Begin Again

Meditation is hard. Sometimes I find it nearly impossible to sit still and allow my thoughts to drift by without getting entangled in them. When I catch myself getting caught up in a thought storm, I often am critical of myself for not being able to focus. It's often then that I give up the whole thing.

A facilitator at a meditation workshop I went to once said, "If you find yourself getting distracted by thoughts, sensations, or sounds, just acknowledge that it happened and begin again."

My reaction was, "Whoa! I never even considered that!"

No matter how far off the track you may be from where you want to go, you can always, always, always begin again. The challenge is to not judge or criticize yourself if you discover that you have veered off the path. 

I am constantly getting knocked off my feet in life. Perhaps I still need to come to terms with my desire to control everything. Anyone else been there, done that? (Show of hands). 

Let me offer you this for consideration: maybe our work is not so much in getting where we want to go as it is in accepting ourselves in the process of getting there...no matter how messy or confusing that process can be. 

Today the United States of America has new leadership, which was the inspiration for this blog post. We have veered off the path and things got pretty messy and confusing for all of us. We allowed our separate ideologies to get in the way of common goals. But, we can acknowledge that this happened and begin again. No judgements or criticism. We can simply start from where we are and move forward.

You may want to check out my online workshop: The Power of Meditation. We'll look at the science behind meditation and practice three variations including breath awareness, body scan, and loving kindness. If you've ever wondered if meditation is for you, this is your opportunity to try it in a safe environment with no judgement. 

​For more information and to sign up, go here.

Peace, love & yoga,