The Art of Meditation

Meditation has been something I've always 'meant to do'. A million excuses arise each day to avoid this seemingly simple task. I know I'll benefit. I know the results are worth putting aside 10 minutes of my time each day. I've dappled here and there enough to know that for sure. But for most of my life I've avoided it. Like the plaque almost. Why do we do that, I wonder? Or rather, why do I? Useless to ask, I suppose. I know the answer anyway. Over the last few months, I realized I can't put it off any longer. Life keeps getting busier, more challenging, more demanding of me mentally and emotionally. I'm grateful that I can know that. It's proof I'm still alive and kicking on this glorious planet we call Earth. But I gotta get balanced. I gotta turn off the mind chatter. And I want to be part of this awakening that we humans are becoming aware of. I want to experience my own awakening. Fancy that. Not just for myself, for my own health and peace of mind, but for the growing movement of good in the world. 2012 is not the end of things. Not by a long shot, but that's another post, isn't it.

I also know that meditating will support tremendous growth in my art. I'll learn to peacefully come to terms with the pressure of tight deadlines so that they will not feel tight at all. Through mediation I'll learn to quiet the chatter that accompanies me to the drawing table... the blaringly loud inner "what if" and the annoying "not good enough", and the frustrating "everyone else is better at this than me". I've been living with that clamouring left-brained chaos long enough. Time to get into the right. Or rather, right into the center, where I exist somewhere between the left and right, and where my art can flourish and begin to evolve into mission rather than ambition. Hmmmm. ... It's the human experience to be at that place, somewhere in the middle, isn't it?

If you're curious about meditation, I'd recommend the following to get you started.

Music for Guided Meditaton:Guided Meditations with David Hashada Wagner. Beautiful music, and a short guided mediations. This is very soothing. $9.99 on iTunes.

I also like One Minute Meditation from Stacy Mayo- quick and to the point. Try her Stillness Experiment here: http://www.balancedliving.com/stillness.html You'll have to sign up with an email to receive the One Minute Mediation MP3 and instructions but it's worth it.

You can also learn a bit about Transcendental Mediation here: http://www.tm.org/.

You can also check out Everything Is Energy.com. Just by signing up, you'll receive three free meditations to help you start clearing energetic blocks. I've done this and it's quite amazing.

I look forward to posting my progress as I continue on my journey of meditation, especially in terms of how it improves my productivity and growth as an artist.

Have you meditated? Has your art improved through meditation? What meditations would you recommend?

Thank you for being open to my somewhat deep post:) I look forward to your comments!

-Cynthia