Hello Everybody! I hope you all had a fantastic week whatever it is you did I hope you made the most out of it! This week I will be discussing the very important but also overlooked activity of meditation. Most people when they hear that word, they think of some complex way of sitting and thinking about nothing, which is what I originally thought when I first heard of it. Once I started reading about it, I discovered it is much more simplistic than we may have originally thought. For those of you who don’t know or aren’t familiar with meditation it involves focusing your mind on one simple activity such as your breath. The main goal of meditation is to quiet the mind from all the constant crazy thought patterns we all find ourselves thinking during the day. When I first tried it, I was blown away at the outcome that it had. I felt I approached every problem I faced during the day with such clarity and peace of mind because I didn’t notice my mind being swayed by these irrelevant thoughts that can get someone so worked up. I also felt a very improved sense of awareness and mindfulness of the present moment which is something so many of us overlook due to how hectic and schedule oriented our daily lives have become. Then I began to wonder how many people have some form of a meditative routine that they use in their daily lives. The results might surprise you because everyone has something, they do throughout the day to help them keep their peace of mind. Most people just don’t realize it. Many successful people attribute a lot of their success to this exercise because they feel it helps keep them grounded, as well as keep their mind clear so they can attack each day with a certain level of creativity and flow to solve the problems that may lie ahead of them. Phil Jackson the famous basketball coach also known as the Zen Master attributes a lot of his success in the game of basketball to the idea of mindfulness and meditation, and his track record can certainly attest to that. He believed that while high level athletes need to be in top physical form, he also preached that training the mind was just as important if not more important to the success of his championship teams. Kobe Bryant as well as Michael Jordan talk about the effect that the “Zen Master” had on their careers in terms of mindfulness and letting each moment naturally flow and come to them without rushing it. If meditation and mindfulness is something that you want to incorporate more of in your life, I have some tips that have certainly helped me become more aware, and they are:
1. Live in the moment and enjoy it, don’t concern yourself too much with what you have to do later.
2. Take time at the beginning of the day to just sit and appreciate and listen to your breathing.
3. Don’t overthink in the moment your body is just as capable as your mind to handle situations without overthinking.
4. Do something each day that brings you peace of mind.
5. And finally spread some love, you don’t know how big of an effect that has on you and the people around you.
Hopefully the above tips will be enough to get you started on your own mindful, and meditative journey. I think this is a type of activity that anyone can benefit from, because it helps you calm the mind that is constantly wandering and worrying about things it has no control over. I hope you have a fantastic week and that you make the most out of each day!
Chase Deacon
