Bathing, Rituals
Meditation as Practice
The bath is one of my favorite places to meditate as well as a comfy chair. If I could, I would have this dream of a tub to settle into but sadly I do not. I have instead a regular standard tub and have had a for many years. I have fixed the issue of the water not being deep enough by applying duct tape around the drain outlets so that the water can come to the top of the tub. But you must be careful so that you do not accidentally have an overflow. Ask me how I know. π
I have been trying to work hard on practicing meditating in my tub. Yes, still practicing- daily-ish as my friend Jill Badonsky reminds me. Telling myself to do meditation daily does not work but daily-ish works out fine. This way of thinking helps, and I seem to be doing it more now than before the stress I was piling onto myself by trying and failing to do it daily. We all want to do all the things on our to-do list but never seem to do them all. Especially the ones we feel we should do every day like exercise β eat healthily- clean, etc., etc. you know the ones I am talking about, and especially meditation and being mindful.
So, I feel successful if I do it once- twice -thrice a week. As for me, that is daily-ish. I also if truth be told have a chatterbox for a mind full of thoughts when I try to meditate and try to focus and empty my head. I just cannot seem to get rid of those monkeys jumping around in my head!
What has helped me is an app that I listen to that Jill also recommended called 10% Happier. It is an app that was created by Dan Harris, and you can also check out some books he has written about his meditative journey. OK, one thing he wrote about and the people he interviews is about using your breath as a focal point. And we have all sort of heard this method of focusing on the breath to calm down your mind. But one point that was made is that doing meditation is a practice. And when your mind wanders as it WILL just begin again and notice your breath in and out and in and out and acknowledge whether you do this a hundred times or a thousand times. When your mind wanders, you just notice it and begin again, come back to your breath, and practice.
This concept of practice and just beginning again brought home to me that this is something I can just begin and if I get distracted, I can begin again. No pressure, just begin again.
A very relaxing way to look at meditation and not feeling frustrated but to just keep practicing.
What are your favorite places to meditate?
What are your thoughts about daily-ish?
I have provided links above to the meditation app and Danβs books. My friend Jill is a creative friend who I admire and have linked to her Instagram where you can view her art that I love.
4 Comments
LakshmiDevi Ethirajan
i agree that with daily meditation. Even if it is for a few minutes it has a beautiful effect. I like to meditate in my sun room in the mornings. I love the quiet meditation in the warmth of the morning sun!!
mschendel
Your space sounds wonderful! π
Cassandra Wisdom
I like the idea of new beginning! I also try to meditate daily but I would say maybe 2-3 times a week should be about where I am at too. I like to meditate in bed, bath and in the shower. I like guided meditation but my mind still wonders! π
mschendel
It will always wander and that’s okay as it is a practice so no worries. Just keep bringing your mind back to the breath or whatever you use to anchor yourself.