The Power of Meditation

It seems nowadays everyone’s talking about mindfulness and being “in the moment.” We’re so distracted anymore and our lives are so hectic that we’re not paying attention to the here and now. Instead, we’re too busy checking our Facebook to see if anyone “liked” the picture we posted of our eggplant parmesan at dinner last night. (They didn’t.)

So how does one become more mindful? For starters, put down your phone. Another way is through a daily meditation practice. Something as simple as sitting quietly for 10 minutes a day can help you quiet your busy mind, be more present in the moment, and, in turn, make you more grateful.

Plus, it’s 10 minutes when you’re not using up all your cell phone data.

For those of you who’ve never tried meditation before, I thought it’d be fun to live blog an actual meditation session so that you could get a better idea of what it’s all about. So without further ado, let’s start being more present!

Ok, so I’m sitting here in a comfortable chair, my hands resting gently on my lap, eyes closed…

Deep breath in through the nose…and then a nice, long exhale through the mouth. Deep breath in…and then out again…

Breathing is an important part of meditation. Focusing on your breath helps you block out all those other distractions that are fighting for your attention…

Breathe in…breathe out…

You know, like your Facebook feed or your email inbox or that pile of dirty dishes in the sink or—

Shoot! I forgot to change the laundry. Man, I hate doing laundry. I can’t wait ’til the kids are old enough to—

Oops! You see there, I lost my focus. My mind started wandering. But that’s okay! Our brains are made to wander. Whenever this happens, you just have to refocus your attention back to your breathing…

Deep breath in through my nose…and then back out through my…

Boy, I’m hungry. I wonder if there’s any pizza left in the fridge? Oh, that’s right, I ate that last night while watching Finding Bigfoot. You know, they really need to change things up on that show. All that howling and tree-knocking just isn’t—

You see there…I’m drifting again. But like I said, that’s all right. Perfectly natural. Just have to refocus my attention back to—

Oh, great. My cell phone’s vibrating. Wait…my cell phone’s not even in my pocket. Ha! Must have been that phantom cell phone sensation again. I hate when that happens! Actually, that might be a cool idea for story. An actual haunted cell phone — an evil, haunted cell phone! — that takes over someone’s mind and then makes him do all this crazy stuff and—

Crap. Sorry about that. Okay, we’ll just file idea that for later. Breathing. Gotta focus on my breathing…

In…and out. In…and—

Has it been 10 minutes yet? Geez. Seems like it’s taking forever. Maybe I forgot to push start on the stopwatch? Nope. Can’t open my eyes yet. That would ruin everything. I’ll just give it a couple more minutes…

Breathe in…and—

You know what? This is actually pretty nice just sitting here quietly, no kids being all loud and crazy and asking me for—

Oh, shoot! What time is it? Great—I’m late to pick them up from school!!

So there you have it—a sample meditation. That was easy, right? Just 10 minutes a day, everyday, can really quiet your brain and help you focus. Yoga and long walks can also be effective. And naps. Naps are good, too.

Speaking of that, I think I’ll just take a little nap and—

Crap! The kids! Sorry…gotta run. ~

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Copyright © 2017 Valentine J. Brkich