Another long slow exhale, and a feeling of deep contentment washes over me.
I am distracted some days. With a new crazy thought popping into my head every half second. But this morning was one of those tranquil 20 minutes where everything in mind and body settled happily. The settings at Suryalila help I'm sure.
Whether or not I manage to find some quietness of mind, I view my meditation practice as successful. At the very least, I'm more aware that my mind is busy, and maybe that's an insight into something bothering me—maybe work pressure—or maybe I'm just tired.
365 Days of Meditation
At the start of January 2015, I decided to publically commit to a year of daily meditation.
It's February 1st now and I've meditated for 31 straight days.
Benefits so Far
I've noticed a few benefits from long stretches of consistent meditation. One is being able to trace the root of a distraction.
For example, I caught myself thinking about Donald Trump while meditating the other day. I'm not a fan of that guy at all and nothing in my life is connected to him at the moment. So my initial thought was "Why the heck am I thinking about Donald Trump".
I realised I was thinking about the books I add on Facebook, and I've read a Donald Trump book which is listed there.
Then I realised I was thinking about the selection of books I make and how I like the way I portray myself through the books I read, but noticed I don't share many films I watch, particularly comic book movies, like The Avengers. Because they're less intellectual, or more likely to be criticised than admired, or something stupid like that.
And then I realised I was thinking about that because the thought crossed my mind of how publicly sharing my meditation goal might be perceived.
I traced that mental pathway in probably 3 or 4 seconds and brought my attention back to my breath—for probably only another few seconds. 🙂
The second benefit I've noticed is catching myself being annoying or wanting to make a snap reaction. Sometimes I catch my quick initial reaction and can calm my self down, or just say something nicer that what was about to come out of my mouth.