Fourth Estate/ Madalyn Godfrey
Best practices for finding calmness during busy days
BY ADITI GOEL, STAFF WRITER
There are various ways to implement meditation in our daily lives and the benefits are almost instant and long-lasting. Simply put, meditation equals positive awareness. Here are five strategies to peace out from the mental clutter and enter into a calming stage wherever you are, whenever you want:
- Active Observation
If you have tried to meditate but have been unsuccessful because your mind wanders, I recommend observing your thoughts without judgment. If you ignore, judge, or overcrowd your thoughts, meditation will be challenging. The key is to bring awareness to an internal feeling or thought and gradually observe as it moves to a state of calmness.
- Traffic Control
Mental traffic control is a great way to help bring calmness into your day. Take a minute to pause every hour or two, a few times during the day or before beginning a task. Redirect your thoughts like a traffic light to return to a state of balance. I recommend downloading the BeeZone app for this strategy as it provides great tools to help you recenter.
You have the ability to direct what you want to see, how much content you want to consume, and with whom you want to interact. Be mindful of using that ability.
- Radiate Light
Imagine yourself as a walking, living, radiating being of light with every other emotion merging into this light. By imagining yourself as a light, you can spread good wishes to yourself and to those around you, even when you feel hurt, upset or confused.
For me, radiating light reinforces a sense of self-worth, increases my mental capacity to think positively and helps me feel emotionally calm yet stable.
- Me Time
When you have a moment to be mentally alone, I suggest taking a few minutes to just talk to yourself.
By listening to yourself more, you may find yourself starting to like yourself more and growing a friendship with your inner self. From personal experience, I find that when you become your own best friend, you can moderate your feelings and experience inner contentment.
- Visualization
This is my all-time favorite strategy. Visualize an unending place filled with calming golden red light all around. Then, imagine a bright star shining in the middle. Focus on the star and let the light rays wash over you, cleanse your emotions and recharge your soul. The best part after this meditative experience is that it feels like a clean state of mind once again.
There are various ways to find zen and above are just a few strategies that work well for me. Additionally, a few simple ways to instantly feel relaxed include releasing a deep sigh of breath, touching your thumb and a finger, rubbing your palms together and putting it on your face, listening to music and shaking your legs and arms one by one.
Whether you pick some, none or all the meditation strategies listed, be sure to find your zen!
