Hey,
You.
Yes,
You.
You're in a hurry and I know you checked the timestamp before you clicked to listen.
You're wondering how much time this was going to take and did you have the time?
I get it.
I'm just like you.
Does this sound at all familiar?
You're a Type A,
Driven,
Ambitious,
A red,
In action,
A performer,
And perhaps a three or an eight on the Enneagram.
Now we know that many successful entrepreneurs and enlightened souls attribute much of their success to the transformation that occurred once they learned to calm their thoughts,
Manage their thoughts and their minds,
And devote a portion of each day to a meditation practice.
You may have tried this,
This thing called meditation,
And yet you just can't seem to get it.
It doesn't work for you.
Your mind won't go silent,
Won't calm down,
Won't stop thinking.
Maybe you're like me.
You sit down to do this thing,
This meditation.
You set a timer for,
Say,
Five minutes,
Ambitious goal.
You take a deep breath and you sigh,
And then another deep breath and you sigh and release it.
Oops,
All of a sudden you realize you're making a grocery list.
Deep breath,
Release.
Deep breath,
Release.
Darn,
Stop thinking about that email you need to send.
You check the clock and what?
Only 45 seconds have gone by?
Oh,
Forget it.
I'll just try again tomorrow.
You say to yourself,
I'm busy.
I'm on a deadline.
No time for this woo-woo stuff.
Besides,
You don't really need it.
You're a doer and doers get things done.
But,
Oh,
And there's always a big but,
Right?
All of those people,
Those successful entrepreneurs and others who you follow,
Who talk about their meditation practice and the transformation they experienced,
They can't all be wrong.
Can they?
So what do they know that you don't?
And why won't it work for you?
Are you broken?
Is something wrong with you?
Can it work for you?
Yes,
I am here to assure you that not only can it,
But it will.
And it will bring you massive peace,
Calm and abundance.
And I'm not going to say that it's going to happen overnight,
But I'm here from personal experience to tell you that it will happen.
So we're going to clear up some myths about meditation.
Too many of us have been led to believe that meditation is something that it's really not.
We get overly focused on the wrong things,
Leading us to believe that we can't do it.
And sadly,
Because of this,
We miss out on the many ways meditation enhances our lives.
So I'm going to provide some thoughts,
Tools and insights that may ease your journey.
And I'm going to do this in under 12 minutes so we can get you on your way.
How's that?
So first let's clear up those myths.
The first myth,
You're only successful if you can clear your mind of all thoughts.
I believe this is the biggest myth of all.
The first time I heard from a meditation master that this was not important,
That I did not have to clear my mind of all thoughts,
I felt such a huge sense of relief.
I wasn't broken after all.
I was,
Dare I say,
Normal.
Not that that is really a state of being or condition,
But I think you know what I mean.
My personal goal is to calm my mind,
Slow the steady stream of thoughts and over time,
Master the art of being more still.
Myth number two,
You must have a sacred space and a meditation pillow.
I have meditated many times in my car before going in for a presentation or attending an event.
I have meditated in a crowd when I felt anxious and just needed to bring peace into my moment.
I have meditated while walking,
Which is one of my favorites.
Myth number three,
You must practice in silence.
I personally found that beginning with guided meditations helped me gain mastery over my time,
My restlessness and my belief in my ability.
As I developed this mastery,
I've been able to use just music and then move on to silent meditation.
I confess I'm still better with music and five minutes is still a stretch for me.
And myth number four,
Meditation should leave you feeling relaxed,
Soothed and zen-like.
Yes,
Sometimes I come away with a sense of calm,
Peace and zen.
Yet sometimes it creates anxiety for me or a feeling of restlessness and I've learned to be okay with that.
It's all okay.
It's all as it should be and no matter the experience,
I have a lesson to evolve from every single practice.
All right,
So some thoughts,
Tools and experiences that have helped me.
First,
Set a goal or intention.
My goal was to develop a solid daily practice or morning routine of which meditation was a big part.
Overall,
My goal is to slow down,
Be present,
To be aware of my thoughts and to begin to witness and experience my thoughts from a curious,
Objective point of view instead of being reactive or judgmental.
To be in gratitude that right now,
In this moment,
I am sufficient.
I have what I need and there's no need for doubt,
A feeling of lack or fear.
I'm part of something greater,
A collective consciousness and my purpose and mission is needed and supported.
Next,
I set a goal for daily practice.
First thing of the day is also my goal and while I hit my goals most days,
I don't always.
I almost always get a meditation done during the day but it's not always first thing.
The success for me is in setting the goal,
Striving for the goal and the person that I become in pursuit of the goal,
Not actually the goal itself.
Now as I mentioned,
I started with guided meditation and my thoughts would still wonder like crazy and I would just gently bring them back to the words being spoken when I would find myself going down a rabbit hole in my mind which was quite often the case in the beginning and still is some days.
Progress over perfection.
Next,
I moved on to meditating to music.
Same experiences.
Sometimes my mind would go crazy and then ultimately I worked on going it alone in silence and I set a simple goal for one minute.
Now while you don't have to,
I did find some success in just paying attention to my breathing to begin with and it also helped me to just become aware of my body,
The feelings in my body and the sensations I was experiencing.
I focused on peace,
Calm,
Being in the state of sufficiency.
Enough.
Not being in the past and not being in the future.
Not even 30 minutes from now.
Just right now.
I still do better with music or a guided meditation and again my goal is progress over perfection.
Sometimes I meditate while still in bed,
Sometimes in my closet,
Sometimes on my yoga mat and I did ultimately create a space.
It's simply a comfy futon in my office with pillows and a light blanket.
Some lavender,
A candle and a small lamp are there too.
I like to breathe in lavender before I begin.
After each session I like to journal about it.
Sometimes it's just one word,
One sentence,
One thought.
Other times it's a page or two and I have learned to love myself regardless of the outcome of any session.
There are no failures.
I do not judge any of it.
I appreciate myself and I'm grateful for simply being with it.
I'm kind to myself.
I practice acceptance and compassion anytime I come away from a session with a dark thought and not so zen like.
This is all part of my journey and I'm grateful for every step of my journey.
Even the tough climb.
We all have peaks and valleys no matter how much we've mastered or how far we've come.
Here's the greatest gift my meditation journey and practice has given to me and I hope that it might provide a gift to you.
Now most days I come away calm and centered and ready to start my day.
I live now much more fully in the present and I accomplish so much more.
As an Enneagram 3,
As an achiever and a performer,
A Type A,
This is important to me.
Another gift is that there is no right or wrong,
No better or worse,
No mistakes,
No failures.
This is a gift you give yourself.
So I would like to encourage you to just begin.
Set your own goal or goals.
What transformation would you like to experience?
What gift would you like to give yourself?
And when will you begin?
Good luck to you and thanks for being on this journey with me and spending this time together.
Don't hesitate to reach out and connect and share your results with me.
May peace,
Joy and abundance find you today and may you also find peace,
Joy and abundance.
I'm Jackie Aylmer.
Thanks for listening.
