Your Meditation Toolbox
For when you're feeling uninspired by your meditation practice
This will be the last post of our series on meditation. If you joined our March Meditation Challenge - a big THANK YOU! I hope you found it helpful! I’m leaving you with some final tips, tricks and recommendations to guide you as you continue your meditation practice; a toolbox of meditation resources, if you will.
1. Create a sacred space
Feeling uninspired by your meditation set-up? I’m a big fan of altars - I create these for my monthly sister circles and having this beautiful space for everybody makes the room feel *special*. If you treat your time and your space as sacred and holy, that’s what it becomes. Take some inspiration from Earth Altering’s nature based altars or search ‘altar set-up’ on Pinterest. I have a more-is-more approach to creating my altars, but feel free to keep it simple. You can decorate your altar with one or more of the following: candles, incense, prayer beads, crystals, framed pictures of loved ones, flowers, statues of spiritual figures and whatever else calls to you!
Altar inspiration c/o Pinterest and @earth.altering
2. Don’t forget le music
I attended an orchestra concert at my local church on Friday night, and while listening to Mozart and Vivaldi, I was reminded not only that I am officially middle-aged, but of the heart-opening and healing power of music. The orchestra played these 5 songs so beautifully - I added them to this playlist on Spotify if you’d like to pop them on next time you’re meditating.
3. Know that this too, shall pass
Feeling like you’re never going to get the hang of this meditation thing? David Cain, author of the Raptitude blog wrote this post on meditation in 2020 which I found super helpful. In it, Cain acknowledges that many people are interested in meditation but most have trouble becoming one of those people who, “really click with meditation and enjoy the profound benefits you’re always hearing about”. Cain then describes the ‘Window of Uncertainty’ that accompanies meditation. It’s the time period where you’re meditating and nothing is really happening. You start to question, “am I doing it right”? as you have no reassuring feedback. This is the most difficult stage of meditation, but once you move through this hump (with continuous practice), you’ll arrive at the point at which you experience clear evidence that you’re doing something right — which grows into a lifetime of focus, calm, wisdom and resilience. So keep it up, you’re on the right path!
4. Mix it up with guided meditations
When I first started meditating, I used guided meditations. In fact, I become addicted to this one meditation that ended up in my Spotify round-up of top 10 songs last year lol. The whole album is an absolute banger; musician East Forest combines the words of Ram Dass with their dulcet tones to create the most chilled-out feeling you’ll experience without the use of psychedelics.
5. Remember it only take 10 minutes to get the benefits
Take a listen to this episode of the Huberman Lab podcast. Andrew Huberman Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology at Stanford School of Medicine. Although I genuinely avoid listening to white man podcasts about health (they usually make ‘no excuses’ their brand which gives major ick), this one is a goodie. Huberman concurs that even a short 10 minute daily meditation can significantly enhance cognitive performance (woo-hoo)! So remember, even when you’re running short on time, all you need is a quick 10 minutes to turn things around.
Here’s a recommended reading list to inspire you to keep meditating!
The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
Trying to Be More Present Isn’t Enough by David Cain
Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn
Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body by Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson
The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy by John Brehm
Peace of Mind: Becoming Fully Present by Thich Nhat Hanh
If You Struggle To Meditate Or Stick With It Read This by Scott Britton
Finally, I’ll leave you with this viral tweet about creating islands of mindfulness :)
Lots of warm hugs,
Madalin xx