I decided to join Deepak Chopra's 21 Day Meditation Challenge after my acupuncturist suggested that it would be a nice way to ease into meditation. I have recently had lots of conversations with friends about this subject, and their responses were the same as mine at first. We all think that meditation is a challenge because there are so many things and ideas that crowd our mind and how could we possibly focus on nothing? The practice does bring up a lot, but that's the point.
By setting the intention that I am going to devote 5 or 15 minutes to quieting my mind, I am setting aside that time for myself. It's not about being good or bad at meditating, it's about taking care of your spiritual self. It's very easy to remember to work out to take care of your body, and to take a break for your mind, but it's the spirit in us that we often forget to nourish.
Today the centering thought is "I release and my heart is at peace." This instantly spoke to me, because I have been working on letting things go. We all have had not so wonderful things happen to us in the past and sometimes we build walls up to protect ourselves. In this process, we unintentionally hold on to negative feelings. These feelings don't serve us in a positive way and in turn, go into the body as holding patterns.
The associated journaling questions brought up what happens in your body when you have had a particularly stressful day. I know for me, I feel it in my jaw, my left shoulder and my low back. These are areas where I have holding patterns that I am working through. We all have something that is a challenge to deal with, but if we can find healthy ways of coping, like taking a walk, journaling, talking to someone, or simply taking a deep breath, we can learn to let things go. I invite you to join me in the centering thought for today and see how it can positively impact you, your mood, your approach, and your spirit. "I release and my heart is at peace."