The Power of Focused Meditation

My Typical Weekday Meditation Process

1. Wake up
2. Take shower
3. Sit on edge of bed, close my eyes and take slow, long breaths for 1-2 minutes. I think about breathing in fresh oxygen into my body, exhaling stale air and think about being alert for my day.
4. Open my eyes and finish getting ready for work

My Typical Weeknight Meditation Process (hurried)

1. Turn off the house
2. Turn on the fan, off the light
3. Stretch for a minute or so on the edge of my bed. Once - twice a week I will do some tapping technique while I stretch.
4. Get into bed, close my eyes and focus on my breathing. I acknowledge parts of my body, one at a time, and say "you have my whole heart for my whole life".
5. I usually fall asleep moments after finishing the cycle.

My Typical Weeknight/Weekend Morning Meditation Process (not hurried)

1. Turn off the house / get out of bed
2. Light the candle at my meditation alter
3. Sit on the ground in comfy pajamas
4. Close my eyes, open my palms and feel Tux walking around me or sitting close while I take slow breaths in and out.
5. Open my eyes and look at everything on my alter and spend a few minutes focusing on why I put it there and what it represents. For instance, I have a ring in a ring box given to me by my late grandmother. The ring is unique and beautiful with an amethyst stone in an intricate gold setting. Just as I am unique and beautiful, so is this ring. It is also too small to fit on my finger, but I try it on every day knowing that as my experiment goes on, so will this gorgeous ring. I follow this mindset with the five additional items on my alter.
6. Focus again on my breathing
7. Blow out candle and go to bed / start my day


Yesterday Morning's Mediation Process - I tried something new based on guidance from a book I'm reading called "Secrets of Meditation", by davidji. The section is called Releasing Stored Emotional Pain and asks us to tap into what emotional pain we feel in our lives in order to "identify emotional pain, mobilize it, release it, and then heal the wounds" and to "see ones story as an excuse for not making conscious choices in the present".

It took me a minute to really focus in on what my emotional pain is in this time in my life. My first thought was about being single and not having the love of a partner. Almost as soon as I thought it I knew it wasn't true. I don't feel pain over being single right now, I feel great. I get so much love from my other relationships and don't feel lonely or neglected. So...if it wasn't partnership, money, career, could it be my health? Well, yes and no. I asked myself, when I am alone, what happens that brings up sadness about my life or state of being in my heart. It's a funny answer really...it's stiffness. I feel more emotional pain around the stiffness and inflexibility of my body than anything else. When I creek or cringe just moving around I feel badly about myself and frustrated that I let myself get this way. It's painful to know my young body is so weighted down with fat that it makes simple activities uncomfortable. I tell myself I can't do certain chores or activities because I'll be sore or am not flexible enough to them. That's when I feel the most negativity about myself.

So, during my morning meditation yesterday I thought about all those moments, teared up a little, then let it go and made the pain a part of my old self. I released the pressure to be perfectly flexible all the time, a month into my new life and just focused on trusting my body to be able to support everything I did during the day. I would keep myself mindful of my body's capabilities all day. And what do you know....holy hell...! I cleaned my condo, top to bottom, caulked and painted the touchup spots on the walls, had a dance party in my living room and did my squat/pushup/plank/crunch challenge. I cleaned for 7 hours yesterday. Scrubbed the tub with a toothbrush even! I bent and stretched and leaned and squatted and moved with confidence and intention. I felt amazing with my accomplishments yesterday. The old me would have sat down and watched TV for the rest of the day once my back started getting sore from cleaning just the toilet. But I pushed through and my body responded. I didn't feel like an old, fat person for one moment yesterday. It was wonderful! I'm so proud of myself and so grateful for my access to literature that changes me for the best.

Thanks be to the power of a little focused meditation.

Love,
Kel