Wednesdays - Meditation & Stress Release

How many times a day do you catch yourself engaged in internal dialog – bantering back and forth with no one but you?

How often have you caught yourself going over a conversation you had with someone that lasted in total 10 minutes and here you are hours later still stuck in the conversation, carrying it around with you like it was tape recorder…play, rewind, play, fast forward?  But now, you have added “I should have…” or “Next time I’m going to...”. 

What this does is it gets your heart rate up, your blood pressure rises, and your stress increases.  In many cases it causes internal turmoil and even depression.

Internal dialog can be a dangerous thing.  It can take command of our attention.  Without realizing it we may have traveled miles unaware as to whether we recognized the red lights and stop signs of our lives.

Learning to let go of habitual internal dialog is not an easy thing.  It takes acquiring the skills that work best for you.  Then, it takes putting these skills into practice on a regular basis.  Like anything we practice, this will become easier with time.

A good place to start is in meditation or during quiet time in the morning with your tea.  Try it in the shower or next time you are taking a walk. Observe your thoughts. 

What are you investing your attention in?  You can learn so much about yourself.  I offer this to students early on in their meditation practice:

· Next time you are on your way to the bathroom check in with where your mind has wondered off to.  What are you thinking about while you are taking that walk? Is having to stop what your were doing in order to take care of a natural bodily function an inconvenience in your busy day?

·  Tomorrow when you are taking a shower check in and listen to what you are mentally invested in when you are standing under that clean water piped into your home.  Are you even aware of the gift you are receiving at that moment or are you somewhere else in your thoughts?

·  If you are waiting in a line-up at a grocery store - where are your thoughts during this time?  Are you agitated that you have to wait?

Photography by Nasir Brangman 2012, Botanical Gardens, Bermuda

These are all opportunities to check in with your breath - for you to do a body scan and see if you are tense in any areas.  You could observe your own internal dialog and see if you are stuck on something negative that your body is physically responding to.

This is a process.  Be patient and kind to yourself. You are your best investment!

Deborah