry until the picture emerges and becomes clear.
Once you train your eye to do it, it becomes natural. The same is true with meditation.
Secrets to quieting the mind
What’s great about meditation (and all of the pieces of the Essential Growth Farming Toolkit) is it’s so simple. Just breathe and connect with your heart, spirit, and body, then bring your mind into the equation, that’s the key.
All sorts of beautiful creations have come to me from meditation. So has peace. Limitless and beautiful PEACE!
How would having a calm mind and more peace in your life feel for you right now? If you want to experience the fullness of meditation (and learn directly from me), join the 21 Days To Be The Peace Training Course here.
Breathwork is a big part of meditation, and it’s one of the keys to really making meditation transformational.
Here’s the thing about meditation. You can learn how to do it with some very basic training.
Or you can try to sit quietly and just breathe. The latter is harder for people who haven’t done much meditation. And even for those of us who have, some days it’s honestly a challenge to quiet the mind.
Guided meditations make that easy. Yes, easy. When something beneficial is both simple and easy, it’s a magnificent blessing!
Getting centered and aligned with ALL of yourself
Meditation leads to a stronger connection with yourself because you bring yourself into alignment. Meaning, you get your heart, mind, spirit, and body to operate on the same page.
Alignment is the key to creating the life of your dreams. And staying consistent in this process unfolding around you instead of trying to be in control of the process.
One of the things the overthinking mind does that gets in our way is trying to “figure out” everything. Meditation allows us to surrender the culmination of ideas and the fulfillment of our desires to God.
Meditation has been one of the biggest keys for me in letting go of stress, changing my self-concept (how I see and view myself), embracing the Love that I am (and that you are too!), and healing my heart from pain.
It’s also the one main vessel of transformation that every single one of my private coaching clients have said has been the most beneficial in their journey. See what a few past clients have to say about doing meditation with me in coaching here.
I’ve also been privileged to lead small groups of people in mindful meditation, including college classes who were in the midst of finals and group performances. Here’s what one professor said about my guided meditation for his class,
“I invited D Grant Smith to speak with my Spirituality in Social Work Practice class because of prior experience with him on the subject of mindful meditation. While speaking to the class, D demonstrated mindful meditation by leading the class through teaching and a guided meditation centered around peace. At the end of the meditation, I believe all students reported that they felt more relaxed. D did a really great job of discussing his use of this discipline in reclaiming his life after a painful divorce. I believe he connected well with students and that these students really valued his presentation and appreciated the potential that mindfulness and meditation have for helping people achieve and maintain wellness.”
-Alan Lipps, Ph. D; professor at Abilene Christian University
Utilize the power of meditation right now
So how does mediation work?
Give yourself 5-10 minutes of quiet and alone time. No distractions. No phone, no social media.
Sit upright. Close your eyes. Breathe.
Focus only on your breath. Inhale to a count of 4. Slowly. Exhale to a count of 4. Slowly.
Repeat over and over again.
Make this slow breathing your normal breath pace. Focus only on the breath.
Thoughts will come in. Imagine that the thoughts are a balloon and let them float away.
Get centered.
After a few moments, put your focus on your heart. Breathe into your heart. Fill your heart up with Love.
Let your inhale me breathing in Love and your exhale be releasing everything not serving you. You’ll likely feel sensations in your body, maybe a warm tingling feeling or a cool flow throughout part of your body.
This is good. Let it flow.
After at least 5 minutes of this, you’ll feel refreshed and calm. And grateful for giving yourself this time and attention.
Meditation is a practice of self-Love
One of the things that can make meditation seem strange is when we see pics of people burning sage or holding poses while they meditate. Or putting crystals around. I don’t know much about these things. If that works for you, cool. It’s just not my bag.
So if you’re wondering if you need anything other than alone time and a quiet space to meditate, relax. That’s all I use. And it works, every time.
Now, maybe this seems a little too much to try and do on your own. I understand. It felt too hard for me when I was starting out four years ago.
But I wanted to calm my other-thinking mind. So I got help.
And I’m here to help you too.
What if you could learn a simple way to incorporate meditation into your life to bring you continual peace and well-being, in just 21 days? As well as gain powerful tools like journaling, breathwork, mindfulness, and awareness. AND….we’ll even do a personal meditation session together, just you and I. It’s a guided meditation customized just for you, based on whatever area of your life you want healing, growth, and transformation in.
It’s all in the 21 Days To BE The Peace Course. Three incredible and healing guided meditations plus daily lessons to make this meditation practice really work in your life, growth, and transformation. You’ve read this whole blog, which means that you’re wanting to really grow in meditation. Here’s your opportunity to learn directly from me. Get this powerful meditation course here.
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