(photo by House of Turquoise)
We feel a lot of emotions in our lives. We have a lot of thoughts that scatter on the surface of our brains and while that’s great, it won’t do for the long haul.
I’m talking about an emotional upgrade.
My default self-talk is DIRECTLY related to what I am feeling. What if, too bad I never, woulda, coulda, shoulda. I feel guilt that probably isn’t even there. I feel pain that I’ve brought back onboard myself. I feel joy, but it’s because the sunshine came out.
How do we deeply stir the emotions underneath the surface? How do we begin to regulate them?
I think it’s meditation. Not in the sense of emptying one’s brain of all thought, but emptying one’s brain of all surface emotions. Tossing out the worries and the pain and the fleeting feelings of joy in order to feel something else. Something that you’ve cleared the way for.
I’m just learning this again. I think I may keep learning this every day of my life. But I forget so quickly.
I get caught up in worrying about tomorrow. I get caught up in fretting about yesterday. I worry about two hours from now, what will happen. I worry about two hours ago, what already happened.
This is not meditation, this is mental torture.
Someone wise told me this week that living in the moment is seeing the detail. My stomach rumbles for breakfast, my feet warm in a patch of sunlight on the rug, my computer chimes telling me another email arrived. I see dust clinging to the dark wood of my coffee table, I hear the wheels on the neighbor’s bicycle winding around our culdesac.
This moment.
Meditation varies for different people. For some, it may be a form of worship or prayer, silent conversation or telling of your heart. For others it is repetition of prayers or affirmations, for others it’s more of an emptying, creating a vacuous space for new things to come into. I’m not here to dictate what is or is not meditation. I know what it is for me and I know what it is for many readers of this blog.
This is not a religious community, this blog. It’s not a place where I tell you how to find God or peace or whatever. This blog is me talking about how I’m finding God and peace. Some of you may use my ways; some may not.
Action Tip: Meditate on what you need to focus on right now. It could be God or peace or your blessings or your dreams. Whatever YOU need today, think on it. Think deeply. Stir under the surface and really ponder what your life looks like this minute.
Comments on this entry are closed.
{ 1 trackback }