Finding Your Oasis
For the first time in my life, I’ve been meditating daily and SURPRISE! all the things I’d heard about its benefits are true:
• I’m calm – For over 20 years, I have been in recovery from clinical depression. Over the years the amount of time that elapses between feeling fine and feeling melancholy or depressed has gotten shorter and shorter. Before I began meditating, when I ran up against something frustrating, it often knocked me off course for a few hours. Since I’ve been meditating, I have not had any such episodes. Now, when I run up against an obstacle, instead of being thrown into a negative tailspin and losing productive time, I’m able to keep things in stride and move forward.
• I have faith. Over the years I’ve gone from obsessive worrying to using self-talk to calm myself when worries creep in. Having said that, I still had a nagging sense that problems might be just around the corner. I’ve had to work hard to keep fear at bay. Since I began meditating, I’m not concerned about what the future holds. I have complete faith that I will land on my feet. If I look at my history, I always have been fine but worried that my “luck” would run out (as though I had somehow exceeded my quota.)
• I know what to do. If there were a contest for second-guessing, I’d have won many years in a row. I have no problem taking action but often wondered whether the action I was taking would turn me in the “right” direction. I was plagued by “what ifs. “What if I marketed my business one way and it was the wrong way? What if I didn’t respond to a request for proposal and it was “meant to be?”
In my daily meditation, I receive answers to my questions about which direction I should take. It’s difficult to describe what happens but I’ll try. I’ll think of something I’m planning to do and some plans will generate a feeling of absolute certainty and excitement and others will fall flat—it’s as if I presented the idea to a panel of judges and I either get a unanimous “thumbs up” or the panel acts as if they didn’t even hear me.
When I feel that surge of positive emotion for an idea, I am then inspired to take action and I know it will turn out well for me (and it does).
• I feel connected to who I really am. We are all born with an inner guide that I believe is our connection to Source Energy. Some people refer to this guide as their soul; others call it gut instinct or intuition. Whatever you call it, it is always guiding you but not through your thoughts. It guides you through your emotions. When you feel positive emotion, it is your guide saying, “If you stay focused where you are focused, you are really going to like the results.” The strong surge of positive emotion I receive in meditation when I think of something I’m planning to do is a very clear message from my guidance system that I am on the right track.
Beyond that, I experience a very strong connection to my highest self and I am completely confident that I am being guided to my highest good. It is a delicious experience.
Whether, like me, you suffer from depression or melancholy or you simply want your life to get better than it is now, I highly recommend you try meditation. Thirty minutes, usually in the morning, is what works for me. I use a meditation tape but you don’t need one. You can listen to classical music, sounds of nature or nothing at all.
There are two highly effective ways to meditate:
1. Empty your mind of thoughts. Focus on your breath. When a thought occurs, simply notice it and go back to focusing on your breathing.
2. Go on a rampage of appreciation. This is by far the quickest and most satisfying way to connect to Source Energy. As you journey through all the people and things you appreciate in your life, the positive emotions will be the best high you’ve ever experienced. It’s your personal oasis.
