Widen the Gap. Meditation

Many of the 'experts' encourage meditation for weight loss, securing a new job, finding a new love, becoming healthier and achieving all of your dreams.

I think they got it all wrong.

I am not a meditation teacher.

I do however meditate everyday.

There really isn't anything fancy about it. I light a candle.  I sit on the rug. I set an alarm. I breathe and I bring all of my attention to my breath for ten minutes.

Today it went something like this:

I 'm hungry. I wish I had eaten first.

Back to my breath.

I wonder how E is doing.

Back to my breath.

The inauguration.

Back to my breath.

Trump.

Back to my breath.

For ten minutes thoughts come as I meditate but I let them go and keep refocusing on my breathing.

 In his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Steve Covey writes of the space between stimulus (something that has happened) and response. This is the space where our freedom lies.

Meditation has made that gap wider for me.  If something occurs I am much better at making a choice before I respond.

I am human. I still forget the gap. I sometimes have responses that are NOT loving.

Yet  knowing that space is always there for me is amazingly freeing.

I meditate to widen the gap around my feelings so I have more freedom to choose my thoughts, moods and actions.

Meditation is not the quick fix to any perceived problems.

There are no quick fixes to anything.

Meditation is simply a tool to widen the gap so we respond better to what we are presented with.

Try it!

Sit for ten minutes.  Focus on your breathing. As each thought comes up let it be and get right back to your breathing focus.

Let's all widen the gap.

Blessings,
Virginia

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