MEDITATION IN RECOVERY | How mediation can be vital part of recovery for everyone
If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times: meditation is one of the keys to my foundation in recovery. I've used it consistently now for over two years, missing days here and there, but staying committed to the practice. I've also attended two amazing meditation retreats in the North Carolina mountains. Believe it or not these were silent retreats, no talking AT ALL for days. The retreats were an amazing experience, but guess what experience I had in meditation before I went to my first one: NONE. I just dove in head first (perhaps a bit overwhelming, but how else do I do things other than completely 100 percent invested)?
Meditation has helped me find my center. It has helped me manage tough emotions, pause before I act, and it has helped rebuild part of my brain that was affected by alcohol and drug addiction. It has pulled me out of depression and has truly become a great coping mechanism in my life - whether I am stressed, angry, blue, or particularly irritable - it has, at times, fixed everything.
Do you want to explore meditation, but just don't know how? Have you said in the past – "Well, that's great but I am NOT the type of person who can meditate?"
NOT TRUE! Everyone can meditate, even those who've "tried it all before."
I believe everyone can find their own way to meditate. For some this may be a formal sitting practice, for others it may look like sitting down with an adult coloring book (or I guess a child's coloring book) and listening to some nice music for an hour, for others it may be going to a hike in the woods. As long as we are experiencing life mindfully, in the moment, our meditation practice can look different!
I always felt pressure to do it "right"...to sit with my legs crossed completely, stiff as a board without moving for an hour! Thankfully, I had some guidance and was told at a local sitting group that it didn't matter...it didn't matter if I walked, sat, laid, as long as I was spending time in meditative contemplation. AND GUESS WHAT!!?? I didn't have to try to sit for a whole hour! I started by sitting twice a day for 10-20 minutes.
The key is to give it a try! Reach out to someone who meditates in the community! Get curious and try a meditation retreat :)
Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do your fears.
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