The italicized portion below are my thoughts about a post after writing it and will be included from now on.
It’s been a while since I both wrote a new blog post and looked back at this one (the very first post I made). This post got me into sharing my love for words and expressing myself in a creative manner. Now, after over 10 years of meditating, both on and off the Headspace app, I can provide a window into what the small daily act has done for me. In more ways than I can express with words, meditation has radically transformed my perspective on this life.
I see life as it is, not as I wish it to be, not as others wish it to be, not even as it was before, but as it is right here and now. So, can a daily meditation practice change your life for the better? Unequivocally yes. Will it change it overnight? Absolutely not. I still make the same mistakes I did before I was 22 years old, but I make far fewer than I used to and don’t beat myself up over them too badly.
“The only way of putting the mind at ease is to let go of the desire to want it to be different.”
– Andy Puddicombe
Ever since I saw this quote pop up after a guided meditation on the Headspace App over ten years ago, my life has changed in monumental and minuscule ways.
I even remember the day. I was sitting in the basement of a family friend’s home in Colorado, on my phone, mindlessly scrolling through the App Store. I paused, as many do, on the words Meditation, Mindfulness, and Headspace strung together next to an orange ball that is the Headspace logo.
Out of instinct, I downloaded the app, tried the free ten-day introduction to meditation, and sat with the most curious of minds.
I think I meditated every day that entire month, trying a new meditation course back to back. Here was a former monk and meditation guide talking about some really difficult emotions and yet conveying the surest ability to work through all of them with just meditation.
The longer I listened to his voice, the more I practiced, and the more I practiced, the more sure I became in my ability to work through my own emotions as instructed.
It was so beautiful to know that such a simple yet profound thing existed, and that the culmination of all this guy’s knowledge and experience was accessible right there on my phone.
I have continued to meditate almost every day for ten years now. It was as if I had found the one thing I could do so naturally and therefore was able to make such a solid habit out of it.
Headspace has tools to help everyone from all walks of life turn meditation into a daily habit. Also, in case you’re wondering, I am not paid or sponsored by Headspace – just genuinely have found lots of value in it!
Andy reminds us that meditation is the practice of a lifetime, and that even though results can be realized just after the first exercise, it takes years and years for that natural inclination to be mindful throughout the entire day to solidify.
The app has now expanded to include more than just guided meditations, but also sleep music, nature videos, helpful animations, and even therapy sessions.
I was once easily anxious, worried, forgetful, and unfocused most of the time. But over time, I slowly tuned into my feelings, sensations, and thoughts, seeing them for the first time at a distance rather than in my face, overwhelming me.
I felt as if I gained a superpower, and my friends and family in my life noticed too. They saw I was more attentive in conversation, more mindful of my words and actions. I was slowing down the flow of time in my own mind.
Naturally, I began helping my family and friends more. I started noticing where and when to show compassion more (through Acts of Service and Words of Affirmation).
The lessons Andy taught have stuck with me for all these years. And although he doesn’t know me (yet), he has profoundly changed my life in the biggest and smallest of ways.
The world is impermanent. Constantly moving and shifting over time.
And when we step back to see impermanence at even the slightest distance, we gain a natural perspective of kindness and compassion.
This is, after all, the essence of mindfulness: to be present in an open and kind way.
And meditation is, after all, the practice of pausing to recognize the present in an open and kind way.
I encourage you to pause, even if it’s for five minutes.
Close your eyes to close off the flood of visual distraction and open your heart to reality.
What can you hear, smell, taste, and touch?
How do they make you feel?
Where does the mind wander?
What is your headspace like?
Thank you for your time and attention in reading this post. It is a rare gift. If you found any value in this post, please feel free to share. You can also buy me a coffee here if you feel so inclined!
Three More Things
- Download – The Headspace App
- Read – The Voice of Headspace, Andy Puddicombe
- Listen – Let a Good Moment be Enough