500 Days of Meditation
It’s hard to believe, but I’ve just passed 500 consecutive days of meditation! This is a huge milestone for me. I can’t remember anything else that I have done intentionally for 500 days in a row. Consistency is hard for this double mutable. If you read my post on 100 days of Meditation, you know that I had a few specific things that helped me with this new habit - a timer, a specific time of day, and a basic goal. I started with 40 days as a goal and then just kept going. Now I can’t imagine not sitting every day, it has become that much of an integral part of my life.
As I have said previously, I did not track this to be rigid with myself, I tracked myself so that I could remember and build a new habit. I have found that for me, tracking helps, but if it makes you judge yourself and get paralyzed in that space, tracking might not be for you. This is one of the great things about a consistent meditation practice, and really one of the biggest benefits for me personally, getting to know myself. Getting to know my patterns, habits, mind traps, and tendencies, has helped me be more discerning in how I do things in my everyday life. This is how I found out that I need a container, but inside my container, it has to be spacious and flexible. I’ve learned this lesson in other areas of life as well. When I was traveling around the world solo, I found that at a certain point, I needed a container, I needed a way to liberate myself from what had become a chaos of doing without intention. Being able to see my own baseline helps me with this AND when I am tracking, I don’t have to keep it in my head and I have space for other things.
I digress. Ok, so here’s a few key points of what I’ve noticed with this length of consecutive practice.
If I don’t do it in the morning, I miss it all day until I sit.
I have space to respond instead of react in certain situations where I used to not have space. Ex) Taking a beat when someone asks me to do something. This beat allows me to not only believe I have the right to my boundaries, it allows me to check in and say yes or no from a place of my own truth instead of pleasing.
I have been able to access grounding and calm through some of the hardest moments of my life so far.
I more easily realize when something outside of myself is running the show, usually an ingrained belief that is from my conditioning. Ex) Get up and start working right away, or onto the next task without taking a breath in between and end up on a mental and work treadmill. Now I can sit with the discomfort of knowing that I have something to do next and that I also need a breather in between. This is the age old “tension of opposites.” I can watch all my “have tos” pushing up against my present moment, say, “I see you,” and make a choice from a place of calm instead of angst, scarcity etc.
I am quite simply a better human being – to myself and others.
I catch my mind traps faster and easier, and have the space to decide what to do with them.
I know there are no “good sits” or bad sits,” there is only practice.
I know that my practice helps me relate to myself more fully and more authentically, which I am then able to bring out into my wider world.
Slowing down, getting quiet, and listening, has showed me that what I need is inside and most often not in the frantic world around me.
It took me from frantic to flow, or at least I experience more flow.
I can more easily see what is mine to contend with and what is not. Aka, I am more aware of what my side of the street is and what is not.
The more I sit, the more aware I become of my body, my mind, sensations, nature, projections, triggers, and my overall experience in the world in the context of the wider view of my life.
I know my pain points (or at least a lot of them) and it helps me to see where I need healing, where I need quiet, and where I need action.
I am more intimate with my feelings, thoughts, and emotions and the difference between them.
I look forward to spending time with myself each day.
I am in a rush less.
I know that there is no goal to meditation, there is only practice and observation. AND there are side effects from the practice, like my nervous system gets a big hug every time I sit (or any of what I’ve mentioned above and much more I didn’t).
Though I don’t imagine I’ll be able to keep this up consecutively forever, its fun to me to see how long I can. I look forward to seeing what unfolds in my practice next and giving myself the kindness and compassion that is sure to be needed as I go along. This has been a fun experiment!
Looking to start a meditation practice or simply curious?
Join me for my bi-weekly virtual meditation circle called Sip and Sit. This small group practice (max 10 people) is a place where we sit in community, talk about our practice, and try out different methods. The crux of it though is to be able to sit in the beauty of group energy.
I’m now on Insight Timer as a teacher! Find me HERE A small selection of my guided meditations are being populated in the app. I look forward to sitting with you over there!
Want to read about it? Try Pema Chodron’s How To Meditate. Her direct clear writing style dispels some of the myths associated with meditation. This book is great for all levels.
Please note: There are many traditions, styles, and types of practices of meditation. If one does not resonate with you after a few weeks of practice, try something else. Likely, you will be naturally drawn to a few that land with you and give you space. There is no one way. Happy Experimenting!
