For the love of all things Holy, just start meditating!

 OK, the title of this post is a little strong-arm-y.

 I apologize. I’m not angry with you, I promise. 

I am just very excited to help as many people as possible learn how to heal. And by 'heal' I mean, break patterns that keep you stuck, release things that no longer serve you, heal your family traumas, regulate your nervous system, and learn to see the truth in your experiences. (Among other things. Stick around this blog a while and you'll learn some really neat things!)

I will be straight with you: healing is a process and a way of living your life more intentionally. It is not a one-size-fits-all, we-all-take-the same-exact-steps-in-the-same-order type of thing. It is far from ONE AND DONE. While you will have moments of great breakthrough and realization along your path, most of your healing takes place as you live your life day to day. It's a really beautiful life, but it is very different from what is shown to us in media, in church,  and by society as a whole. It's slower, quieter. And I've learned that this quiet strength is more powerful than the loud power of the physical world.

Quiet. That is where real healing begins. If you grew up in church, you may have heard the term, 'still, small voice'- Referencing the Holy Spirit. It is a really great descriptor of the Divine Feminine aspect of God (AKA Wisdom, Shekinah (glory))I now recognize that the still, small voice is direct guidance from her, and it exists or rather is broadcast through, myself. And your still, small voice is broadcast through you. We all have it. I'm nothing special or different. WE ALL HAVE IT. ON this physical plane, it's best described as our intuition. 

Here's the thing: the voice, is indeed still and small, which means that in order to really hear it and be guided in a pure way, you need to get quiet. How do you get quiet? One simple way is through meditation. (I also encourage a prayer life, but that is more of a conversation, whereas meditation is where you kind of shut up and listen. I do tend to ask questions in meditation, but that's about all I am saying.) And now, after several years of pretty much daily meditation, my time is sort of this hybrid prayer/meditation flow. It's grown into this rather organically, and it works very well for me. Your path with meditation may grow and evolve differently, and that is OK.

"But meditation is HARD! I can't concentrate for more than a minute!" Ok, I hear you, so sit still and breathe for ONE MINUTE. Just breathe. If you are new to this and have no other modality in your life just yet for regulating your nervous system (yoga, gently walking, breathwork, tai chi...) then yes, sitting still for a long stretch will be challenging AT FIRST. 

Start with your breath. Contrary to what a lot of folks say, meditation is not 'emptying your mind of all thought'. It is actually giving yourself some grace and letting your mind do what it wants, with some gentle boundaries. You have a thought, you look at it for just a moment, then you release it and bring yourself back to this present moment. That's one of the beautiful things about meditation: it teaches us to exist in the present. Because the present moment really is the only moment that exists. The past is gone, and the future is not in existence (and very changeable, so there is nothing to fear or dread about it) so RIGHT NOW, is where life is. When we dwell on the past or worry over what MIGHT happen in the future, we are actually existing out of time. No wonder we are so stressed out!

Here is a simple starter meditation for you:

-Find yourself a comfy seat (you don't have to sit on the ground with your legs folded. Get in your favorite chair, or lie in bed. If you have a hammock, that's a really nice place to meditate.)

-Set a timer for 5 minutes.

-Inhale, as you count to 4, hold your breath for 4, and exhale for a count of 7. You don't have to think of anything except your breath and counting yourself through it.

That's it! If you want to add a little extra dimension to this, get your notebook or journal and jot down a few things that you felt or thought in your meditation session. Even if it's just, "I focused on counting my breath. I felt more relaxed." Try not to judge yourself. Meditation is a practice, and it takes some time to settle in, and that is perfectly fine.

This simple breathwork can help you learn an easy way to self-regulate your nervous system. And this, in turn, can help you get to that still, quiet place, so you can hear that still, small voice. That quiet place is where the wisdom resides. When you're not distracted by your phone, the TV, other people, or your own inner dialogue, you can get to the root of things, and start to make real changes that will begin to heal you, from the inside out. 

One thing that really helped my practice, is to move my body and then sit down to meditate. For me, my movement is my yoga practice, and sometimes taking a walk. If I can expend some physical energy, I find that this also quiets my mental chatter so I can drop into my meditative mental space a lot easier and more quickly. 

If your intention is simply a little stress relief, then meditation can work for you, no doubt about it.

If your intention is deep healing, across all levels (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) then meditation is your gateway to that. I promise. It opens the door to finding wisdom and understanding things much better. You begin to see the big picture, not just what's right in front of you. 

Interesting, isn't it, that in order to really see the truth, the big truths, you have to narrow your gaze from taking in your past and future and settle down into the present moment.

And right there, that is the sweet spot that all healing flows from. When you are in the habit of listening to Spirit (and meditation is the direct line), your life changes in small ways, and then big ways, leading you into very deep healing in yourself. And then, you have wisdom and medicine to share with others who are seeking their own healing. Don't you see? As we move through this healing life, we see the Divine connection we all have to one another. Every. Single. Person. We are a spirit family, and as one wakes up, we help others awaken. It's just a big 'ol healing party across this whole entire Universe! 

And we're all invited. 💕

Bye.