How to Make Meditation Be Your Super Power

Meditation is a powerful practice anyone can do to help better cope with everyday stress. Practicing meditation helps me to stay centered even when my world is in upheaval. As a single mom, I could argue that life is stressful and hard and allow that to overwhelm me. OR I can create the time and space to be better able to deal with whatever comes my way.

Meditation has empowered me beyond what I can express, I used to think it was silly but that was only because I didn't know how or why I should do it. I used to overthink how it had to go. Like I had to lay still for hours and chant or transcend to the heavens or some such thing. Truth is, it's not hard, complicated or overly woo-woo (unless you want it to be).

Simply by creating and allowing space every day to sit or be still, calm your breath and watch your thoughts, your gain clarity on your inner self. Meditation helps to shine a light through the haze of life's distraction and illuminates deeper levels of meaning and revelations which can make you truly happy.

It took me a bit of consistent practice and time, but I started to experience such peace and gained incredible insights about myself for my life. If I hadn't allowed myself the space for meditation, I'm sure my 'monkey mind' would just keep me circling in confusion.

Learning to just sit and be present, is the ultimate goal of mediation. There is nothing you have to DO when you meditate, you just get to BE. It's like spending quality present time with yourself, something I can't emphasize the value of enough.

Meditation: The What & The How

Meditation is usually thought of as sitting in a comfortable position and watching your breathing, no words or thoughts, just the simple awareness of your breathing. In truth, any practice that allows you to quiet your anxieties and step into the "flow" of your inner life is a form of meditation.

Meditation helps us to stand back and observe, rather than being caught up in the drama of our lives. It does not advocate accepting the inevitable, blind obedience, or avoiding our circumstances--quite the contrary. The goal of meditation is awareness of the true, expansive, multi-dimensional nature of our being and our power to change and direct our lives. It allows you to tap into your whole person; mind, body, soul & spirit.

One immediate practical benefit is that meditation helps you to be detached enough from the pressures of your life so that you won't overreact and make poor decisions in the heat of the moment. Because of this, meditation helps you to be more in tune with your inner wisdom and make better choices, decisions with ease.

Meditation helps you to think and act like a professional problem-solver whose training and experience keep her focused on the issues at hand without being distracted by emotion and an attachment to desires for how things 'should' to be.

Meditation is an Art

"Like the creation of art, stilling the mind requires discipline and effort. Though the more immediate benefits are calm focus and detachment, the ultimate goal of meditation is to establish conscious union with our divine source. However, to accomplish this requires the relinquishing of all goals and thoughts of accomplishment.

Meditation challenges you to see through this duality and of all opposites, and view them as different ways of looking at the same unifying truth. We come to realize that peace begins where our expectations end" (I didn't write this, it's a quote but I forget where from).

The ability to accept things the way they are during meditation is not a surrender to overwhelming forces but is the best way to understand and actively engage ourselves with whatever circumstances we are dealing with at any given moment.  It's the best gift you can give yourself to grow healthy coping skills for all the life brings your way.

3 Ways I Meditate

1. Journaling (every morning).

My morning routine includes journaling, with a delicious cup of french press coffee and heavy cream at my side. I often journal my dreams, gratitude or thoughts, but I always leave space for some meditative journaling/reflection. One way I do this is with tarot cards (this basic Rider Waite deck or one of my favorites; the Druid tarot deck).

I often ask 'what aspect of life should I meditate on today' and pull a card from one of my decks and see what insight comes up for me. I then use this as a prompt to journal whatever flows out of me. Ever since I created space for meditation journaling every morning, I've noticed a lot more stability in my mental calm and clarity.

2. Hiking in Nature

Sometimes it takes me awhile to shift into a more meditative calm mental state, so not all of my hikes are fully for meditation.

Communing with nature can remind you of the special role you were meant to play in this lifetime. In order to realize your purpose, you must embrace your true self by letting your light shine forth, no matter the consequences. Go into nature and just breathe it all in, let your mind be free. Sometimes I do go and just sit somewhere still but sometimes I just walk along peacefully taking it all in and letting nature infuse me with a subtle energy that brings a calm clarifying peace. Sometimes it also inspires and invigorates me to be my best creative self or do my best focused work as well.

3. Lying or Sitting Still (Listening to Guided Meditation)

I also like lying still on my yoga mat, with my 'KnotOut' under my neck and a heat pack on my belly,  listening to healing meditations OR just listening to binaural beats. I do it this way more in the winter when it's colder and I can't walk outside as often.

Using a guided meditation can help when you aren't able to focus on your own or when you want wisdom or clarity for a specific area of your life. I love using guided meditations from other coaches or teachers to help me open up to new areas of deeper healing. The Headspace app is also another great way to help shift yourself into meditation.

Meditation Is Empowering

Meditation isn't hard, it's just a simple habit that anyone can create. Meditation allows you to learn to let go and surrender.

Meditating teaches you to honor the wisdom within yourself. You must find your own light, shine it on your soul and create your own special path. Through meditation and visualization, you can get in touch with the wise person inherent within you.

But don't just take my word for it, there's plenty of research to back up the healing benefits of mediation. Meditation has been shown to help with productivity and focus, to stress and anxiety relief, sleep, weight-loss, relationships and the list goes on. A great book to check out on the subject is; 'Get Some Headspace: How Mindfulness Can Your Change Your Life in 10 Minutes a Day' by Andi Puddicombe.

It's another way to help support you declutter your life as well as support emotional detox.

I love to use meditation and journaling and nature walks to get grounded, clear and tap in more to my intuitive guidance as well as help me to pay attention to my dreams and what they are speaking to me.

Through meditation or quiet reflection, you may come to a point of deep understanding about the common themes throughout your life and what you can do or change to avoid these situations in the future. Through meditation, contemplation and self-examination, you may begin to re-evaluate your personal goals and change your overall direction. You will look at your life with a deeper, more spiritual understanding and will begin to change some of your priorities as a result.

The beauty is, when you're quiet and still you are open to receive. There's a whole world within you that is waiting to be discovered. You have stories to tell yourself and journeys to go on. When you go in, you never go without.

Meditation really is a super power.

If you try any of the tips I shared in this post and found them helpful, leave me a comment below and let me know. If you enjoyed this post, please consider being a part of the tribe that is being built here. A good way to begin is to sign up for my newsletter.