Meditation - A Most Surprising Gift

Written by Gabrielle Hawke

2019

I began meditating when I was in my early 20's on and off but about 6 years ago I began meditating every day. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this would end up being one of the greatest gifts I could have given to myself.

I know a lot of people find meditation hard but what I suggest is to start in a small way, maybe 5 minutes, and then build up to 10, then 20 minutes, or however long feels good for you.

Don't get caught up in rules about what is the right or wrong way to meditate. It can be sitting down at the same place every day, yet sometimes I will do a mindful slow walking meditation or I might just sit in silence watching a sunrise. Some days I can sit at my meditation spot at home for an hour yet at other times a quick meditation of 10 minutes is more than enough for me to settle myself.

If you are just beginning, following guided meditations is a great place to start and my favourite person who does guided meditations is Sarah Blondin (you can find her on insight timer - and they are free), she has a great variety of meditations that range from just 8 minutes to 20 minutes.

What I found over time is that I moved from guided to just listening to music and eventually just to meditating in silence, which is probably my favourite one to do now. Sitting with yourself quietly, allows you the chance to process your day, your feelings that you may have pushed aside at some time as it wasn't the right time to process them, to settle your nervous system down, as well as connecting you back with your intuition and inner guidance. I can't recommend it highly enough. This is a little something I wrote back in 2020.

In the early hours of the morn I stir,

It is still dark out,

I hear the occasional call of the willy wagtail

and the currawong greeting the day

Although the surf is far enough away to drive to

I can still hear the pounding of the waves in the distance

I walk to my meditation area,

Here I feel for the matches in the darkness

Striking one lights the way for me to see my candle enough to light

Focusing in on the dance of the flame helps me to concentrate,

It is time to enjoy the stillness of the dawn,

Before the day begins, to observe myself and
to simply sit until my mind settles into the silence of being

Some sittings take no time for this to happen,

Sometimes the mind battles to keep noisy,

But often persistence can tame that constant chatter

It is a funny thing that we are conditioned to fear this silent sitting in being

To be with who we truly are, to get to know ourselves, shadows and all

But why are we scared to do this I wonder.

Society tells us to look for something external to bring us happiness

We are taught it is lazy to be unproductive, to feel guilty for resting

Some wear this as a badge of honour – I know I have,

Thinking it admirable to be busy at all times,

To the detriment of our own wellbeing

But what are we running away from?

We need this time to come back home to ourselves,

It helps us heal our wounds slowly, day by day, month by month

And as we spend more time doing this, our lives begin to slowly change

I’ve learnt to take time for me, to sit with myself in this silence.

To care for myself in this way has become a most surprising gift.

Gabrielle x

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Meditation - A Most Surprising Gift

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