Would Meditation Help?

There are many ways to meditate. I've listed a few types below, as well as an exercise for each. What works best for you?

Mindfulness Meditation

This is one of the most popular forms of meditation.

In mindfulness, we simply:

• Sit and notice our thoughts.
• Allow each one to pass in and out, like clouds in a sky.

If you’d like to try this, start with five minutes, and give yourself permission to let go of... each thought during that time. Simply notice a thought, and then release it.

Transcendental Or Mantra Meditation

Though not technically the same, both of transcendatal and matra meditation involve repeating a word or phrase like “Om”, or “love”, or even a slightly longer phrase like “The universe guides me and protects me”.

Here's how to try it out:

• Choose a phrase or word that speaks to you.
• Then simply repeat it within your mind.
• When it feels right, you can let go of the word or phrase and simply bask in the sweet silence.

Heart-Centered Meditations

Brings warm energy to the heart center.

This is especially helpful for:

• Healing.
• Allowing more love into your life, and ...
• Letting go of negative feelings towards others.

To experience this:

• Try bringing both hands in a prayer-like position to your heart.
• Focus on a warm, red, light on each inhalation.
• On your exhalation, send this light throughout your body, and then out into the world, allowing it to heal others, too.
• After a few moments of this practice, or whatever feels right, rest with both hands over your heart.

My wish for you is that one of these resonates with you!

Kathleen Dwyer-Blair, LCSW, BCD, Director.

In addition, we also have more articles that explore meditation: 

• Can we use meditation to help cope with pain?.
• Can't get meditation to stick?
• About managing stress through meditation.