Day 265: One Minute Could Change Everything
There's been a sense of urgency in the air lately. I can feel it building. I don't know if it's something out there in the world or if it's just internally within me.
Internally, it feels like areas where there hasn't been a lot of clarity are now becoming clear. The pieces of the puzzle were almost together, but something was missing; something was fuzzy that I couldn't see clearly. Now everything feels like it's coming together and all the pieces are being put into place. That kind of energy, that clarity, really lends itself to things moving at a faster pace.
There are 100 days left in the year.
And for the last few years, I've seen people selling programs based on the fact that all those things you said you were going to do and still haven't gotten around to, it's time to get it done.
100 days left to write that book, get AI to take over all the tasks in your business, lose weight, or anything else you told yourself you would have done by now. Whatever it is, there's a program for that.
I've been thinking about what would be the best use of committing 100 days to do or learn. Something with a big payoff, where the benefits keep compounding after the year ends. Where you can look back and really feel that it was so worth the time and effort you gave it in those 100 days.
What was my answer?
Meditation.
Wait! Don't stop reading. I know you either tried it a few times and it "didn't work". (I don't even know what that means.) Or you're sure you can't do it.
But, by now, if you've been here for all 265 days, or even part of it, you know the value of meditation and how I started by using the microwave timer for 1 minute. And I just stood there with my eyes closed until the timer went off.
Not a mystical, magical beginning.
I can't stop talking to you about it because it is life-changing. So, please be open-minded and give it a try.
Forget about the 100 days. If you aren't feeling any benefit by U.S. Thanksgiving, November 26, then you can quit.
Just try it every morning before you get out of bed. Sit up and set the timer on your phone for 1 minute, and up it a minute every day or every few days as it feels comfortable for you. 5 minutes is ok, 10 minutes is good, 15 minutes is even better. But work your way up.
You're not going to silence the thoughts in your head. That's not the goal. They will get quieter if you just allow them to pass by without engaging. That's all. They are just like clouds going by.
If you have an app, I use Insight Timer; you can set presets with background and chimes.
I have presets for 5, 10, 15 minutes with a babbling brook in the background and little chimes each minute, and a gong at the end. I have different presets because sometimes I have more or less time. I use the timer when I feel too distracted to just sit and be quiet, even after 32 years.
The Teachings of Abraham tells us:
"With just 30 days of mild effort you can go from being one of the most resistant people on the planet to one of the least resistant people on the planet—and then, those who are watching you will be amazed by the number of manifestations that begin to occur in your physical experience."
It just takes 30 days, and things will be dramatically different in your life if every day you spend a little bit of time sitting in silence, listening for the answers to your questions.
I've mentioned before how in the book Think and Grow Rich, it talks about these powerful men who would spend time during their day going into a dark room with just a chair, a pad, and a pencil. They would sit in there for a length of time, sitting for ideas, which I believe could now be called meditating.
There is a lot of science to back up what meditation does for your brain, your entire body, your mood, and your capacity to handle whatever comes up from a calmer place. You can ask AI or Google to give you the science.
But what I want you to know from lived experience is this:
Meditation gives you access to yourself.
It helps you hear the thought underneath the noise.
It helps you feel the difference between fear and guidance.
It helps you notice resistance before it becomes your whole mood, your whole day, or your whole life.
And it doesn't have to begin dramatically. It can begin with one minute before you get out of bed. One minute before the world starts asking things from you. One minute where you close your eyes, breathe, and let your system remember there is a quieter place inside you.
If there really is urgency in the air, then we don't need to meet it with panic.
We can meet it with presence, clarity, and a mind that is less resistant and a body that knows how to come back to center.
There are 100 days left in the year.
You could use them to pressure yourself about everything you haven't done yet.
Or you could use them to build the one practice that helps you hear what matters, choose what matters, and live from a calmer, clearer place.
Start with one minute. That counts. It's a beginning.
Today's Gentle Practice
Before you get out of bed tomorrow morning, sit up and set a timer for one minute.
Ask yourself:
What would happen if I gave myself one quiet minute before the world got my attention?
You don't have to do it perfectly.
You don't have to stop every thought.
Just close your eyes, breathe, and let yourself be quiet for one minute.
Let that be enough to begin.
With you,
Lynn
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