MEDITATION TIP OF THE WEEK
…IS A SERIES OF SHORT, EASY TO REMEMBER, AND BASIC TIPS ON HOW TO MEDITATE. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK, IS IT HELPFUL?
Meditate When You’re Broken
In this post, we’ll talk about why meditation is the perfect remedy for dealing with life when it’s really difficult. Sure, it’s easy to meditate when you’re well, when life is great, when your health hasn’t failed you, or your bank-account is flush. But, what about when you’re sick (or dying?!), or when you lose your job? How about when life should be going well, but you have a gnawing feeling that something isn’t right…even when it is?
In an incredible testament to our ability to be with whatever is going on in our lives, the ecstatic poet Rumi writes:
Dance when you’re broken open.
Dance when you’ve torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance when you’re perfectly free.
Struck, the dancer hears a tambourine inside her,
like a wave that crests into foam at the very top,
Begins.
Maybe you don’t hear that tambourine,
or the tree leaves clapping time.
Close the ears on your head,
that listen mostly to lies and cynical jokes.
There are other things to see, and hear.
Music. Dance.
A brilliant city inside your soul!
Rumi’s admonition to “dance when you’re broken open..” is a reminder to us all that even when things are difficult in life, there’s an opportunity to dance, to celebrate the “brilliant city inside your soul!” This “brilliant city” is what we find when we begin to experience glimpses of a mind that’s undistracted, resting in the awareness of meditation.
Dare to Be Different!
Meditation is about being different from who you usually are in your habitual patterns. It’s about saying “no” to the way that you usually do things; reacting to anger with anger, reacting to disappointment with despair, reacting to joy with mindless abandon. Meditation is about saying “yes” to all that life offers, no matter how happy or sad you are.
So, this is a dare. I’m daring you to take your practice of meditation into what scares you, into the times when life feels like it’s trying to wake you up. Meditate there, and you’ll always have a way to live life, no matter what’s going on.
How To Meditate
Stay tuned for news about my newest ebook, Meditate Out of the Box! It’s a down-to-earth guide on how to use your everyday life experience as a means to meditate. And it’s coming out soon!
Maybe you’ve already got a meditation practice. If that’s the case, great! Keep it up. And feel free to use all of the content from this site to support you in your efforts. If you haven’t started to meditate, begin now.
Many people don’t meditate because they believe that they need to do “something special” in order to meditate, maybe you’re one of them. “Doing something” special isn’t the case. All you need is your breath, and a few minutes of time set aside to begin your practice. Here are some tools to get you started:
- Meditation audio for using your breath as the anchor of your attention during meditation.
- Ebook and two chapters from the book, Minding the Bedside: Nursing from the Heart of the Awakened Mind, on how to meditate.
- Even though my book was written with nurses in mind, I continue to get feedback from those who have bought it who aren’t nurses that they find it useful in their lives. So, check out the book, Minding the Bedside: Nursing from the Heart of the Awakened Mind. It’s really written for anyone. You can even buy it in a Kindle version!
This site has tons of tools for learning how to meditate.
I encourage you to look through the HUNDREDS of articles that I’ve written and especially check out my weekly meditation tips and other useful meditation materials provided for your health and well being. And please let me know if you’d like to discuss anything with me, have any questions or need clarification regarding anything that I’ve written about.
Thanks for visiting and have a mindful day.
I really enjoy these posts. In the midst of all the flutters of email (among different accounts, personal and work) these posts pop up like little gems. Reading them, and especially this one, brings me back to awareness, thoughtfulness, and the need for patience and inner reflection. I also deeply value the idea here that meditation is a way to do things differently — to step outside the ordinary grind and stop and dare to look discontent and anger in the “face.” It reminds me that we are human — and more than human, in so many ways. It reminds me that there is more to life than just “getting through the day,” and passively allowing our buttons to be pushed. Thank you.
Hi Annie – Thanks so much for your comment. I’m so glad that my posts appear to you as “little gems.” To me, that’s the greatest gift that I can offer to those who read what I have to offer. Yes, meditation is such a wonderful way to connect with what you put as the “more than human” aspects of ourselves, the genuine goodness, stillness and spaciousness that resides within each of us. And when we can take that perspective and reflect that we’ve all got this nature, then it just naturally leads us to compassion doesn’t it. Thank you ever so much for your words and for sharing them with me and with others within this community. Take care and very warm regards, Jerome
Thanks for the article Jerome. Actually, I sometimes meditate more and have more concentration during difficulties. If things are peaceful or smooth, I sometimes fall asleep it seems. Some of the biggest lessons I have learned have been during difficult times. Anyway,
thanks for the encouragement to keep meditating.
Sincerely,
Barb
Dear Barb – Thanks for the reminder how “some of the biggest lessons” that you’ve learned “have been during difficult times.” I find that it can be so easy to forget, that the crud that occurs in our lives can actually be transformative…if we allow it to be so. I’m glad that my post helped to encourage you to keep on meditating, that’s all that I could ever ask for. Take care and warm regards to you, Jerome
[…] my last post, Meditate When You’re Broken, I shared why I feel that meditation can be a powerful ally in learning how to meditate even in our […]
I think this is spot on!
In my own journey, I have found that the most insightful and liberating practices were when I meditated in the midst of emotional turmoil.
Keep up spreading the word on mindfulnes!
Hello Giovanni-
Thank you so much for your feedback, I’m so happy to know that what I’ve offered on the site is making a difference in the lives of those who read it.
Have a wonderfully mindful day,
Jerome
Thank you Jerome! I appreciate your email updates and this timely reminder to meditate thru all of life’s challenges…and remember to dance! Thanks again for your contribution! ~ Diana
Hello Diana –
Thanks so much for your comment, it’s always wonderful for me to know that what I’m offering is benefiting my readers.
Indeed! Always remember to dance! 😉
Hello Jerome
I have enjoyed your articles about meditation and appreciate your ideas about meditating in short periods of a few minutes we have during the day. I believe very much in the many benefits of meditating and your blog helps me reinforce its place in wellness.
The idea that meditating can be done in short periods allows me to actually fit meditation and relaxation into my days without thinking we can’t get to it because I “don’t have the time.”
Thank you for the positive ideas that are so helpful.
Hello Laura –
I hope that you’re enjoying all that life has to offer. Thank you for your wonderful comment; I’m so very happy that you’ve found some benefit in what I have to offer. Please let me know if there’s anything that you’d like me to share, discuss, or go more deeply into. Take care, Jerome