Why Meditate?

Meditation takes effort and time.  Especially in starting a regular daily practice, some days you won’t feel like meditating.  On those days it may feel good to be reminded of why you are choosing this path.  It may be energizing to turn to a reminder of why are you choosing to invest in meditation.  Here is a partial list of benefits.  An invitation is to translate the list items that speak to you into your own personalized list specific to the areas of your life you see that need to change.  It may be helpful to write that list down and place it where it is visible in the location where you meditate.

• I will notice more of what’s happening, both in my environment and in my mind and body.
• I will see more clearly, noticing the distinction between what is happening and my thoughts & feelings about what’s happening.
• I will notice more and more space between the events of my life and my role as the observer of those events.  That space is the source of many benefits including more ease, clarity, and choice.
• I will perceive that things will slow down.  I will feel less urgency to react to what’s happening and there will be more space for my choice.
• I will enjoy a greater connection with the sensations of my body.
• I will notice the start of a powerful emotional experience before it becomes overwhelming, empowering me with the opportunity to acknowledge the feelings and choose how to respond to them (e.g., pausing, self-compassion).
• I will develop greater choice in placing my energy and attention where I wish.
• I will develop a tolerance for riding the wave of my emotional experience, noticing how it arises, crescendos, and passes away.
• I will embrace my autonomy in placing my energy where I choose, noticing that when I see thoughts arise and do not invest them with energies, they pass.
• I will notice more and more pauses throughout my day to check in with what is most important to me, and how I want to show up in the world & in my relationships.
• I will get to know myself better through observing how I think and feel.
• I will develop skills for cultivating relaxation.  I will feel more grounded knowing that I have these skills always with me in moments of upset, anxiety, anger.
• I will be more focused and present in my relationships.
• I will notice the things in my life that I value and will express more explicit gratitude for them.
• I will cultivate a warm, loving presence to be with myself.

This list is far from complete.  Please add to it.  Please make it your own.  And place it where you can turn to it as a reminder on a regular basis… “I am investing in a daily meditation practice because I am choosing these changes for me and my world.”