I first found meditation when I struggled to drive home from work at the end of a stressful day. Suffering with a high level of anxiety felt terrifying, my life was severely affected, was l losing my mind?
I knew I wasn’t breathing fully and thought I was physically ill, but on another level I also knew my mind was working overtime to keep me on red alert, I hated that part of myself and that only made things worse.
I bought loads of books about mind body and soul, they all had one thing in common, that our thoughts become our energy. At a low point when I was in the first year of a start-up business, I was unable to answer the phone, never mind leave the house to get help, so I called in a hypnotherapist.
Within 30 mins of forced relaxation, I felt a huge bolt of energy leave my chest…I felt lighter than I had in years. I felt free.
She guided me with soft music and words taking me into a relaxed state of mind. I struggled at first and slowly began to surrender to the tight grip on how I thought I should be living my life.
For me, meditation is a core practice in which I can return to my truth, to myself to my calm.
It helps me live happier and feel braver.
I am thrilled to be able to create a set of beautiful meditations. This practice is my go-to tool where I know and trust the peace and clarity will soon come.
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years, the aimis to find a deeper and clearer understanding of ourselves. We begin to reduce excess noise, to feel more present and connected to each day, rather than live like a robot.
When you start your practice you may feel agitated, or even angry, your mind is noisy and full of seemingly more important things to do. It’s weird that we brush our teeth twice a day, but we don’t clean our mind. We weren’t taught to do this, but we have a fear of bad teeth, so we do that!
Some of the common benefits of practicing meditation are:
Reduced stress
More focus
Healthier gut
More happiness
Better self-awareness
Higher levels of patience
Better sleep
To begin with you can start by booking a space in your busy schedule. I know, something else to fit in, but if you don’t think you have the time to meditate you need it more!
You can start with a basic meditation, focusing your mind on your breath, taking your attention to the rise and fall of your chest. If you do just this for 3 mins, boom you’re practicing meditation.
Get out of your mind and into your breath, then your body, then eventually that deeper part of you I call your soul. That’s where the magical calm resides, where you begin to tap into your own innate wisdom.
Start right now.
Close your eyes, and take a slow deep breath in through your nose, hold it for a few seconds and then exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat until you feel a little flash of calm.
Whatever comes up into your mind is ok, be a safe space for that.
Be ok with whatever comes up because a lot comes up, a lot of fear, to do’s, challenges, stuff that was stuck.
The thing is you can learn to ALLOW the thought or feeling no matter what, and just notice it, that’s way better than distracting yourself or pretending you’re ok.
What do you do with the thoughts and feelings?
You do nothing more than let them come up, simply be the witness, no need to answer questions, just be ok.
We are programmed to overthinking. We seek distraction because it shuts out the noise. The thing is the noise will only bang louder on the door if it's ignored. The noise show sup as anger, sadness, over drinking/eating, over/under exercising, working, shopping. You get the gist.
Learn to let them rise up, learn that you don’t need to have an answer to everything, be ok just being the observer and being a space for the unheard, unseen.
You don’t have to believe every thought you have.
No thought or feeling is bigger than you, it may seem so, but it isn’t. You are just the space that these things show up in, you are bigger than any thought.
How can you feel your bliss if your mind is thinking about 9 things at once?
Meditation is like clearing out an old room, it feels lighter, spacious, calmer, ready for something new to emerge.
Meditate daily, do it in the morning, when you are about to go to sleep, do it after work, do it before a meeting, just do it.
There are tons of different meditations. We have created this one as a guide to help you relax and sleep, because without quality sleep everything else is harder.
Take 10 mins today, pop on your earphones, or play through a speaker and lay back, let the sounds wash over you and be guided into a tranquil state.
You can choose the instrumental version, or if you are like me and need guidance pick the one with spoken words.
I’m grateful to be able to work with Bryce to create a set of soul soothing meditation tracks, from our professional studio in Nelson South.
Please stop reading now, settle in and enjoy the ‘Night Garden’ meditation, you can choose the guided or instrumental version, pop on your earphones for best experience and sleep well.
We would love your feedback and ideas for future recordings. Drop your comments below, share this with people you love.
Love C & B
