How to Savor the Moment

It was just beginning to get warmer. I could hear people running in the background, a few cars going by and then I started to only hear the ocean. Even though the sea was calm there was a special hum and I closed my eyes to meditate. I didn’t even have to make an effort. My breathing made my mind peaceful. I was active but thoughts and images flowed. I specially liked the images and the colors that I could see.

The next time that I went to my rock my mind was so active and I could not relax. I didn’t force myself and so I sat there and looked at the horizon and then at my rock. There was a large ship that did not look like it was moving. The waves were beating at the rock. It looked like the wind and the busy ocean were not going to let me meditate today so I just sat there and savored the movement.

I made a promise to myself that I would meditate or savor the moment for at least 2 minutes a day. These two minutes soon became 5 and then 10 minutes and on a good day I will meditate for longer.

I felt that I needed to stop but it was always hard to make my mind stop. Do you have that problem?

When I think of the word meditation I think of the pressure that comes along with it: “You need to quiet your mind”. What if my mind doesn’t want to quiet down? It took me years to let go of this notion of what I needed to do. There were days that I sat down and just let my mind go nuts. That is probably what it needed to do at that time. The minute that we let go of other people’s rules we can create our own space and do things our own way. When I did that, I saw that my mind started to quiet down. Very ironic.

3 Tips to Savor the Moment

Time: 2 minutes

1) Sit down and look at the horizon of wherever you are. It will be much more beautiful if you are in a lovely place but if you are not, look at the line where the wall meets the floor.

2) Keep your eyes open and move your head very slowly from the left side to right side. Very slowly. Look at the details of the horizon or the lines. Is there anything that interrupts the line? Are you hearing any sounds? Pay attention to the smells.

3) Now move from the right side towards the left slowly. Stop in the middle. Close your eyes and count to 10 slowly. Open your eyes and continue to move to the left.

This little exercise will help you stay focused. When our minds are focused on something it will help it stay quieter.

Don’t worry if your mind wants to conjure up thoughts and images. Just finish the exercise and then let your mind go wild for a few minutes.

Marguerite

Some Links for you

Headspace This is a meditation site and they have an app. I used this when I was traveling and I felt I needed extra help to savor my moments. I loved their simple way to describe meditation and you can do a few free sessions.