(705) 443-9786 karenssoapbox@gmail.com

How do you keep that meditative state of mind as you go throughout the day? Quite simply you need to take time to pause throughout your day to find your center and your balance.

We are on to week 3 of the weekly meditations, how are you doing? Have you actually begun to sit, have you taken even 5 minutes out of your day to enjoy the silence of meditation?

I hope you have, if you are new to this blog series you can find week one here and week two here.

How do you keep the stillness of mind throughout the day?

With everything that is going on throughout the day and so many people pulling you in every direction, how in the world do you stay present and recapture the stillness you felt at 6 am in your meditation room. Honestly, it is not easy, but it can be very rewarding and change your entire day if you create a regular practice of pausing for just a few moments and going inside throughout the day.

I have some clients that tell me they can actually do this much more easily than sitting for an extended period of time in Meditation. It is a personal preference, but I wouldn’t give up on the sitting practice…I promise it will come and be your favourite part of the day.

How do you create a habit of pausing daily?

I personally have added an app to my smartphone called a “mindfulness bell.” I can set it to how many times it goes off throughout the day, what time it starts and what time it finishes.

Mine right now is set for starting at 7am and ending at 7pm and the bell chimes every 3 hours. When I first started with the mindfulness bell, I had it set at an hour and I found that it was too much and I just ended up ignoring it, so I moved it to every three hours and that is a good amount of time for me. Do what works best for you. Alternatively, you can set an alarm on your watch or your phone to remind you to pause. I work from home so the every 3 hours works well for me, but if you are in an office maybe a certain time of day might be better.

Essential oil reminders

Sometimes carrying a bottle of essential oil and taking time to breath in the oil, can help you pause and find balance, a great oil for this is lavender. 

What are you to do now that your alarm has gone off?

  • Pause
  • Breath in
  • Pause
  • Breath out
  • Pause

Repeat this 5-10 times concentrating only on your breath. Feel free to extend this if you like, some people like to do 5-10 minutes. If you can get outside for this time, it would be even better. Get a little Mother Nature Lovin!!

Personally, I really like to put a mantra on the in breath and the out breath

My favourite is…

“I breathe in love, I breathe out light”

If you have created a mantra meditation morning practice, go ahead and use that mantra to pause throughout the day,it will greatly reinforce what you are doing in your morning meditation.

In the book “Peace is Every Step” by Thich Nhat Hanh there is a great mantra…..

“Breathing in I calm my body

Breathing out I smile

Dwelling in the present moment

I know this is a wonderful moment.”

Looking for more resources?

My favourite online resources for free meditations and mindfulness information are:

Tara Brach

Jack Kornfield

Also, two incredible books to get you started

“Peace is Every Step” by Thich Nhat Hanh

“Wherever you go there you are” by John Kabot Zinn

 

This week’s meditation is a short one by Tara Brach.. it helps you find out what might be going on inside right now. I like this because in your time of pausing this is a short practice that can work throughout your day when something is bothering you or getting on your nerves.

The power of Inquiry

May this practice of daily stopping and pausing help to bring peace and loving joy and presence to your day.

In light, love and laughter

Karen