Life is busy and all of us have struggles that we deal with daily. We’ve all experienced things that have hurt us, both physically and mentally. We’ve been in relationships or situations that might have scarred us. What’s important is knowing we aren’t alone. True, not everyone at any given time will have someone there to listen. In my moments of mental cloudiness, getting outside, meditating, and calming my mind with music or surrounding myself with people I enjoy helps me. Below, I’d like to provide a resource to help all of us calm our minds and grow our mental resilience.
In the modern world where we are all constantly bustling and busy, it’s not often we allow our minds to stop and focus on the present, the here and now.
Meditation, put simply, is the act of quieting the mind and focusing on the here and now. It’s simple, and all that’s need is a (preferably) quiet spot where you can sit or lie down, close your eyes, and let your mind go.
Now, that might sound simpler than it really is, but there are lots of ways to go about meditation. The one I most frequently use is the mantra. When I meditate, I’ll find a quiet space, either with natural ambience (such as water or birds chirping) or with headphones on, I’ll close my eyes, and I’ll think to myself “so” as I breath in, “hum” as I breath out. “So Hum” is a Sanskrit phrase meaning “I am That,” or “I am one with the universe, and the universe is one with me.” This helps quiet my busy mind, coupled with paying attention to my breathing, filling my lungs from my belly, and exhaling through my mouth. I really like to use Insight Timer when I meditate, and they have a great course that teaches meditation and mindfulness, giving you a fantastic start on the road to improved mental health and resilience.
One thing I think everyone from Christians and Wiccans to Buddhists can appreciate is combining meditation with time in nature. Time outside, be it green spaces or blue spaces (like the ocean), is healthy for the mind and soul. Meditation is all about centering yourself and being in the here and now, being present with yourself and your (natural) surroundings. The connection to nature (the Divine) is one of the most fascinating things to me about neopaganism and witchcraft, especially Wicca. Thus, I think the benefits of meditation in nature cannot be overstated for modern practitioners. Nor, more broadly, can it be overstated for Christians, Agnostics, Spiritualists, or any other belief system, or lack thereof.
The Harvard Gazette posted a two part piece on the science and benefits of mindfulness back in 2018. For all the skeptics out there, I challenge you to give it a read. (Part One, Part Two)
It’s nothing spectacular, but I’d like to share a project I did for college that I think echoes the importance of mental health awareness month.
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