As I continue to search for ways to deal with anxiety and bad dreams, I find myself often turning to meditation. Granted, I'm sure I'm doing it
wrong if you look it up in some "how-to" guide. But I say I'm doing it
right because it achieves my desired end result of feeling centered and calm.
SomeMonkey recently did a search on meditation and found some video that tried to make her breathe out of this nostril and then that nostril. That's way too complicated for me. Not to mention a nightmare this time of year with sinus issues.
Here's how I meditate. I sit somewhere quiet. I don't do any kind of crazy pose - I just sit comfortably, usually with my back braced against a wall or the side of the bed. With my eyes closed, I breathe in slowly, I breathe out slowly. Sometimes I count. Sometimes I think "happiness in, anxiety out, health in, headache out." Whatever seems fitting at the moment.
I got that last bit from a book or a blog post or some other place I can't remember at the moment. The idea is that we're all part of the universe, therefor the universe has what we needs. So breathe
in what you want,
out what you don't want. This was great until I thought to myself what a jackass I must be to be putting my anxiety and pain into the universe. Like it doesn't already have enough without me adding to it? Once my train of thought goes there, it usually ruins the meditation.
In the past, I've used a meditation podcast I found for free on iTunes. It was called (wait for it!) "The Meditation Podcast". I'll give you a moment to recover from the shock. I think when they started, they intended for this to be an on-going podcast but they ended around 10 episodes. Each episode featured guided meditation focused on fear, pain, etc.
One podcast I particularly liked was meant to lead you to a deep, restful sleep. It started with steady breathing and then started progressing your thoughts through colors. Bright hot colors like red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black... By the time the guiding voices hit black, you are completely zonked out. Problem? The same podcast then leads you back up through the colors to a state of being awake. Which would be awesome if there was a whole lot of dead space in the middle. But no. It's like a 10 minute sleep at best. Kinda defeats the purpose, no?
Anyways, meditation. It seems to work for me and it doesn't take long. The challenge is keeping the husband and the kitties quiet for five minutes so I can effectively relax. Really, it's in their own best interest because it's probably their fault I want to punch someone in the face. With the funk I've been in recently, I should remember to meditate more often. It makes the world safer for everyone.
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