My First Meditation

I remember the first time I meditated.I was living in Arizona at the time and decided to give it a try during my fifteen-minute drive to work.I had just finished reading Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and felt a connection to his words of “living in the moment” so I thought “Hey, why not give it a try?”I was accustomed to playing music during my drives each day but decided to turn my audio off in order to put complete focus on my breath.Man, oh man, I remember to this day just how difficult it was.“Am I doing this right? This is kind of weird… I don’t think this is going to work for me… How long is it going to take for me to reach enlightenment?”These were just a few of the thoughts racing through my head at the time. Even though I felt more frustrated than relaxed after my first attempt at a session, I made a pact with myself to continue to try it every morning for a week.It was crazy to me how I could notice my thoughts fading more and more as I kept up with the routine. This inspired me to continue after the week was finished.  I also noticed how this place of stillness made me more acutely aware of just how deep my mental chatter was.While this was nearly 6 years ago, it was the first time I had become consciously aware of my internal world. Once you become awake to certain patterns that exist within you, the level of personal responsibility for your actions takes on a new role.  Unless a change in behavior occurs, certain repeat loops will continue to occur. Not only that, but you’ll now have a front row seat while watching it unfold.With that, we all have the power to change. Meditation, while an active practice of quieting the mind, can also help bring to light what one needs to see. From this place of stillness we have the opportunity to more calmly handle life’s stressors and start the process of correcting patterns that no longer serve us.“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”–Albert Einstein