To be soaked in the wonder of life!

Sitting down to do my breathing exercises today with the hope of meditating after, I realised that this is the most powerful tool I’ve added into my life this year. We are aware that meditation is good for us and it’s extremely beneficial for our body and mind but do we actually know why. If we do understand this, would we do it more often and make it a regular part of our daily lives, I wonder.

Having read the books 'The Untethered Soul' by Michael A. Singer and 'The Power of Now' by Ekhart Toelle a few years ago, it was probably the first time that I started living consciously, understanding what it means to be present. It may be the realisation of us being an awareness or breaking apart from the illusion of self I have been clinging dearly to until that point in my life, whatever it was, it created a huge shift in the paradigm of life as I knew it. It felt like I’m actually seeing reality for what it is for the first time as opposed to seeing it for what we are taught it to be, think it to be, or expect it to be. To finally be able to view it just as it is.

What comes along with being present is, you start noticing the colours more brightly around you, the grass looks greener, the sky that’s hanging over you everyday with its glorious clouds that you sometimes may not notice as much, the same route you’ve probably taken everyday for years to go into work that have gone unnoticed by you because it has simply become a muscle memory starts coming to life allowing you to be soaked in the wonder of life. When you are present, you are able to enjoy the moment as it is without being carried away by your thoughts that are bombarding you every second. So you are able to take a break from living in your mind in a narrative of the reality you’ve created, and notice the reality for what it actually is. The tree outside your house that you see in passing everyday, finally comes to life in your eyes. You may even be surprised to see things that you haven’t noticed before though they’ve been there all along.

For me, when I focus on my breathe at any given point, either when I’m meditating, or while writing this now, it is the quickest way to ground myself. To allow my mind to bring in more clarity to whatever the task I’m taking on or even if I’m not doing anything. It’s a way to bring awareness into the present moment. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are breathing in and out all day everyday as long as we are alive. It’s funny how we never notice we do until we pay attention to it.  

As you take a breath in now, consciously, allow yourself to feel your body relax and imagine letting go of anything that worries you or any stress in your body, as you exhale. You can take another breath this way and go deeper into paying attention to how each part of your body feels as you breathe in the air, and how relaxed you feel as you let go. If you continue this for a few more breaths, hey you’re meditating!  

As you sit down to meditate, you may have thoughts popping up reminding you of the things you should be doing instead, or reminding how hungry you are though you’ve had a snack only a few minutes ago. Your job in that moment is to remind yourself to pay attention to your breath so you’re able to focus, and once you keep breathing and feel the body transition to a more relaxed state, you can even start observing your thoughts allowing them to come and go freely as they please. If you get tangled up in a thought and lose focus, that’s okay, once you come back in to the present moment just focus on the breath again. You can also bring your focus to the energy you feel in your body as you take a breath in and follow the breath to notice how it feels in your body. As you continue to do this, you’ll notice your thoughts are starting to slowly subside. You may still have a few thoughts popping up but it maybe one or two at a time now and it’s not bombarding you chaotically anymore.  

Apart from being able to increase your focus immensely in whatever you do and be more appreciative and grateful for the ordinary things in life making you feel happier, peaceful and compassionate, this also allows your brain to know that you’re in a calmer state allowing the body to carry out all its functions smoothly. You’re helping your brain activate the parasympathetic nervous system which is the rest, digestion, repair mode which stimulates the immune system, repairs tissues, and increases the blood supply to the gut and all repair mechanisms in the body which is essential for the wellbeing of your overall health.  

If you’ve ever wondered or was inclined to meditate, I say do give it a go and see for yourself what it’s like. I’d invite you to start slow, be kinder to yourself if you find that you are struggling to keep the focus intact and give it a few days to know or feel a difference in your mind and body. One last time, take a deep breath in, slowly let go, and I hope you have the most beautiful day! 😊