​There is an almost endless list of all the benefits you can experience from having a meditation practice. From becoming overall more healthy to being able to find your cool even during pretty stressful circumstances.

And while all those automatic and health inducing side effects are enough to draw you toward meditation, the most important benefit of meditation is sahrdaya - the experience of being with your heart.

The relaxation, stress relief, and overall general ease from meditation are in fact epiphenomena of the meditation process. In the western world, this is mostly what is focused on when meditation is discussed. And it’s true - if that’s what you are looking for then meditation is your answer.

You’ll have to get through the noise in your head to attain that experience. A good meditation technique can help with that. You just have to find one that is strong enough to hold your attention. 

(I can help you with that - sign up for a personalized session or get on the waitlist for the online meditation program Finding Your Quiet Mind.)

But the real benefits of meditation are occurring at a much deeper level. To me this is what meditation is all about. We begin a meditation practice for the epiphenomenal effects, but what we learn as we keep up with our practice is that so much more is really happening.

Through meditation, we get to sit with our hearts and this experience clears aways the layers of life that block us from remembering who we are.

And I don’t mean that we’ve literally forgotten who we are—I’m not suggesting we are all walking around with amnesia—I mean that we are acting and responding to life from places of fear, or patterns, we put into place when we were younger so we could get through certain circumstances. We operated that way for so long those reactions have become automatic. Through meditation we learn to recognize this.

Meditation reconnects us with our own truth. And it is when we know our hearts deeply that we feel brave enough to show up as ourselves in the world. We allow ourselves to share the truth of our beings and feel safe enough to shed our unnecessary fears that have been holding us back.

I believe this is the real rahasya (sanskrit for secret) of a meditation practice. When you are ready to really turn towards your self,  your heart, your innerness - you welcome meditation into your life. It’s the invitation to know more of you.

What do you think? Do you find that you know your heart better through your meditation experiences?


Ready to experience all the benefits of meditation? Join Motivate To Meditate.


Like this blog? Read more blogs on meditation.

Out Of Control Mind
Why We Need Reminders
Seeking Change or Craving Routine?

Life IS complicated. We can try to make it simple and easier by steeping ourselves in our practices. Or we can work to dumb it down.
 
For most of us, we don’t want to sit in the passenger seat and watch life roll by. We want to participate and that means continuing to grow and change.
 
And that’s hard work. It’s not the easy way. If you are reading this, then you are probably like me, and want to live to the fullest that’s possible, each and every day.
 
And some days, that means dumbing it down because we can only take in so much, we need to process through things, or we need a day to recover from all the crap that happened the day prior.
 
But for the most part, we strive to grow and change, and figure out on continually deeper levels who we are moment by moment. So we can experience life at it’s fullest, share what it is we want to express, and make our mark on the world.
 
Some days this is harder than others – dealing with our demons and these voices that tell us we’re nothing, or remind us of all the times we’ve failed, or that we might fail this time, and this fail will be BIG. We try to talk ourselves out of living large with all those FEARS that stalk our dreams and silent thoughts.

And then on other days, we manage to tap into our inner strength, wisdom, and confidence, and we let our lights shine bright and stand fully as we are, speak our thoughts clearly, and turn a blind eye to anyone who doubts us.
 
On the days when you struggle, or the times when you are losing the fight for your own freedom – those are the times when your practices can help you move forward.
 
Whether it’s a physical or sitting practice, or both, remembering to turn to your practice for support is key. Understanding which practices help you in what moments is also critical.
 
And turning to a teacher, that can help guide you, teach you the practices designed for specific situations, and can understand where you are, and what you are struggling with, can be life changing, and may help propel you further, faster than you can get on your own.
 
Share your voice! I’d love to hear from you in the comments below - what are your favorite practices to keep you moving through life? Or share a time when you let your light shine through the darkness of your fears so you could shine bright!

​There's nothing like moving to a new city to fully turn your entire life upside down. If you are feeling completely settled and comfortable in all aspects of your life this will surely shake things up. It definitely did for me!
 
It’s funny what you crave when you are sitting with all this unsettledness. These are the times when any and everything that comforts us comes into play as we try to find something to root us back down and feel our legs again.
 
Ironically, after we moved, it was many of the things I was ready to get away from that I started to miss – the guy on the moped with the squeaky brakes that drove by the house everyday, the noise from our more urban neighborhood {I wanted quiet and to be able to see the stars at night, but all of a sudden I missed those city sounds!}
 
I sought out anything that was familiar to feel at home. It’s why people seek out McDonalds when they are in foreign countries – something to connect them back.
 
It's at times when life is most unstable, that you look for the comforts of what's familiar – seeking out anything that can ground you. {I remember my dreams shortly after we moved all had to do with soft or squishy floors. I knew that was a message of grounding for me - to finish unpacking and organizing so that I could begin to feel at home here.}
 
A healthy way to stabilize is by creating a routine. It's the times when life is chaotic, or you are trying to accomplish something big, that you need the routine to feel grounded, safe, and comfortable.
 
When life is going along smoothly and you are feeling a little stuck or bored - this is the time when you can change things up. Break out of your routine. Maybe get rid of your old routine completely and create a new one. Do something on your list that you’ve been afraid to attempt. Allow some new adventure to come into your life.
 
So are you in a place where you need to create routine or bring on something new? Both are helpful and knowing which one you need, and when, can help you shift between them to keep moving forward in your life. When you listen to what's going on within you, you can figure out which one you need.
 
Staying stuck in a routine can cause you to get bored and feel lost. But using routine to give your self some discipline to get things accomplished is important. Keeping things fresh and new is crucial to growing, so you can learn who you are in new situations. But always being on an adventure doesn’t provide time to get things done in life. Allowing both, gives the opportunity for more of who you are to become known to you, and seen by the world.