Meditation: -verb
1. To engage in thought or contemplation; reflect.
Developing a meditation practice can be done in a variety of ways, but it doesn’t have to be done sitting cross-legged on the floor until your sit bones turn blue! Sometimes all you need is a quiet place to become still and clear your mind. Somewhere beautiful and often in nature can usually do the trick.

For some, the word “meditate” conjures up images of Buddhist monks with peaceful expressions all chanting together in a room with spiritual music softly playing. For others, it brings out anxiety, fear, or guilt for not being able to develop a daily or at least somewhat habitual practice. And then, there are those somewhere in the middle. For me, I flirted with meditation for years before finally committing to developing the practice. I could never quite get my mind to just shut the hell up already and let me get out of it what I felt I was supposed to be getting out of it. But there I go with what I was “supposed” to be receiving. Which is what would always hang me up. If I wasn’t feeling enlightened, and I didn’t have any big “aha” moments during or after, what was the point? Well fast forward to 40. I mean my 40th birthday of course. A time when many of us start to really question our lives and just exactly what it is we are here for. A soul searching of sorts. I did a little Q & A sesh on what was working for me, what definitely wasn’t and mapped out a game plan to get me from where I was to where I knew I was meant to be to fulfill my personal quest. There was a host of things I knew I wanted to incorporate, delete, or outright change. And so began my meditation practice. Almost immediately, I sensed something would be different this time. One Monday morning, I put in my earbuds, opened the Pandora app, and typed in meditation radio. I got comfy on a beautiful pillow and said a little prayer of gratitude for all that my life was and for all of the people in it. I then asked for clarity and a sense of direction. What came next was something unlike I had ever experienced in previous meditations! I experienced a peacefulness and an understanding for everything that had led up to this point of my life. I felt complete confidence in the launch of my personal coaching/consulting company currently being created. I “saw” a timeline of events to help me get things underway, and I received some pretty cool messages and ideas for things I hadn’t thought of before! When I was finished, I simply said thank you, and began my day. And let me add, the day was full of happiness, peacefulness, and yes, that clarity I had asked for.

That day began my meditation practice and while I would love to tell you it’s daily, the reality is, sometimes life is hectic here too and a couple of days will go by before I take to my pillow again. But each time leaves me more centered than before I begin. For me, the process is simple. I use music because it helps me stay focused and drowns out the monkey mind that can sometimes set in when you begin to get still. We as a culture are pretty over-stimulated on the daily, after all, so it can be difficult to quiet the chatter. My advice is to hang in there, stay the course, and let your practice develop organically. Sometimes, all it takes is beautiful scenery, like in the picture below. This is a photo of the ground we live on in wine country. If this doesn’t make you feel peace, I’m not sure what will!

Happy Om-ing!