Do you know how to breathe underwater? I don't. What if we were told that it was possible? Are you a believer or a skeptic? Can you hope and dream of more than you have in this moment?
If you are a logical, left-brain dominant "thinker", learning a process for something esoteric, like meditation, is difficult. We get caught up in trying to understand it. What if the need to understand something is an obstacle to personal peace and freedom?
Imaging being in a pool at the base of a raging mountainous river. The river is our resistance, the pool of water is our Personal Peace. If we fully accept that, we can imagine slowly sinking under the water to begin to connect with the inner peace that allows us to "breathe" (snorkels optional).
If we try to block the river with a dam, some day it will probably break through causing destruction. If we worry about the river's forceful entrance to the pool, we add stress to our lives. The more we are able to release our fears, the larger the pool of water (our personal peace) grows.
Thanks to scuba diving and snorkeling gear, it's easier to imagine personal peace more than ever. When I have snorkeled, I could only hear my breath and I appreciate remembering those moments as I meditate. It should be only that...Breathe in, Breathe out. Breath is crucial; we must know it is unlimited for us.
My goal for meditation is to reduce my logical, left brain from chiming in with thoughts. Concentrating on breathing gives me that space. With space comes creation. If I worry about not having air available to me, I start to panic...which is the opposite of peace.
That's what stillness and mindfulness are all about. As we are able to reduce distractions and judgment of ourselves and others, we accept ourselves in the moment. Stillness and acceptance create space. It's a skill, we can all build up to it. Let go and believe, one breath at a time.
xo
Conni
