At this point, I have been meditating for 6 years. I first started in 2014 when I was waiting for my 4th neurosurgery and I was having a difficult time dealing with the uncertainty of my future and the unknown of when my surgery would be. So I started learning mindfulness as a way to help me cope with the feelings of uncertainty.

Why I Meditate

Meditation helped me to connect to my body and to start to learn what was needed in the moment. In mindfulness, we call this embodied awareness. Embodied awareness is our ability to feel with our minds, our hearts, and our bodies. Over time I learned how to connect and make sense of what my body was telling me.

The thing is, our bodies talk to us all the time. We just aren’t usually still enough to hear what they have to say.

Learning how to meditate helped me to sit with the uncertainty I was experiencing, to get out of my head, and to reduce my anxiety and feelings of overwhelm.

Why We Practice

Meditation is a tool that we can pull out of our toolbox in times of need. When we are experiencing times of uncertainty a basic awareness practice provides an anchor that allows us to keep going. It helps us to look inward with self-awareness and to reconnect to our core intention to the world and to the people around us. 

In stillness, we learn how to be aware of what’s going on in our internal and external worlds. We start to notice how our thoughts affect our feelings and how our feelings affect our thoughts. We learn how to step back and observe what’s going on and to respond from a place of intention.

And honestly, this ability to pause before acting has saved me so much heartache.

Responding skillfully and with intention has meant that I didn’t make situations worse. That I didn’t end up in a fight with someone because of something I thought they were saying to me.

I wish that I had these skills growing up.

This is why I meditate. It helps me to navigate my life skillfully and with intention. It’s helped me to get out of my head and it’s helped me to step out of my comfort zone.

Why do you meditate? Let me know in the comments below.