I’m no meditation expert, by far. Still, in the short time that I’ve been practicing meditation and learning more about its benefits, I am truly realizing the impact of breathing and mindfulness.
Just tonight, for some reason, I found myself very overwhelmed and panicky, and I couldn’t even figure out where it was coming from. I chose to just breathe and take note of what I was feeling and what could possibly be causing it…
I asked myself what I was thinking, and what thought patterns I was allowing. That’s when I realized that I was starting a downward spiral of “what-ifs” related to my health, my to-do list, my income, my bills………
I was thinking about worst-case scenarios, and fearing the future, even just tomorrow.
Once I realized what I was thinking, I was then able to calmly allow those thoughts to pass… It was like I momentarily looked at each thought, for just a brief moment, and then let it pass.
There is something so wonderful and healthy about acknowledging the thoughts and emotions, but not cuddling up with them and allowing them to just hang around… Especially when you’re feeling overwhelmed with too many thoughts, and you don’t know what to do with it all.
I find that what really helps me is to sit quietly, breathe deeply for a while, then just allow the thoughts to come and go… In this time, I’m not allowed to write anything down, or create mental to-do lists. I just acknowledge, accept, and release. Then after a while, I might just go back to mindful breathing, and end with either a deep sigh of relief, or a blessing to myself: “I wish you peace and great health” or “All is well” …
–Sylphina
Cast Iron Butterflies 