Within each of us, there is something needing to be held, to be healed, whether it’s big or small. It can be something dramatic and life shaking, or so subtle that only we deal with it silently. Regardless of where you may come from, I aspire this video to be a space where that part of yourself, the part that needs to be held, to feel welcomed into the wisdom of healing I have gathered from the world within these last two weeks of life.
Meditation
My first experience with mindfulness was meditation. I was 15 and would get up before school and just sit and do a guided meditation. Since then I kind of ditched classic meditation and pursued other mindful activities such as gardening, journaling, and yoga.
The past few weeks I have gotten back into the more traditional meditation practice of just sitting still with the eyes closed, focusing on breathing. The benefits I’ve gained from it could easily be described as a form of healing in my opinion.
First, meditation can assist in cultivating a more objective view upon life. When we are able to view things without getting too overwhelmed or emotionally involved, we have more power when it comes to deciding how we will react to them. Both externally in the sense of our reaction causing an impact on the external world and the people around us, and within, in the sense that we have more power over the emotion or thought than that thought or emotion has over us.
Meditation has also helped to expand my mind past the usual patterns I sometimes feel stuck in. It can be hard to recognize patterns and repetition of thoughts and feelings because they feel like they are a part of us. We are so caught up in them we are almost trapped. Meditation helps us to get out of this trap and begin to consider our world more intentionally. Our minds basically shape our entire life, which is why I have been trying to practice meditating more.
Reading and Mindful Consumption
I have never been a big reader but recently, I’ve found that focusing on a novel has allowed me to slow my mind down and get thinking more deeply and intentionally about the world around me. It feels incredibly healing to read about the deeply human experiences we all go through, and to see the unspoken thoughts and feelings that many of us experience but rarely express aloud. Even in fiction, the author’s words come from some place of reality. We are inspired to write by the things that touch us emotionally. Something I’ve been doing is writing little mini essays or paragraphs on quotes that really speak to me. It’s a way for me to process and implement the wisdom and teachings from the book rather than just forgetting it all once I’m finished. I’m also a very slow reader so I’ve learned through this reflecting that I can move at my own pace and still take away something meaningful. Also the nice thing about not being a reader is that pretty much everyone I know reads more than I do and they all have so many great recommendations.
Environment and Change
The thing that I love about travel is that it’s so eye opening to how our environments can completely change our perceptions on just about everything. Living in the same environment with the same routines naturally can become a bit dull. We are physically going through the same motions and I find that my mind commonly mirrors this repetition: Feeling the same feelings and thinking the same thought patterns. Many times, I don’t even notice what is hindering my capacity to experience things in a more positive light. Getting away, no matter how far, and changing up our routines can be one of the most insightful experiences. I’ve also been trying to prioritize carving out intentional time where I don’t work on anything. When we strip away all of the things we are used to focusing our attention on, we are left to explore the things that really inspire us and spark curiosity in our lives. We are left looking for love in the most genuine places.
Compassion
I’m taking a class in Buddhism right now and the number one thing I have taken away thus far is that compassion is the answer to our problems. A lot of buddhist meditation practices are rooted in compassion: Many times cultivating a sense of compassion towards the self that extends outwards towards every living being in our Universe. When we experience emotions, others may be able to sense that emotion, but ultimately, whatever feeling we project, we will feel the most. When we experience things directly, we ultimately are living in the reality of that emotion more than anyone else around us. To feel love, we need to feel love. It’s so simple that it sounds easy but for many of us, it’s a skill we need to develop.
The possibilites of our physical reality are limited, but out inner world is full of infinite potential and is up to us to define it. We can define our inner world with mindfulness.
One way I have been practicing trying to cultivate more love and compassion recently is by trying to ground myself in the presence and energy of other people. Sometimes it is trying to connect deeply with someone I am close to. Other times it’s when I’m in class, surrounded by a bunch of people I haven’t even spoken to before, attempting to hold as much compassion towards them as I am able to hold to a stranger. The irony is that when we focus on cultivating a feeling of compassion towards literally anyone, we are experiencing that compassion within. It’s all super interconnected and I think it’s really cool and inspiring and a great way to hold more love towards yourself and the world around you.
Staying Centered in an Ever-Changing World
The world is ever-changing, and our situations remain impermanent. This, depending on how you look at it can be both reassuring or depressing. Reassuring in that the pain will pass, or depressing in that the good moments won’t last forever as well. But I think one of the main feelings this impermanence can evoke within us is a lack of control. There is a lot we can’t control, but we can always have a say in our reactions. We have the ability to train our minds to control how we perceive things. It’s not an easy game, but it’s a rewarding one when we devote ourselves to it. To react with intention is how we can center and ground ourselves in this ever-changing world. We can heal and hold ourselves by training our minds to become the safe and grounding space we have always needed.
