My Journey with Meditation
A meditative practice is anything that brings us into a state of stillness, grounding us in the present moment, increasing self-awareness, and fostering a sense of unity and interconnectedness with all of life. They allow us to connect with deeper parts of ourselves, others, the earth, the universe and create space for self-reflection and inner quietness.
Some examples of meditative practices can include:
Crafting, making art, weaving, and embroidery
Creating mandalas
Yoga - moving meditation
Being in nature, observing water, trees, or wildlife in silence
Contemplative walking
Foraging and gardening
Cooking and baking
And then there is formal meditation— ancient techniques that have been practiced for thousands of years. The central role of meditation from ancient times was to expand awareness. Every meditation technique is based on improving awareness. They involve intentional stillness, often accompanied by specific techniques, such as mantra meditation or focused breathing.
My Journey with Meditation
I’ve been meditating for years. As a naturally curious person, I’ve always enjoyed exploring both the outer world and my inner self. There is so much richness to be found and experienced in both worlds. Over the past few years, my interest in meditation and spiritual practices has deepened. I often used meditation apps or followed YouTube videos, or sat in silent meditation. Yet I still felt there was something missing, my mind wasn’t getting the true rest it needed, and I hadn’t yet developed a formal practice that was ingrained in my daily routine, making it difficult to experience real, lasting shifts.
In 2023/2024 I was experiencing and recovering from a big burn out and I was in a state of complete exhaustion - mentally, physically and spirituality. Anxiety and overwhelm were constant companions, and I regularly felt depleted. At times I felt like I would never feel nourished, replenished, creative and social again.
The course I teach Learn to Meditate Course, is the course I participated before commencing in a teacher training. This particular style of meditation stood out to me because it was mantra-based, and I had always found total peace in chanting mantras.
Since starting this mantra meditation technique, I have noticed a gradual reduction in my levels of anxiety and overwhelm. Though these emotions still arise (as they are a natural part of life), it’s reassuring to know that I have an effective outlet that brings soothing to both my mind and body. As I develop more self awareness, I’ve become more in tune with my body and emotions. I now recognise when I’m fatigued and need to replenish, and I can better identify what truly brings me joy and peace. I’ve learned to sense when I’m pushing too hard, overstimulating myself with technology, or neglecting my well-being.
Outlets That Support Our Wellbeing
I would say this is the first real committed and consistent daily practice that I ever had in my entire life that I am actively carving out time for and showing up for myself. It is a practice that regularly brings me back into connection with myself and gives me back a sense of control when my mind is spiralling. In life people aren’t always available, its important to have practices and outlets that self support, restore and help us regulate.
We need private outlets for ourselves where we can channel and process our internal energy, while still drawing on the strength and support of community, family, friends, nature. The forest and nature has always been my go to place for rejuvenation, peace of mind and perspective and while it still is - it is also really great to have an practices that centre and ground us that we can do in our own homes or workplace.
The Power of Self Awareness
Meditation slowly and gently nurtures our self awareness. Developing self awareness is important because it means we are able to monitor our needs, our capabilities, our discomforts, and our joys. It is the way we are able to maintain balance in our lives, and for all life on earth. Without awareness we are unable to recognise when we are in overload or when we are not fully living into our capacity.
My lack of awareness of myself, my needs, my body and heart speaking to me was part of the cause that lead to such an intense burnout. There are other additional reasons too. But ultimately I didn’t have the awareness to recognise what was going on, what wasnt working anymore and what I needed to do to take care of myself. Awareness enables us to understand what we need in order to thrive as a human being.
Restoring Balance
“True Spirituality is not an escape from the outer world but a deeper engagement with it, guided by love and compassion” - Pir Zia Inayat Khan
The last 8 months i’ve realised that some of the spiritual practices I engaged in weren’t actually grounding me in the present moment, helping me to become more embodied in the here and now. They often involved still “getting somewhere” - when what I actually needed was to be able to be fully present to myself and what was arising in the moment. These practices, while valuable, sometimes acted as forms of escapism—pulling me away from reality instead of helping me embrace it, embrace myself.
While I still love magic, ritual and ceremony and they will forever be part of my life —it's important to maintain a healthy balance and respect these sacred spaces. Spending too much time in otherworldly and dreamy energies can disconnect us from our human experience. We only get one life in this body, with these senses, and I want to make the most of it.
Meditation as a Path to Self-Discovery
I’m drawn to accessible practices that bring us into deeper connection with ourselves, cultivating a more expansive, inclusive, and loving mindset. True inner connection can be challenging because it requires us to sit with ourselves, listen, and process real, living emotions. But for me, having a dedicated space where I can process my mad busy thoughts and release stress has led to deeper peace and growth. It is an opportunity to get curious about yourself, see what arises, create greater self-intimacy, and discover that there’s actually a world full of wonders within us.
A meditation practice is like going to the gym, but for the mind. Just as regular workouts make the body stronger, leaner, and healthier, meditation strengthens our mental muscles. It allows us to become a witness to mental busyness, giving us the space to discern whether our thoughts are loving or harmful. Like anything in life, for true change to happen and for us to see shifts - daily consistency is required. But when we regularly nurture ourselves in our meditation practice, we begin to witness gradual & impactful change in both our inner world and outer world that positvely effects all of life.