Meditation is the foundation for equanimity. A meditation practice will calm the mind and make it more resilent. This resilence helps you to bounce back from negative thoughts that arise from bad news, difficult encounters and stress. You will rest the mind during meditation which will in turn give you greater access to joy and positivity. When your stress goes down you can think better, solve problems with ease and reconnect with your creativity and your environment.
Studies are showing meditation can help people manage symptoms of conditions such as:
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Chronic pain
- Depression
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Sleep problems
- Tension headaches
People sometimes say they are bad meditators. But really the only one who is bad at meditating is the one who doesn't try. If you simply sit and begin the practice, you are already a good mediator! That of course is the easy part. The harder part is finding stillness.
We are up against a lot of noise, both internal and external, that makes it difficult to find stillness. That is why you need support, strategy, and a bucketful of techniques to help you navigate the many layers of noise and busyness that crash down on us at every turn and infiltrate every corner of our lives.
Having support is crucial. Sitting with others who have busy minds is helpful — you have found your tribe! But also sitting with people who have less busy minds is also very useful. You will start to regulate your velocity of thoughts towards quiet when there are pillars of quiet stationed around you.
You will always find reasons to not meditate, most of them quite valid! You got a late start on the day, there is too much to do, no place to do it, you forgot, etc. I have heard (and used myself) all those before. Setting up a schedule and having people to hold you accountable can help you find that cushion (or chair) to sit on, again and again and again. When you begin to meditate regularly, and you understand what the quiet gives you, you can find the self motivation to keep it up. But, like most things, it takes a while for the habit to stick.
There are many different lineages and systems that can support your meditation practice. But if you don't know them, they are not useful to you. Sampling different techniques, questioning them, tweaking them, and of course understanding them better will help you land on a technique that is most suitable for your mind/lifestyle and temperament. Of course, there will be times when that changes, too. Working with a teacher (as opposed to an app or general recording) can confirm that your experience with a technique is an indication you should go continue — or try a different approach. Hearing other people's experience with techniques can also inspire us to keep going.
If you are ready to take the plunge, please consider joining the meditation retreat. You can do it real time on Zoom or when your schedule allows by watching the recordings . I am always available for your questions if you are not able to join us in real time.
The investment for this session is $325.
Sessions will meet 7:30-8:30 am via zoom. Option for inperson meetings on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
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