One of my favorite ways to spend down time is watching Oprah's new Super Soul Sunday on the OWN Network. Thought provoking conversations with spiritual leaders and people determined to make the world a different place have brought a spiritual focus back to my Sunday morning. I was intrigued when an interview with Deepak Chopra focused on meditation and an invitation to join a 21-day guided meditation on creating abundance. The Universe was speaking! In my years of spiritual practice that began rooted in a traditional Christian path to the present day more open spiritual search, I have never developed a good meditative practice. Yoga has certainly expanded my ability to quiet my mind, but meditating on my own has not been successful. And the focus of the meditation being creating abundance? Great reminder that I actually started a blog based upon my quest for a more simple abundant life. Back to journaling the process!
The one positive experience that I had with meditation came during an amazing get-away to Colorado with my high school friends. We invited a massage therapist to come in and do a group meditation with us before giving individual massages. It was an experience where judgement was non-existent and I learned to acknowledge the wandering thoughts that interfere with a meditative practice instead of fighting their existence. But I didn't bring the practice home with me. It was a moment in time, a preparation for when I would be ready. Now my friends are joing in me in this challenge, once again creating shared experiences of growth across geographical barriers.
It seems a little crazy that starting a 15 minute a day practice requires scheduling, but that's the reality of my life. So much for a simple! A late e-mail on the first day had me postponing my start until the next day. Fortuitously, the next day happened to be Election Day. Instead of turmoil and anxiety I began my day with the centering thought that "Today, I behold all the abundance that surrounds me". Wow. What a great reminder. I am blessed. Blessed that I live in a country of abundance. Hateful rhetoric and prognostications of doom and gloom from both sides of the political divide cannot overshadow the fact that the United States has survived over 200 years of peaceful transition of government. Change transpires, for the most part, without bloodshed and violence. I don't risk my life by casting a vote. Surrounded by abundance. I most certainly am. From that beginning I connected to this experience as coming at the perfect time balanced between need and openness. Join me, in the meditation challenge and the discussion. Comment below.
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