Blooming Lotus: Quiet Mind.....

                 I've recently been thinking about making time to get back into meditating again. Life can get so overwhelmingly busy at times that we forget to make time for the most important things. In the past year and a half I have had a couple of great streaks with meditation and can honestly say it has benefited me in countless ways. The word benefited, something that promotes or enhances well-being; an advantage...well that should say it all. I would set aside 20 minutes in the morning, right after the children would leave for school, and 20 minutes late at night, which is sure to guarantee you a blissful slumber!

               I've always been very aware of my strong intuition, which at times is so strong that I can actually feel my husband's mind racing just by sitting besidee him. So why not quiet our minds? With meditation, your thinking mind becomes quiet. You stop focusing on the stressors of your day or your life’s problems, as well as solving these problems. You just let that voice in your head be quiet, which is easier said than done. For example, start thinking about nothing now. (It’s OK; I’ll wait.) If you’re not practiced at quieting your mind, it probably didn’t take long before thoughts crept in right? Well I never said it doesn't take practice.

               With time, maintaining a quiet mind and focus on the present can lead to an altered level of consciousness that isn’t a sleeping state but isn’t quite your average wakeful state, either. Meditation increases brain activity in an area of the brain associated with happiness and positive thoughts and emotions, and some evidence shows that regular practice brings prolonged positive changes in these areas. The same goes for the different techniques of meditation, guided or not? Although I may think of myself as a very patient and calm person, I tend to do much better with guided mediation. I recommend The Silva Technique! You can actually download the app right to your cell phone. It has been very handy for me.

            In the end, quieting our minds can only be beneficial to us, and who doesn't want to live a happier, stress free life? Plus it doesn't hurt that meditating twice a day for 20 minutes over a long period of time, can actually add 10 years to you life.....something to think about, but of course when you're not meditating ; )