Trouble Meditating? Try This 7 Day Meditation Challenge!
by Alanna Ketler
Sometimes the weight of the world can really bring us down and create unwanted stress in our lives. Whether it’s a demanding job with long hours, living up to the expectations of a spouse or family member, or going to school we can really become frustrated with our situations. Meditation can be a great tool to help bring us back to our underlying essence and help us to feel more at peace with our lives and whatever our current situations may be.
Personally, I have had some trouble with meditation and still do. In the past I would hear amazing things from people about how they left their bodies, had amazing bouts of clarity and information come to them or just direct conversations with their higher-selves about their life path. Needless to say, my expectations going into meditation were very high. I would lie down and try to clear my mind, this became very effortful to do because I would constantly be thinking, “ah! Stop thinking! You’re supposed to quiet your mind. OK higher self what do you have to tell me? How come I don’t feel relaxed? Am I doing this right? Am I incapable of connecting? Something must be wrong with me. I’m broken.” The act of ‘trying’ to meditate in itself was becoming extremely stressful and so, for a while, I just gave it up completely.
It was until I started learning that there was no right or wrong way to meditate, and to drop all expectations of what was ‘supposed to happen,’ that I decided to give it another try. I was still having a hard time clearing my head, completely random things kept popping in, things I wouldn’t even normally be thinking about, basically anything and everything. It was as if my ego was just holding on so tightly and did not want to let go and give up. I started to practice different meditation techniques, listen to relaxing types of music and anything really that I could focus on instead of the copious amounts of incoming thoughts. This has helped me a little bit, but practice definitely makes perfect. The more I practice meditation the easier it becomes to clear my head, and the more I notice the affect it has on my mental clarity and just peace in general in my day to day life.
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Even to this day I haven’t yet experienced any profound messages coming from a higher power, or guardian angels, or any out-of-body experiences from meditation but I can safely say that I am definitely feeling more connected.
So anyone who has trouble meditating or who has given up entirely I urge you to give it another chance and see for themselves the difference that this practice can make on your general well-being. I am inspiring you all to take part in this 7-Day Meditation Challenge with me, and to see the positive effects it has on your life and on reducing stress.
The Challenge:
Throughout the 7 Days we will explore some different meditation techniques and practices and play with different time periods, positions, times and time periods. The goal is to find a technique that works for you. I have created a discussion on the forum and I encourage everyone to share their own personal experiences each day here, you can also share tips and suggestions from your personal experience.
Day 1: Basic Breath Meditation
Sit or lie down, close your eyes and begin to focus on your breath. You may want to take some deep breaths in and out. You can try breathing in for 3 seconds (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi… ) Just relax and keep focusing on your breath. Try and keep your head clear, and don’t pay any attention to the thoughts that come into your head. Just let them float by, if you find yourself getting caught up with a specific thought just go back to focusing on your breath and don’t get angry or upset. Sometimes it can be quite comical to see just how easily we can become completely involved in a thought that really serves no purpose. Do this for about 15 minutes.
Day 2: Guided Meditation Practice
There are many different types of guided meditations available for you to try for free. Some of them have different purposes and serve different things. I have provided one here for you to try. I thought the woman’s voice sounded nice, calming and relaxing and the length of the video wasn’t too long. If you would like to find another one based on your own preferences please feel free to do so. Guided practice meditations can be beneficial because you have someone walking you through the entire process so its easier to keep your mind distracted.
Day 3: Focused Intention
Day 4: Binaural Beats
Day 5: Chakra Balancing
Chakra balancing meditations can be great for re-aligning your chakras and providing more balance in your physical and energetic body. These meditations can help to remove blockages and bring up things that need to be addressed. Again there are many different variations that can be found online, I will provide a link but feel free to find your own. If you are well versed in the chakras and there purpose you can even do your own meditation in relation to them.
Day 6: OM Meditation
Om meditations are fun! When you say “om” (ohhhmmm) it creates a vibration that you can feel throughout your body and it helps to clear your head and put you into a relaxed state. Try sitting cross legged and begin to chant “om” hold the om for about 5 seconds and fully finish it before breathing in. Continue to chant until you feel relaxed and your mind is clear. Then just hold here and continue breathing for as long as you like. I find these meditations are great to do in a group, if you have a few people and you are all sitting in a circle and chanting “om” at the same time it creates amazing energy! It feels like you are put in a peaceful state of mind instantly.
Day 7: Your Choice
Yay! Congratulations! Today is the final, day hopefully you’ve made it this far on the meditation challenge! For this day you can pick whichever style of meditation that you liked the best and give it a go for as long as you wish!
I hope that through this challenge you learned about some of the various styles of meditation and found one or a few that suit you and your lifestyle that resonated with you! Did you achieve some clarity and peace in your life and has your stress level gone down? Please share your experience in the comments section below or on the forum. I hope this is something that becomes a regular part of your life!
Hi, I’m Alanna! I have been a contributor with Collective-Evolution, where this first appeared, for about 3 years now and wow, has it been an incredible journey so far! As you may know by now I am very passionate about animals and enjoy writing about animal rights. Questions? Feel free to email me: [email protected] “If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” -Jack Kornfield
