Starting Small: How Meditation Can Help by Keeton Byerly
Meditation is an activity that I’ve incorporated into my daily routine with great success. I’ve been incorporating this practice into my daily routine for several months now. I’ve seen big changes in that time.
Here are some of the things that I’ve learned since I’ve started:
Meditation has helped me be calmer.
In the past, it’s been relatively easy for me to get overwhelmed with various aspects of my life. Oftentimes, I feel like I have so many things going on, meditating gives me a chance to take a few moments and just breathe. Just a few days ago, I was irritated with a project I was working on at work. When I come home and meditate, I’m able to “reset” my emotions. Rather than spending my free time frustrated, I’m able to recenter myself and reclaim the energy that I’ve given to unproductive emotions and thought processes. This allows me to approach elements in my personal life with greater composure.
Meditation has allowed me to connect with others on a deeper level.
While it’s no secret that I meditate, when I’ve brought it up in past conversations, it has allowed me to start a dialogue with others who also meditate to discuss meditation techniques. I’ve found that once we start talking about meditation, other aspects of personal healing and growth are soon to follow. This has led me down a path of learning about various crystals and chakra work as well.
One instance in particular: a coworker and I were having these conversations, and she started talking about Moldavite. I was curious about this crystal, so I started learning more and eventually bought one. This led to me learning about other tektites (natural glass that forms as the result of asteroid impact) as a whole. I learned that I enjoy collecting a wide range of these stones for meditation purposes—another example I really enjoy is Libyan Desert Glass. I would never have realized my interest in tektites had I not had my original conversations about meditation with the people around me.
Meditation has allowed me to become more grateful.
I’ve noticed that since I’ve started meditating, my perspective on life has shifted. Rather than taking life for granted and wishing things would be different in a more idealistic way, I’ve spent more time in life reflecting on the things and the people that I’m grateful for. In fact, for the last month, as a part of my “waking up” process every morning, I try to reflect on one or two things that I’m grateful for as I stretch my legs in bed and try to avoid falling back asleep.
This is in stark contrast to how I used to approach each morning waking up: dreading the day and being irritated, only imagining the worst of what I’ll encounter in the day.
Compared to how I used to feel, I far prefer how I approach each day now! Meditation has allowed me to tackle deeper personal issues.
I’ve noticed that ever since I started meditating regularly, I am more willing and able to do shadow work. For instance, this was something I worked on last night. I was prompted with the question, “Who am I?”.That was a tough question! I found that I’m more than just an identity; more than just a graduate of some university; more than what I do for work—but who am I as a person.
I realized that I’m a trauma survivor. I realized that I’m shaped by my experiences, both good and bad. I see the good that I try to put out in the world every day. I see my ability to find a commonality with everyone I meet. I realized that I’m flawed, just like everyone else, but I try to do better. It was that realization that brought me peace and also encouraged me to look deeper inside of myself to better understand myself to see how I can grow as a person.
Overall, I’ve been very pleased with the changes I’ve noticed since I’ve started regularly meditating. It can be challenging to get started or even difficult to dive more deeply into it if you’re already using meditation within your routine. One thing that I’ve found helpful when it comes to meditating is to find a set time that works for you to meditate. For me, I started doing it in the evenings, but I later found that it was better to do in the mornings after I woke up. Now, it’s become a ritual: after I set my breakfast in the air fryer to cook, I will go downstairs in my basement to my sacred space and meditate.
I highly recommend incorporating meditation into your daily routine. I think you’ll be amazed by the changes that you see with consistent practice!
Additional tools for when you may be in crisis:
U.S. Crisis Text Line: 741-741
Ohio Mobile Response and Stabilization Services: 1-888-418-MRSS (6777)