So meditation continues to be all the rage. I certainly agree, and have proven to myself with a few tests that it is a good practice to get into. I will not get into all the reasons why. However, this little blog note is intended to help people, like me, that struggle channeling the feminine energy of Kundalini. I have nothing against thsi, so do not get me wrong here. If I could channel this power on a regular basis, I probably would. The thing is that I do not, because frankly it is just not that easy for me to quiet down the monkey mind and all that.
Here is the one best practice that I have come up. It is easy to do. It is a simple formula and it works quite effectively. The secret?
Shut Up.
Yes that is right. You can gain most of the benefits of meditation just by sitting quietly for 20 minutes and getting no outside input. Just you and your mind for 20 minutes alone some where quiet. No music, No artificial noise. No phone. No messaging. No nothing. Just you. Alone. Thinking.
This will be very hard for you to do. It may sound easy, but it will not be. You will not be able to set aside the time. You will try, but fail miserably. Just 20 minutes of you time. Sounds simple right? Good luck. Give it a shot if you want. Decide to spend 20 minutes by yourself, alone with zero distractions for 7 days in a row and see if you can even do that. Better get this right first before you try a meditation practice!
Just sitting quietly will require you to face all the basic challenges that prevent a mediation practice, without the stress of worrying about how to meditate. That matters little if you cannot dedicate the time and shut up for 20 minutes. However, interesting things start to happen when you spend this valuable quality time alone. Let me point out a few.
First thing, and this is probably the most important, is that you give God a voice. Now you may or may not believe in God, that matter little actually. Whatever you want to call that voice that whispers to your soul. Your subconscious. The spark of human consciousness. That innate desire to be a better human. The light. God. The Spirit. Whatever, the point is that when you are quiet for 20 minutes consistently, that voice will be there. So when you are quiet – you can actually hear it!! Who knows what it has been trying to tell you. You have been so busy running amok, so tuned into other voices that you hardly ever really listen. This time that I am talking about gives you the time to actually hear.
Second thing is that you can really identify what is or is not working for you. When you are in the hustle and flow of life, you may not realize that there is something developing in your life that is really really bad, or good for you. You may have a relationship brewing that will turn into something awesome, or perhaps a relationship is starting to happen that is destructive. When you are quiet for 20 minutes, you get a real sense of this. Suspended for a little while with nothing to do, your mind will key on things that you already know, but now there is no escape. That nagging feeling that you have had will have a chance to really come to the forefront of your mind. It may tell you, yes, if you thought drinking that bottle of whiskey and taking 2 sleeping pills every night was good to help you relax – sorry – nope. Your mind will confirm what you have already suspected, warning, warning, bad, bad. Funny how we humans will justify the craziest of behaviors that we KNOW are wrong, yet we still do them. When you spend quiet time by yourself, you have no choice but to do some reflective self inquiry. A reconciliation process, that is important and healthy.
So, do not over think this. Just shut up and be quiet for 20 minutes a day. Call it mediation.
Guy Reams
