Meditation - The Snow Globe and the Power of Resetting
When I introduce myself as a meditation guide, a common response is "oh, I can't meditate. I can't stop my mind!". I usually respond something like "yep, that's normal" and go on to share my perspective - that the primary focus of meditation is not about stopping the mind at all, but more so about bringing awareness to what the mind is doing.
In my response, I hope to open a window of possibility for those who have already decided meditation isn't for them. Then I remind that meditation isn't about sitting on a cushion and closing one's eyes (although this can help), that everything has the potential to be a meditation - from walking, to listening to music, to standing in the Post Office line, to washing the dishes. I consider meditation more as an attitude of approach - an opening into becoming present to what's happening right here and now!
In Tibetan, the word for meditation is gaum. It means familiarity. Learning this helped me tremendously as it showed me how meditation is more about opening one's curiosity with interest to our own patterns. "Ah this is how my mind reacts at moments like these"; or "this kind of situation really trips me up" or "I recognize this feeling in my body." These are the kinds of acknowledgements which arise. So meditation is really a practice of getting to know oneself.
However, there is one important condition, which is that all of this takes place under the umbrella of non-judgement. Once we are able to touch into observing what is happening within ourselves without judgement, which either pulls us closer or pushes us further away from what we see, we can simply be with what is present. From this space emerges the most incredible feeling of release. It feels like magic.
For myself, meditation provides an opportunity for everything to settle. Imagine a snow globe that has been shaken. This represents the normal day to day for me, a sense of activity and busyness, multiple thoughts and tasks to do, a constant flow from one emotion or sensation to the next.
Meditation is the settling of the snow. The slow gradual settling, one snowflake at a time. It feels like a breath, a gentle opening into a little more space. And even the tiniest pocket of space feels impactful. It provides a window to see a pathway through thoughts, a momentary release of tension in the body. If this is the only outcome of meditation, well it is enough.
However, sometimes, I find myself journeying further, following each snow flake until all have settled and there is only stillness and silence. It is like a glimpse, a momentary perspective-expanding glimpse, which lasts only a second or millisecond, yet feels like it stretches across the whole of time itself. It is a moment of touching into a quality so nourishing and wholesome, a quality of sublime ease.
Meditation is a vehicle to a destination. Once we have experienced this journey, we realize the destination has been within us all along. It is present, behind everything we do, everything we say, every place we go. Each of us knows this destination. We knew it when we were very young. It may have popped back into our awareness at moments since, during unexpected moments. Meditation is just one way of coming back here.
Why does meditation help? Why does it help to feel more space? Why does it make sense to allow the settling? Because in the settling we gift ourselves an opportunity to reset. If we find ourselves falling down the rabbit hole of overwhelm and stress, then the best thing we can offer ourselves is to pause. It is very difficult to create something new, be productive, or find clarity of thinking from a place of overwhelm or stress. It is like battling against a very strong current. Much more effective to let go entirely, take a time out, allow the snow to settle and from here start back to the next task.
If you'd like to experience this for yourself, I offer a schedule of weekly online meditation classes designed to help you to press pause and reset. These meditations include chakra balances, healing meditations and intention setting practices. Check out the current schedule and sign up for a class here.
