Why don’t you take a seat over there, Brotha? We got some work to do.
For today’s post I want to start a multi part series where we are going to discuss ways to apply your meditation practice into your actual life.
When you sit down and consistently meditate there is much that you will learn about yourself and about what makes you tick.
That’s great, we want that type of information so that we can cultivate a better understanding of ourselves and become a more complete picture.
But remember: Meditation with no application is merely time wasted!
You can meditate for hours a day and show absolutely no change in your heart or your soul.
Progress and real development comes through applying what you learn, what you observe and what you discover.
Anecdotally, there was a year or so of my life where I spent a minimum hour a day meditating. Often times for an hour at a time.
Surprise surprise, that was the most unhappy year of my entire life.
Why? Because time was spent, but time was wasted. Despite spending so much time traveling inward, I had nothing to show for it due to lack of application.
Let’s get started:
When you think of meditation what comes to mind?
Quiet
Stillness
Devoid of thought
Emotional control
Detaching from emotions
For the most part, these are correct inferences to make as to what meditation is.
When we meditate we try to facilitate a period of time to establish some inner quiet. Stillness in the breath and in the mind, supported by a firm and still body that is seated in pose.
We experience thoughts and attempt to recognize that we are not those thoughts, they simply just ARE.
We do not meditate to kill our emotions, to kill our thoughts, to become empty in our minds & heart.
The modern world we live in does this enough through a constant distraction based lifestyle.
Why do we really meditate then? Outside of the tangible benefits like: increased focus, increased relaxation in body & mind, establishing mind/body connection, etc.
We meditate to build SELF AWARENESS!
This is where our first application lesson comes into play.
What use is being able to not lash out in anger for ten minutes out of your day, only when you are sitting and actually practicing?
Not that useful as it does not account for real world interactions! In your day to day life you are likely going to come across people that grate your nerves.
People that make you angry, events that overwhelm you. LIFE IS NOT EASY & IT WAS NOT MEANT TO BE SO.
When you sit down and consistently practice, slowly over time you build the ability to take a step back from the immediate event or instance. You gain the ability to at least RECOGNIZE the opportunity to RESPOND instead of REACT!
The self awareness you build through daily practice is what allows you to catch yourself before you slip.
That precious moment, just before you explode and say something you will surely end up regretting.
Building a practice allows you to increase your likelihood of stepping back, taking a breath and realizing that you do not stoop to such lows.
You are not the reactive inner monster that so often we allow to go untamed.
And you’ve built this ability, this superpower through time that you spend daily with yourself.
Learning about you, analyzing yourself from the outside & the inside. Every time you step out of a situation that you normally would REACT to out of emotion, you have applied your practice.
My Brother, you have GROWN.
Stay Blessed,
Fighter (link to Twitter)
P.S. I do 1 hour consult calls where you learn introductory mindfulness (Breathwork), cold exposure training (Resiliency, through mindfulness) and developing a GRATITUDE ALWAYS mindset. You can book a time slot here: Daily Practice Consult Call