You’d think that a therapist who encourages clients to meditate would actually be good at meditating. You would be wrong. Despite knowing the benefits of meditating, I have tried (and failed) to incorporate meditation into my daily routine.
One reason I struggle with meditation is that it’s hard to transition from chaos to calm. My mind is going a million miles an hour. and it’s not easy to make it stop. I actually practice the following meditation, and it makes the transition to calm seamless. Best part of this meditation? You can do it anywhere, anytime!
List the following silently in your head:
Five things you see right now. (e.g., map of the world, grey jacket, hand sanitizer, blue post-it notes, black pen)
Five things you hear right now. (e.g., someone typing, car horn, footsteps, birds chirping, air conditioner running)
Five things you feel right now. (e.g., scratchy shirt, cool bathroom sink, sticky kitchen table, soft blanket, silky dog)
Repeat with four things you see/hear/feel, then three things, etc.
Are you finding it hard to think of new things to see/hear/feel? Don’t worry – you can repeat items. The goal is to be in the present moment, not to catalog everything that’s happening around you.
Still feeling like a hamster on a wheel? Make sure to be specific about what you notice. “Blanket, calculator, bird” is less effective than “soft blanket, black calculator, tiny bird.”
Still not calm? Start from the beginning and try it again.
Can’t shake the chaos? Join the club.
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