Positive Thinking for Weight Loss and Other Challenges Blog

I think that a Post about meditation and it’s importance in the Positive Thinking arena can be found in this Blog, but I would like to bring it up again and really try to give some pointers in why, how when and where.

To give meditation a try it is very important to have the time and take the time to have nobody around except, maybe your cat or dog. When I meditate, I have my cat laying in my lap, stroking her and as she starts purring my stress level goes down almost instantly --I begin to breathe slower and relaxing and it is a wonderful feeling!!

Committing to doing nothing more than sitting quietly and watching what happens is the first step. Just sit! Observe the thoughts that arise and pass through your mind. It will likely be very difficult to sit quietly for 10 minutes or even 5 minutes to begin with. I am much better, but when I first started meditating, I had a hard time sitting still for 3 minutes! In the evolving process you will learn the importance of the qualities of the restless mind and the ever-changing life.

Tune into the sounds bubbling within and around you. Listen to the Sounds of life. Open your ears and close your eyes and begin to adopt a receptive attitude. At first, it is going to be soo noisy and there are going to be just a lot of sounds, but over a period of time you will discover the layers of sounds that there are and you will gradually learn to let them go until the sounds that you are hearing are those of soft, peaceful sounds. The world becomes alive and you feel so open in your awareness.

Cultivate an awareness. Practice bare attention. And what is that?, you ask. Sensations of the moment --- feelings of coolness and warmth, softness and hardness, easeness and pressure. Notice what parts of your body are in contact with the earth --- where you are sitting, how your body feels in different positions. Foster a more attentive, serene mind, settling into the here and now.

Follow your breathing. Be aware as you breathe in and as you breathe out and use that as your center so that as your mind strays to what you need to be doing as your beginning thoughts will be when you first start meditating, you can center yourself to your breathing and refocus.

Establish a mantra. We all have a favorite song, poem, prayer ---- something that is close to us and brings feelings of calm and peace. Take it and repeat it softly and slowly. Let its meaning and the rhythm lull you into a contemplative, quiet state of mind and ease. Again, when you see that your mind is wandering off to other thoughts, simply redirect it back toward the words you've chosen as your center and direct your awareness to them.

Last, but not least ---- Send kindness. Focus your inner attention, as you sit quietly, on someone you know who needs and will benefit from an extra dose of kindness and care. In your meditative awareness, send this person love, well-being and happiness.