Post #50 - Meditate on This

Meditation, at least for me, is imperative for a stress free life. It helps to quiet my mind and help me to relax.

When I don't meditate, I find myself worrying about everything... and trying to fix all of it!

I find myself stressing a lot and becoming frustrated when things don't work out the way I need them to. I also find myself wondering why my prayers aren't being answered and why I'm not receiving any guidance from God.

But, it's not that I'm not hearing from God, it's that I'm not listening. I pray, but I don't take the time to be quiet and listen.

That's when I know I need to meditate.

Meditation helps my mind to quiet and focus. Without meditation, my mind tends to ramble with various thoughts, switching quickly from one thought to the next.

When you meditate, your mind can focus on a specific thought, or on nothing at all. The main idea of meditation is to rid the mind of all of the clutter and replace it with clear, meaningful thoughts.

It takes some practice at first. You have to FORCE your mind to stop rambling, and focus. When your mind drifts to a thought other than where you want it to be, stop that thought where it is and deliberately bring your mind back to where you desire it to be.

When I meditate, I put on my favorite soft music (using headphones) to drown out any background noise. I like relaxing instrumentals or classical music. I sometimes like to listen to guided meditations, as well. This is where someone instructs you on how to meditate and often focuses on a specific issue or topic.

The best way to deal with an issue is to start in the mind.

The mind can increase or decrease the significance of an issue. It can make a problem seem much bigger than it actually is. Meditation helps us deal more positively with our issues by quieting the mind. With consistent, effective meditation, we can replace our mind's negativity with positive, self assuring thoughts.

Philippians 4:8 tells us to focus our minds to thinking on "whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

This is usually the case in meditation. We focus on letting positive energy in and expelling negative energy out.

Over time, meditation - and keeping your mind quiet - becomes easier.

If we meditate correctly and consistently, we can learn to control and quiet our minds. We can easily wipe away negative thoughts. And we will be able to better control our actions and reactions.

And most importantly, we will be able to hear God's voice more clearly.

God speaks in a still, small voice. He does not yell and He will not attempt to compete with the noise and the clutter we allow to take over our lives. He will allow confusion and frustration until we realize that we need to slow down and listen. And become desperate enough to quiet our minds so that we can.

I, honestly and unfortunately, have found myself in this state more than once. And when I go back into meditation, I find that I can quickly get myself back in line... and back on track.

So, I highly recommend meditation. If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, confused or frustrated, take some time out (about 10-20 minutes), light a candle, put on some soft, relaxing music, close your eyes, and just clear your mind. Allow yourself to relax (mind and body) and possibly even drift off to sleep.

Once you try meditation, you will want to do it more and more. You will look forward to the serenity and relaxation it brings.

Soon, you will be able to easily relax your mind and wipe out any negative thoughts. You will even be able to replace them with positive ones.

Just be consistent with your meditating. And don't be like me... don't get distracted and quit. Make it a habit and do it as often as you can. It will benefit you greatly!

-Erika!


There is a lot more to know on meditation. I will share a meditation tip or tool every Monday to help you get your week off to a great start.

For now, click here to find other posts in this blog to inspire and encourage you. 😃💚