Meditation: Spend time daily with the Lord Jesus within you. It’s incredibly valuable and hard at first but make the commitment…

Maybe you’ve already tried meditation. You’ve heard that it’s supposed to be good for you, and you thought you would give it a whirl. If so, you’ve found that it’s not easy. Who would have thought that clearing your mind of thoughts would be so difficult?!

Our brains don’t want to shut off. Even while we sleep, dreams play out up there. Finally taking the time to just STOP is a lot harder than it sounds.

But, if we just roll through life acting and reacting at every moment and never take stock, we’re doing ourselves—and those around us—a disservice.

At first, when we stop and sit still, thoughts and concerns will arise. It’s bound to happen, and it doesn’t mean you’re failing at meditation.

You actually have to become okay with allowing them to surface. The tricky part is to observe them and not let them take over your thought process.

One tip when meditating is to think of thoughts as clouds that just float by without notice.

You know you’re on the right track when shortly after you realize that you’re watching it, a thought starts to dissipate. Okay, maybe there’s another one right on its heels, and you’ve only had about 15 seconds of actual clear-headedness, but it’s progress!

What begins to happen is that you see how your mind works. You realize the things your brain wants to hash out, and you have the opportunity to see those things more objectively.

Alright, maybe you’re STILL not replacing worldly thoughts with a clear Biblical point of view and a clear head. You could practice meditation for years and not be able to hang on to that for more than a matter of seconds.

But, it’s ok.

Don’t beat yourself up about it. This “getting to know His mind” phase is invaluable.

Because we really don’t take much time to process before we act and react every day. Life should be purposeful, right? It is valuable to take time to step out of the race for a while.

The trick is to really set aside the 10 minutes a day to just sit. Guaranteed it will not be pleasant at first, and you will likely think of a bunch of things that you should be doing. Indulge and keep a notepad by you to jot these things down if that helps keep you put in the beginning.

Think of this as precious time to enjoy your special connection with the Lord in you. When you meditate, you are spending time with God, your guardian angels and with the Holy Spirit who dwells within you. You cannot over-meditate; one morning I decided to choose a guided meditation on YouTube that I thought was 11 minutes long. The guided meditation suggested I lie down. I was in my home office with the door closed, so I laid down on the carpet. The soothing voice started with relax your head, your face, neck, jaw and rotated though my entire body, section by section down to my toes. When I was done, an hour and 11 minutes had passed, and I felt better than after any massage I have had. The funny thing is about half way through, I knew more than 11 minutes had passed, and I couldn’t have cared less about anything else I had to do that day because I was in the moment–enjoying perfect happiness and great joy, also known as sheer bliss.

Most importantly, be kind to yourself.

You’re not doing it wrong. You just have to keep doing it.

Every day. Slowly but surely, it will get easier and more valuable.

Most people like to do it first thing in the morning and find that it’s a very good way to prepare yourself for the day. Wake up 10 minutes early, hide out in the bathroom; you’ll thank yourself later. It sets you in calmer mode where you are able to take that extra second or two to realize what’s happening and be able to have a more conscious response. Before I get out of bed in the morning, I spend a moment thinking about what I am grateful for; my faith, my health, my family, my friends, my work my crazy dogs…Positive thoughts which set a tone of gratitude and the awareness of abundance in my life.

For those who have trouble sleeping. It could be a very helpful stopping place to let the troubles of the day come out and play and hopefully run away before heading to a peaceful night’s sleep. But, don’t do it in bed! Do it in a separate room. Opt for relaxing music to fall asleep to instead of the TV. Let your mind wander and get lost in the music.

As many excuses as you will come up with not to do it, carve out the time. Make it a habit. And come back and let us know what you notice!