Meditation is so important in life. This simple sentence is a basic truth. I want a no excuses on including meditation in your daily life. Eight minutes per day is all you need and it will drastically change your life. Everyone has 8 minutes to spare and I am asking you right now to make a contract with yourself to perform mediation 8 minutes per day for the rest of your life. Yes you can permit a day or two off for illness or emergency. But once you start this process you won’t want to miss. I can guarantee you that.
What is mediation? It is a simple process where you go into a quiet place and sit still for 8 minutes. That is it. You will want to deep breathe and focus on your breathing. Yes your mind will wander, even the most enlightened meditators have minds that wander. But this is normal.
Here are three very important things about medition that you must know:
Breathe deeply and focus as much as you can on your breathing.
To truly relax into meditation you will want to breathe deep and slow. Most of us do not even know how to do this. Right now take a very deep breathe, all the way into your belly, hold, now release that breathe. That is a deep, relaxing, meditation breathe.
Two things you can do for the thoughts that jump in to your mind are (these are taken straight from the book - 8 Minute Meditaton by Victor Davich. There is a link to the book at the bottom of this post.
Allow…Allow….Allow…
Just as the first rule of real estate is “location, location, location” the first rule of meditation is “allow, allow, allow.” When you meditate you absolutely must allow everything that arises to arise – and you exclude nothing. This affords you a clear, unobstructed view of the 93 ring circus that is your thinking mind.
When you sit down to meditate you own mind chatter is going to come pouring out. Some thoughts will be pleasant, blissful, and even funny. Others might be depressing, frightening, and horrible. Naturally you will want to stay with the good stuff and push away the bad stuff.
Don’t.
When you meditate, just meditate. Allow every thought, image, and body sensation to “dance its dance.” And you just sit this one out.
Please remember that meditation is not causing your wild displays of mind. The truth is that Roving Mind is always present. The major difference is that, for the first time in your life, you’re noticing it and dealing with it in a brand new, better way.
Catch and Release
Catch and release goes hand in hand with “allow…allow…allow.”
In the world of fly fishing “catch and release” means that after you catch a fish, you unhook it and release it back into the stream. This is exactly what you want to do with every thought , image, and body sensations that you’ll feel compelled to tangle with.
For example, let’s say you are meditating, when out of nowhere, the image of the maniac in the huge SUV who cut you off on the highway last evening pops into your mind. Suddenly, you are fantasizing about how you’d like to get even with the driver – devising punishments that would make the Marquis deSade cringe! Your body becomes increasingly flushed and feverish. You are seething with rage and righteousness.
So what’s going on here?
In catch and release terms, you’ve “hooked” a thought that has now triggered a cascade of other thoughts, images, and body sensations. In a split second your mind has created a drama that permeates every aspect of your being.
Now, let’s turn this scenario again, this time using catch and release. Same image of the jerk in the SUV, same angry thoughts, but now you realize what’s going on. And you say to yourself, “Oh I’ve hooked a thought. I’ll just release it. Which you do, instead of reeling it in, throwing it into your creel, taking it home, scaling it, filletting, frying, and eating it.”
See how much easier – and wonderful – this is? This simple act of thought releasing is your ticket to freedom – the freedom NOT to engage. Keep doing this, and allow it to lead you to deeper states of awareness, clarity, and peace in everything you do.
Anglers tell tales about “the one that got away.” In meditation, that’s not something we regret, but applaud.
Click on the link below to learn more about the book and to buy it now! Thank you for your business. Happy meditating!!! -Kathie 
Want a great gift to give your family and friends this holiday? How about your testimony? Your testimony is important and should not be kept a secret. You should tell your story. And honestly you might want to make God or your Higher Power the core of it all. Let your family and friends know where you have found God’s faithfulness to be true and an important aspect of your life. Let them know the seasons when you wondered about and possibly wandered from the core that has sustained you. This could be the all important impact you make on another’s life.
