Last week, I shared that I had several MRI studies done to get an updated look at chronic neck and back issues. Multiple sections of my spine were examined and the tests lasted for a total of two hours and eight minutes.

 

Here's how I survived that lengthy test: meditation. My two hour MRI experience would have gone very differently without it. Not a meditator? I know, me either, until a few weeks ago. Keep reading.

 

Meditation is a great resource for mind management during challenges. Although I have tried many times, in many ways, over many years, I have been unable to sustain a daily meditation practice, or rather, a daily stillness practice. I am mindful much of the time, but that’s not quite the same as intentionally being still. 

 

But that's changing! For the last twenty-six days, I have practiced daily meditation using an app called Ten Percent Happier. (I receive nothing for this mention. It’s working well for me and I love to share great resources.)
 
After each guided meditation, a progress screen pops up to show me how far I've come, encouraging me to keep going. My perfectionism drove me at first. I would do the meditation just to keep up my daily streak. Now, I cannot wait to sit down and experience the calm mind, body and spirit that awaits my willingness to be still. 

Many of their meditations are about ten minutes long. We can all find ten minutes, right? If not, and if you could use more calm in your life, consider whether it may be necessary to invest more time in self-care, even if it's just ten extra minutes a day.
 
Through daily meditation practice, I am learning more than ever to notice what’s happening in my world from an observational place, rather than an involved place. A small amount of distance is enough to help me better process what’s happening around me, and to know that it’s temporary. Plus I’m better positioned to respond to life, rather than to react.

 

Many of our troubles are happening around us, not to us. We don’t have to hold them close to our hearts and become immersed in them, as if they are part of us. In short, we are not our troubles. We can remind ourselves that they are happening around us, and that is all. 

 
I’ve long felt that if I am able to ground myself in enough calmness and confidence, and a trust that everything is working for my good, I won’t be so easily moved from my position of peace when an interruption presents itself. I won’t be so easily tossed about by people who push every last button, or trying external circumstances. Slowly, I am coming to believe this is truly possible, and not just a disillusioned fantasy. 
 
I have a ways to go, but I continue to aspire to see life as what’s happening around me, versus what's happening to me. The power to choose what comes close to my heart is in my hands. No longer do I have to let every disturbance rattle my presence. Neither do you.
  
Are you struggling with a challenge today? Aim to see yourself separate from the trouble. Can you feel the difference between that and immersing yourself in the trouble, or bringing the trouble inside you? 

 

Are you willing to try a new approach (or give meditation another try)?

 

Meditation is a practice because that’s the best we can hope for, to practice and then practice some more. And if we stop for a time, we simply pick it back up. We won’t do meditation or life perfectly, but we can continue to aspire to more calm, more consistently. 

 

For today, take ten minutes to be still, silence your mind, invite mindfulness, and embrace the perfect gift of the moment, no matter what’s happening around you. I dare you to try it tomorrow, too!

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