In study after study,
meditation has been shown to enhance the brain functions needed for deep
thought, innovation, wise decision-making, and concentration. It lowers blood
pressure, enhances the immune system, and reduces stress.
I’m in need of all those
things, so I have tried meditation many times. My heart was in the right place,
but I always found myself too restless. My mind would fill with all the things
I had to do. At the yoga classes I took, I would leave before the five minutes
of meditation at the end, already looking forward to what was next in my day.
Even in the yoga class I
taught, my mind wasn’t at rest when I led the group in guided meditation. I was
figuring out how best to relax those in my class, not myself.
Then I was forced into it.
Ever since college, I have always enjoyed taking part in research studies, and
I signed up for one at the University of Wisconsin that aimed to see whether
people who meditate have fewer colds. I qualified for the study because I
always had at least one cold every year.
I must admit when I signed up
I thought I would be in the control group so I wouldn’t have to meditate! But
when I found that I was in the group that would be attending meditation class,
I had a sneaking feeling that this was what I had really wanted all along. I
had no more excuses.
I had to go to the meditation
class once a week for three hours. And there were several hours a day of
homework – material to read, CDs to listen to, and then the actual meditation
itself.
I loved every minute of it.
My friends who had told me, “You will love it. It’s not at all what you think”
were so right. I liked the fact that the teacher always gave us something to
reflect on while we meditated – an idea, a poem, a question – and afterward we would break into groups and
talk about our experiences and insights during the meditation time.
It has been over a year since
I started taking the meditation class, and, for what it’s worth, I have not had
a single cold. Now, I’m skeptical by nature, and I don’t know what the results
of the study will turn out to be, so I’m not saying that taking the meditation
class has cured me of colds. All I can say for sure is that I have found it
worthwhile to add regular meditation and mindfulness to my life.
I have “graduated” from the
class, but there is a drop-in meditation session that I sometimes attend. At a
recent session, the touch-phrase of the evening was “Let It Be.” Each time we
closed our eyes and let ourselves be still, we returned to that phrase. We let
our bodies just be. We let our minds just be. We let our feelings be, without
trying to change or judge or worry about anything.
For years, my go-to mantra
has been “Let it go.” When I am stressing over something, I tell myself, “Let
it go, let it go,” and sometimes I make the actual movement of holding the
stressful thing in my clenched fists and then opening up my hands, flinging out
my arms, and throwing it away. It always
calms me.
But in meditation class the
other evening, I suddenly realized that “Let it be,” unlike “Let it go,”
requires no exertion whatsoever. All that’s needed is to do nothing.
When
you have a loved one who’s addicted to drugs, it’s natural to want to fix the
situation, help your loved one change, make everything better. But the secret
is to do the opposite – not try to fix, to change, to judge, to alter
the situation – instead, to accept that what is, is. To stop fighting and,
simply, to let it be. That’s what meditation can teach you.
The Keys
1. Meditation
can be as simple as doing absolutely
nothing.
2. Sometimes
you need to let go of things that are
holding you back. But sometimes, instead of making the effort to let things go,
you can simply decide to let things be.
3. No
matter how busy or distracted you are, there’s
always time for bliss.
Actions to Practice
Meditation for
Multitaskers highlights the fact that
you can gain the many benefits of meditation without sitting for hours on a mat
murmuring mantras. You can train your brain to be more flexible, creative,
reflective, and serene by adding just a few mindful exercises to your day.
Some ideas:
1. Go
outside, and take in your surroundings.
Engage all your senses and accept them without labeling them pleasant or
unpleasant. Slow down your internal monologue, be still for a few minutes, and
merge with your environment.
2. Punctuate
your day with intentional do-nothing
breaks.
3. Practice
deep breathing whenever you have a
spare minute. Remember that the word “inspiration” comes from the Latin root “spirare,”
breathing in. Your creativity is linked to an awareness of your breath.
4. Get a
bath pillow, some bath toys, and a
jar of soap bubbles, and play in your tub. It’s as good as a spa visit.
5. Contemplate
these words by Rainer Maria Rilke:
You
need not do anything
Remain
sitting at your table and listen
Just
wait
And
you need not even wait, just become quiet and still and solitary
And
the world will offer itself to you to be unmasked
It
has no choice
It
will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
For more exercises, take a
look at WAKING UP HAPPY, www.WakingUpHappyBook.com.
Please contact me with
your own stories, strategies, insights, and any questions you may have, as well
as an answer to this question, if you’d like to reflect on it and send me your
answer: What one thing could you add to your day to relax, calm, and center
you?
