I was sitting at lunch the other day with a friend, explaining to her that I have started meditating! It’s the new thing, and I am all about the new things. Just kidding, but I am serious about meditating. It all began a couple of months ago when I read, 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story
by Dan Harris. I’m sure most of you have seen or heard about it, it made all the morning and evening news/chat shows. Basically Dan Harris had a panic attack on the air. This caused him to pause and take stock of his life. What he found, through all of his research, was meditation. He presented all sorts of scientific evidence supporting the benefits of meditation – here is just one that I found on the web – The Seven Health Benefits of Meditation.
Deciding that I wanted to meditate – or at least give it a try, I went searching for an app for it. There’s an app for everything! I downloaded and tried a few, but settled on an Mindfulness Meditation – Mental Workout Inc for my iPhone.
The first thing I loved about it is the guide. You can basically listen to this guide, it’s very short, and be ready to try meditating in just a few minutes! You don’t have to go read books, or search out all the specifics. A good basic understanding is presented for you. I read through the guide and was ready to go.
Once you are ready to go, you simply select how long you want to meditate for. I started at 5 minutes and increased by 5 minutes each week. Yesterday, I started on 20 minutes. A man’s voice comes on and guides you through each meditation. He doesn’t speak the whole time, just gets you situated and then pops in then now and again to remind you to refocus. He’s very soothing and reassuring (on a side note, my cat loves him – whenever I start, she comes over and lays by the phone – I think she’s meditating also). He reminds you that your thoughts are going to wander, it’s okay, just bring them back. That’s all there is!
So, I am starting week 4 of it. I love it. I’ve done it everyday (set up a reminder on my phone). It gets easier and easier. Also at various times through the day, I find it easier to clear my mind. I encourage you to give it a try and come back and let me know what you think.
Disclosure: these are an affiliate links, which means that I may get a commissions if you decide to purchase anything from Apple or Amazon company. I only recommend products & systems that I use and love myself.
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