Kids asleep, check. Nothing pressing to do for 10 minutes, check. Jones absorbed in his work emails, check. iPhone in my hand, check. Let's get started.
Tonight's the first session of my year of daily meditation. I'm using the super-easy Headspace app. It's a guided meditation program that will stretch for the whole year. Today we start on 10 minutes which is just about all I have to give to it tonight. It's been a typical Monday , a bit stressy and we're all edgy and shattered and ready for the week to be over already. I wonder if any amount of deep breathing can help me not reach for the wine tonight. Andy's voice is neutral and friendly, non floaty-la-la like many meditation styles I've come across. I find myself relaxing immediately but I felt my mind wander constantly...hmmm shall I start my blog tonight? I wonder if the baby is going to roll off the bed where I left her......did I forget my cup of tea, sh*t it will be cold.....wait, what did he just say? I felt like my mind was busy hopping all over the place and heard a familiar voice twittering inside my head “this isn't working, not working....."
Then all of a sudden, 10 minutes is over, it's “whenever you're ready open your eyes” time. Because I'm so impatient I always open them immediately and I feel …..........mellow, a little lighter, a little less frowny and tense...surprisingly. I didn't feel like it was “working” especially as I'd managed to mentally write my to-do list for tomorrow. But I do feel pretty chilled in spite of it. It seems possible that even though my mind is still busy and processing the minutae of life, the very act of doing nothing else alongside it and letting the mind just do its thing, is a good start to just chilling out a bit. Interesting.
Tonight's the first session of my year of daily meditation. I'm using the super-easy Headspace app. It's a guided meditation program that will stretch for the whole year. Today we start on 10 minutes which is just about all I have to give to it tonight. It's been a typical Monday , a bit stressy and we're all edgy and shattered and ready for the week to be over already. I wonder if any amount of deep breathing can help me not reach for the wine tonight. Andy's voice is neutral and friendly, non floaty-la-la like many meditation styles I've come across. I find myself relaxing immediately but I felt my mind wander constantly...hmmm shall I start my blog tonight? I wonder if the baby is going to roll off the bed where I left her......did I forget my cup of tea, sh*t it will be cold.....wait, what did he just say? I felt like my mind was busy hopping all over the place and heard a familiar voice twittering inside my head “this isn't working, not working....."
Then all of a sudden, 10 minutes is over, it's “whenever you're ready open your eyes” time. Because I'm so impatient I always open them immediately and I feel …..........mellow, a little lighter, a little less frowny and tense...surprisingly. I didn't feel like it was “working” especially as I'd managed to mentally write my to-do list for tomorrow. But I do feel pretty chilled in spite of it. It seems possible that even though my mind is still busy and processing the minutae of life, the very act of doing nothing else alongside it and letting the mind just do its thing, is a good start to just chilling out a bit. Interesting.