Mindfulness Meditation: A Path to Inner Peace

I remember talking about meditation over the years.  Mostly to make the excuse I couldn't sit still long enough to actually do it.  Little did I know that was the easy way out and one day, I would have to learn to sit still because it would save my life. 

I spent the better part of my life with voices so loud and so contradictory that I often thought I was definitely insane.  I was sort of right.  For many years the only way I could manage to sit still was medicated.  Sadly, there came a time I could no longer take those meds, and I had to find a different way. 

It wasn't until I lost my anchor in the world that I would learn, like everything else, anyone can meditate, you just have to practice.  And you have to stop making excuses.  So, I did.  And while I still struggle with sitting through a boring movie, book or meeting, I can meditate for thirty minutes with no problems.  It took years of practice.  

The practice started after a visit to a Yoga Nidra class and grew from there. For the first time I was able to hear the silence, feel the silence and it didn't scare me.  I had to know more.  I signed up for a meditation 101 class and never looked back.  

Meditation has taught me to not only be still but process the emotions while I sit.  Which was the real reason most of us don't want to sit still and do nothing for long periods of time.  Once I learned how to start feeling as an observer, then allow the feelings to pass through, while sitting silently.  Peace followed. 

I never knew what the word meant, until I learned how to meditate regularly. The more I used my practice.

the quieter the outside world became and the safer my inside world was.  Now that is the first place I go to for comfort.  

The key is also to stay present.  This is the practice of mindfulness. Focusing on the here and now. 

That allows you to process what is happening without the influence of the past or the anxiety that comes from trying to foretell the future.  It is what it is, right now.  There is so much peace in living in the moment.  After all, that is all we really have.