20-Day Meditation Challenge

This past Thursday marked the final day of a 20-day Meditation Challenge I hosted.Twenty days dedicated to doing a Facebook live video of me guiding a meditation to a closed group of women who chose to challenge themselves on the daily. It was a opportunity for me to create meditations that sing to my soul and also, to personally challenge myself to make it a daily practice and step outside of my comfort zone leading a group along the way. It was such a fun and gorgeous challenge and I wanted to share it with you!

Yes, I called it a challenge, not because it was in any way a contest, but because meditating can be a challenge to stay on track with. If you’ve ever tried to meditate, are new to it or dabbled a bit, you know it does not always come easily, especially while we live in this fast-paced world where everything is at our fingertips, people are constantly on the move going places, doing things, etc.

In today’s world, we are bombarded with choices everywhere we look. Marketing is all over (billboards, commercials, cars, etc…) telling us to “buy now!” There are societal expectations we place on ourselves too, like being the perfect mom, perfect employee, perfect student… the list goes on. As we learn more and more about how to get in shape, how to get a good paying job, how to get to our next vacation… we seem to neglect learning how to just BE with ourselves. I know this because I was a person who was utterly terrified to be alone… by myself… with nothing to do… no one to talk to… So scary.

Around 2004 my husband and I moved about 2 hours north of where we grew up (we lived about 2 miles from one another, rode the school bus together… awe so sweet right? lol)… Why did we decide to move to a city we knew close to nothing about, where we didn’t know a single person (except maybe a distant relative of my husband’s)…? I still don’t know the actual answer, but we knew we needed a change, we needed to start fresh and we could start a life together. We bought our first house, I transferred to the college nearby and he continued his job working for the airlines. After the high of the move settled down, I began to realize how alone I was. Yes I had my husband, but he was flying 3-4 days in a row, with maybe two days off. It was me and my cat most nights, all alone in a big city. It was a lonely and scary time in my life. Our three bedroom house was way too quiet for me.  My thoughts started to overcome me, telling me “I must be a looser now.” I left my family behind, (what if they needed me for something???). I left my friends behind, (Everyone is out having fun without me now!!). I left everything I knew behind… The questioning if I made the right choice was loud in my mind. And although it was one of the hardest transitions I’d ever had to go through, it was one of the BEST things FOR me to have happened.

Life has a powerful way of forcing you to look at the now. Sometimes the thoughts are loud for a reason – to really investigate if they’re truth or if they’re trying to tell you something greater…

I started to look for things to make me feel good. Out for walks in nature, hiking, listening to music, discovering new things, journaling and cooking… I was getting to know who I really was and what lights my fire. I was starting to quiet those doubting thoughts and surrender into the NOW. I realized things were not as bad as I “thought.” Things were actually really great. Really clear. Peaceful…

That is what meditation feels like. It’s when you unplug from the doubt, just noticing those thoughts, being okay with them coming in, because the feelings that come with those thoughts? They are only part of the journey… It will pass. Thoughts come and go like the sea tides. All will really be okay dearheart.

I first heard of meditation while in this new city but was honestly so judgmental at first, thinking it was simply just “doing nothing…” What’s the point? I tried it and thought I was wasting my time. But little did I know I was TRYING and that’s the part I got all wrong. Meditation is just BEING. Simple but powerful. Years later, fast forwarding to now, I meditate on a regular basis as part of my self care and couldn’t imagine not having this tool in my life’s toolbox!

What has it done for me?

Soooo much.

I have been able to detach from my thoughts, knowing I am not my thoughts, but rather they are just part of me. Choice to believe a thought or to choose a different thought, holds power over how you feel and relate to your world. This choice literally creates your reality.

Meditation has strengthened my inner power, my connection to who I am, what I want in life and how I want to feel. It’s been a powerful way to visualize my desires and see my path laid out in front of me so that I can become clear how to get it.

Mediation has helped greatly with my anxiety and stress levels. Just like training our bodies, which help us physically become strong and healthy, our minds need training to get used to being at peace and letting go of attaching to what was or what could be… Anxiety has a person living in fear of the future and through meditation I can calm that fear. I can relax into what’s happening now, show up with a grateful attitude and let go of things out of my control. So amazing!

Finally, meditation has helped me to connect to something greater than me. Whatever you might believe in, if your religious or not, it doesn’t matter. But we all seek answers to life’s questions or clarity to how we should take a next step in our life… Those answers I find with the help of meditation. It allows me to get in touch with my intuition and shed’s light on what I need next.

If you’d like more information on meditating, on breaking some of the myths around it, tips and tools I use to strengthen my practice, help with keeping up with the habit… I created a FREE worksheet for you! It’s a downloadable PDF you can keep forever and use as reference whenever you need. Just sign up for my newsletter by following this blog and I’ll send it over 🙂

Also, if you’d like more accountability and support with either starting a meditation practice or continuing one, I welcome you to join our private Facebook group where you’ll be the first to know when the next challenge starts, get the free guided meditations and connect with like-minded sisters along the way! It’s a fun, loving, community of people looking to better themselves and uplift each other on their journey! To join, EMAIL ME and ask to join the Meditation group!

Mindfulness brings us peace and is truly the door to living a happy life. It’s also a daily practice that needs continuous effort and attention to flourish.

May you find peace today. May your struggles and pains not lead you, but rather your joy, your self care and self love.

All my love,

xoxo

Janet