That sense of inner peace and calm we all crave? It is possible to tap into it on demand through mindfulness, but it takes practice. In fact, the more you practice, the more access you will have to calmly responding rather than merely reacting to life’s most challenging moments.
Give yourself an easy goal that you can meet every day, such as five to fifteen minutes listening to a guided meditation on CD or via an app. I can’t emphasize enough that you need to practice every day.
I mean it: every day.
But if you skip a day, don’t beat yourself up over it. Just pick a one-minute meditation and do it. Everyone can carve out one minute!
The guided meditations in the Insight Timer app — one of my favorite go-to meditation apps — vary in length from one minute to over thirty minutes. Just pick one, based on the amount of time you have, close your eyes, and follow the voice.
I like to do meditations in my parked car. The seat is just perfect; I can be upright, supported, and comfortable. And I can plug my iPhone into the sound system so the meditation comes through my car radio. If I get to an appointment early, I sit and do a meditation.
Easy peasy. Give that active brain of yours a break!
Finding a local mindfulness meditation class that meets in person can be fun, too. Connect deeply with your inner calm and compassion while surrounded by others who are doing the same. It’s a nice way to get a sense of encouragement and know that you are not alone in working to create a new way of responding to the various challenges in our ever-changing world.
