Meditation and a Calm Mind

The truth of the matter is I was feeling lazy and a bit tired.

I'd been watching the cows in the paddock next door - they are just naturally calm I thought to myself as I sat in the chair with a nice cup of tea and a good gardening magazine.

Perfect scenario for someone who is just feeling a little overwhelmed with stuff she has to do today. Procrastination and avoidance coupled with a comfy seat, a hot drink and just a few minutes to herself.

I should have known better.

Have you ever decided to do something, know it's a great idea and then done everything you could to avoid actually getting started?

As I sipped my tea and began to flick through the pages of one of my favourite magazines on the topic of gardening, little did I know that on the second last page my inspiration lay in wait for me.

It hit me like a bolt of lightening. I was immediately filled with excitement and energy and so my quiet few minutes to myself culminated in .... well you are reading some of it right now!

So what was it that got me so excited?

A quote from James Allen and a gorgeous picture of a forest in it's autumn colours. The quote is from his classic book "As A Man Thinketh". Here is the quote that caught my attention:

"Calmness of mind is one of
the beautiful jewels of wisdom...
The more tranquil a man becomes,
the greater is his success,
his influence, and his power for good."

Can you see why I was so inspired? I think that is so beautiful, to look at calmness of mind as a jewel and then I just knew immediately that way to that wisdom is through meditation of some kind.

I have found that meditation is a wonderful pathway to 'calmness of mind'.

I think that because it is such a personal journey and experience that It's a perfect process, tool, way of being that can bring you such rich rewards for so little cost.

It is indeed one the 'beautiful jewels of wisdom' of which James Allen speaks.

I began to wonder why I was so inspired by that quote and why we would want to think of Meditation as a jewel, a treasure in our lives.

Once I got onto this train of thought, it didn't really take me very long to come up with quite a sizable list! I only had to look at my week and see the number of tasks, people, problems needing solutions and distances needing to be traveled to see that my need for a calm and tranquil space should be very high on my priority list.

Over the years, I've struggled to fit meditation into my day - even into my week at times - but as my relationship with it developed, as I began to experience it's many benefits, I found that as we became better acquainted, my meditation practice became easier and easier.

One key that I uncovered for myself and then discovered in many meditation instruction books and websites is this. Do Meditation

I have a dear friend you puts it this way:
"You are a winner just because you show up every day"

Now, this is a wonderful concept because it means that you don't have to judge either yourself or your meditation practice. Just the simple act of turning up for your meditation today, the fact that you sat quietly and created that calm and tranquil place for yourself means that you have been successful.

It doesn't matter if you were fidgety and lost focus easily. It doesn't matter if the time you spent in meditation was long or short. It doesn't even matter if you fell asleep or kept thinking about the shopping - you are a winner because you did it.

So to each one of us who meditates, keep doing it. Keep showing up, each and every day until your relationship with Meditation is strong and its powerful presence in your life is as natural as your breath.