I’ve been practicing meditation for around six months now and openly admit to it changing my life. Not only am I able to better manage stress and outlook on negatives that come my way, but I’m better able to manifest and ponder upon the good things and what I want more of.
You may have noticed too, all of a sudden, meditation, and in particular, ‘mindfulness’, seems to be all around, and for good reason. Many busy and (potentially) stressed executives, business owners and entrepreneurs are (re)discovering meditation in order to achieve balance; and in finding balance they/we can better manage all our endeavours – personal and professional.
But, this post isn’t actually about meditation as such – you can find plenty on the topic all over the internet (and in particular The Huffington Post which is in strong favour of all of this right now). I’ve been utilising a popular APP, Insight Timer, throughout my practice recently. In its primary form it is a ‘timer’ for meditation practice – set the length of time you wish to meditate for and the timer will mark intervals and/or let you know when your time is up. Secondly however, it’s becoming a type of social media where like-minded users can connect. While it’s still quite young (and a little ‘buggy’) and improvements are on the cards no doubt, there are thousands and thousands of people ‘on’ Insight Timer now, and you can see who in the world you’re meditating with simultaneously. Pretty cool, yes? More and more ‘groups’ are being added too, so that either ‘virtual’ or ‘real’ meet-ups are plausible. I’ve just linked in with a UK & Ireland group that I’ll keep an eye on – who knows, I might even be able to link up when I’m over there later in the year.
The other nice thing about this interaction and the types of people using the APP, is the daily dose of inspiration or assistance you can gain from insightful types all over the world. I wanted to share some advice I found useful today – and it wasn’t even in response to any issues I had voiced. In fact, the response was a to a young man who has been through a trauma and is finding it difficult to get back into a positive state of mind. Several of the community jumped in with advice for him, and one person made mention of how often thoughts, or a negative experience, plays over and over in the mind. It’s almost like we’re trying to achieve a different outcome but instead, it’s just torture. Instead of resisting it though, she advised letting it play out, but to make a concious effort to conclude the thought process/pattern with an appreciative or positive thought about the incident – what outcomes are worth being grateful for; what lessons were learned? Evidently this helps with restoring ‘peace of mind’ while letting all sides of the brain have a say, so to speak.
I personally think the tactic is worth trialling; what do you think? If you have any insight, views or opinions on this, please let me know. And if you’re on Insight Timer too, drop me a line on Facebook – I reckon this social network is only in its infancy. Travel Live Learn on Facebook or tweet @sarahblinco
