What do you do when you relax?  Do you read the news or chill out watching Netflix?  What most people think of as rest and relaxation actually increases stress, worry and anxiety.  Coping better with what causes stress, will lead to greater sense of calm and gratitude. 

How to feel greater joy in living?  Also, how to stop the endless cycle of worry that runs through the mind?

Meditation

Meditation is the answer, the key to feeling:

• peace
• relaxation 
• awareness of thought processes.  

When we hear our mind tell stories from the past or future, it leads to disruption in our lives.  We become concerned about what we have done in the past.

We are not living in the present? Why not?  Concern about events that have happened in the past or in the future overwhelm us:

• We think of what we “should” not have done.
• Become embarrassed
• Worry even more about what others think.

Worry

I notice that when I worry about the future, it turns out to be “a big nothing.”  All that worry for nothing.  Worry places greater meaning, heightening our concerns even more.  We tend to make mountains out of molehills.  

When I was much younger, I worked late, and I thought it was cool to race my car down the street.  What if I were to have hit someone?  What if someone saw me? I can choose to be concerned or I can let it go.  

Let it Go

Letting go is never easy.  Meditation teaches us how to:

• allow the past be in the past and 
• set aside concerns.

Worry becomes part of our brain’s landscape.  We are not even aware of it.  Worry becomes the fabric in the stories that the mind tells us all day long.  It hinders us from doing what we really want to do. 

Worry stops us from exploring new avenues that we’d like to take, concerned about what others will think. 

Meditation helps to limit worry.  When we first begin to meditate, it places a greater awareness to our thoughts.  We need to be aware of our thoughts to choose to continue to worry, or to think of something else. 

Mindful Breathing

Mindful breathing is a good place to begin.  With eyes closed:

• Become aware of the breath.  
• It is always there, going in and out.  
• Where do you feel it most?  
• Do you feel it more in your stomach or your nose? 
• Take a few breaths to notice. 
• What thoughts come up for you? 
• What else do you notice?

Do you hear the sounds outside or maybe the refrigerator humming?  Perhaps you begin to think about what you need to do today, or concern about the coronavirus.  

Awareness

Meditation helps to bring awareness to our worries.  When we notice our concerns, we can let them go.  See the worries leave like a cloud, drifting away.  Bring your attention back to your breath. 

A meditation that I like to use is from My Life.  Try it out!  It’s a mostly free app that I have no affiliations with. 

Here’s the youtube link, and it is also available as an app.  After signing in, tap ‘explore’ at the bottom, then scroll up a little to Get Started, then Mindful Breathing.  Press listen, then play!

That’s it.  Three minutes of meditation to find the rest and relaxation we’ve been looking for!  Additionally, meditation reduces stress, improves memory and decreases inflammation.  Who could ask for more?