When and why do you meditate? This question bubbled up into the mind when I was asked the following great question by Lulu, an experienced and friendly meditator:
Do you meditate at certain times, or because of certain triggers, etc?
Morning Routine
Great question! I meditate for sure as part of my morning routine. The routine goes like this:
- Brush my teeth to keep my teeth
- Take prescriptions to keep my physical health
- Meditate to explore my mind, satisfy my curiosity, and enjoy the benefits.
I strengthen my mind using mindfulness meditation and enjoy the benefits of Lovingkindness meditation.
States of Being
My morning meditation is time based. However, I also meditate when I see that my mind or body is in a certain state. In other words, the trigger to meditate is the recognition of its useful in response to having certain states of being. States of being that encourage me to meditate include:
- Apathy
- Full mind – Due to learning lots of new things or life
- Distress – What people usually call stress
- Excessive excitement related to eustress
- Fear or heightened concern
- Nausea – such as when I feel sick
- Pain
- Sexual arousal aka feeling horny when such a feeling is untimely and distracting.
- Sleepiness when a power nap is not appropriate
Also, I continuously practice mindfulness even while walking. Look for “Plug yourself in and let’s go for a walk” in these Guided Meditations by 10% Happier to get a sense of what’s possible while walking. Alternatively, read more of my posts about 10% Happier.
And You?
How about you? When and why do you meditate? You can reach out to me on Twitter @FinneyCanHelp or join a new Slack meditation community that I joined recently by going to http://still.onuniverse.com and click on the “Join the Community” button. Looking forward to hearing your experiences!
