Day 250: One Quiet Minute
January, 1994 is when I became a serious student of A Course in Miracles.
For 20 years before that, I had read psychology books that moved into self-help, how our mind works, and then into spirituality.
I had read several books that were based on the teachings of A Course in Miracles, which led to me buying the big thick book and giving it a go.
Reading the text and doing the daily workbook lessons changed my life. It sat on the foundation I had built and gave a greater depth to my understanding of myself and the world.
One of the biggest gifts it gave me was discovering that anyone can meditate.
I was sure I couldn't. My mind was way too busy. It was never going to be quiet. How would I clear my thoughts when the chatter was non-stop?
The only thing it asked was to close my eyes and breathe for one minute.
I went into my kitchen and put the microwave timer on for one minute and stood against the counter with my eyes closed for one minute until I heard the beep.
That seemed simple enough.
All it asked was that I trust the process. I had already learned how important it was to trust that I didn't have all the answers.
That had led to tremendous growth over the previous 20 years.
So each day at the end of the daily lesson, I would go sit on the floor in front of the microwave.
When I got to the point where I could kind of tell how long 5 minutes was from doing it for several days, I would just close my eyes after I closed the book.
The Teachings of Abraham says, "If we were in your physical shoes, we would sit quietly, by ourselves, in some pleasant place where we would not be interrupted (maybe under a tree, maybe in our vehicle, maybe in the bathroom or garden). We would utilize 10 to 15 minutes, and not much more time than that, to quiet our mind in meditation."
We no longer have to use the microwave as our timer, but in 1994, it did the job, and I became a meditator in the simplest way.
No weekend silent retreat, no guru, no trip to India. Just standing in front of my microwave.
Just focused on my breath going in and out.
And what I found was that as I focused on my breath, the chatter got a little quieter, and I felt like I was going deeper underneath it. Those thoughts became like passing clouds. I heard them, but didn't feel the need to interact. So they quieted more.
Beyond all the scientifically proven mental and physical health benefits of a few minutes of meditation is something even more important.
It's a state of allowing. When we meditate, it opens a space to connect with Source energy, to our highest Self, to God, or the Universe.
Some of my deepest insights and best ideas have been given to me in meditation.
Sometimes the information is coming so fast I know I won't remember, and I have to come out of my meditation to write it all down.
In many books, including Think and Grow Rich, and others going back more than 100 years, men who were the richest or biggest thinkers and innovators of their time would "take a nap" or go into a dark room and sit in a chair with a pad and pencil to sit for ideas.
I would say they were meditating without calling it that.
Meditation allows your specific Source energy to flow to you. You'll begin to feel calmer and more energized as you become comfortable meditating.
Meditation and visualization are both tools that speed up your ability to co-create the life you want for yourself.
They both help you have more clarity.
It's kind of like the daydreaming we did as kids.
Think back.
When things were crazy or didn't feel good to you, you'd go to a quiet place where you could be alone. Maybe in nature or a small space where you felt safe.
Then you'd let your mind be quiet until it started focusing on some desire that you'd allow to take you into it with no resistance.
Now, as a kid, it might have been a desire that had something to do with dinosaurs or being an astronaut, but the process underneath it is sound.
Except as adults were told that daydreaming is ridiculous. But it's not. It's very much like meditation and visualization.
Meditation clears out the chatter so you can listen to your higher Self.
Visualization lets you try on anything you desire to see if it's something you really want. And then repeated visualization allows you to dial it in, adding exactly how you want it to feel.
That's very important.
We focus on how we want to feel when we have or become what we desire. We don't focus on micromanaging what it looks like, how it shows up, or when it arrives.
As humans, we bring more peace, joy, and happiness into our lives by focusing on feeling good more of the time. By having better-feeling thoughts, we raise our energetic vibration and attract what will bring us more of the feelings we want to experience.
That's where meditation and visualization become such simple, powerful practices.
One helps us quiet the noise, while the other helps us feel into what we're choosing.
Together, they bring us back to ourselves, back to Source, and back to the truth that creating our life is not about forcing every detail into place.
It's about becoming a match for the peace, joy, clarity, and freedom we want to experience.
And that begins with something as simple as closing our eyes, taking a breath, and giving ourselves one quiet minute to listen.
Today's Gentle Practice
Think about one desire you've been trying to figure out with your mind.
Ask yourself:
What feeling am I really wanting this desire to bring me?
Take one quiet minute today.
Close your eyes.
Breathe in and out.
Let the chatter soften if it can.
You don't have to force an answer.
Just give yourself a little space to listen.
With you,
Lynn
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