My meditation journey…

A year ago I packed a bag, I rented an apartment in Miami Beach and I spent my Spring Break on a solo trip that renewed my soul in more ways than one.

Many people think of me as a person who is extrovert, social and always on the go. Of course, only my closest friends know me inside out. Social media is a great way to connect and share but it also has the tendency to let people believe that you are one dimensional. The truth is that no one is one dimensional. We are a combination of things. And anyone that says that’s not true, well, honey, time to really dive inside. I need different things, from different people and I need different experiences to fill my soul.

A year ago, I needed to recharge my soul in a different way. I missed the sun terribly. I miss my family (who I didn’t get to see for Christmas), I felt overwhelmed with too many voices, too many opinions, too much buzz. I love traveling and I have been blessed to have travel extensively with so many friends. But this time, I wanted to travel with myself.

I had a lot of things to think about and to contemplate. I needed quiet to do that. Where do I find the most peaceful moments? By the ocean. You see, I am on ocean girl at heart. I love the water, I love the sound of waves. I also love reading, being quiet and to contemplate sunrises and sunsets. I strive for moments like those. So I gave myself that gift. A gift I’ll forever be grateful.

I packed a couple of books. I watched the world wake up and I watch the world wrapping up a day through gorgeous sunsets. In this trip, I also started my journey with meditation. The truth is that I started my meditation journey a while back but I wasn’t consistent enough. I knew how good meditation is for my heart but I lacked consistency. Of course, I know better than to achieve any kind of results in life, you got to recognize the times you fall and get back on. Showing up again and again is what will determine your success. So, on this solo journey I strengthened  this mediation journey and since then, I’ve never looked back.

So are you curious about meditation and not sure where to start? Let me share with you where I started. I read this book by Gabrielle Bernstein and I was introduced to her work and journey with meditation. I found her guided meditations on iTunes and bought several of them. They are short and sweet which was perfect to begin with. I meditate in the mornings because it is what works for me. The important thing is that you find the time that works for you. Beginning my day by centering myself, my thoughts and attitudes is what has been working for me but everyone is different.

Little by little, I started feeling comfortable with 7 or 8 minutes meditations. It all happened gradually. At that point, I was ready for Deepak Chopra’s meditations and for longer periods of time. There were times I was fighting my own crowded brain but soon I learned to deal with different thoughts by bringing myself back to center. What meditation teaches you is that your thoughts are very powerful and we DO control them. It also taught me to deal with anxiety. I worry. A lot. Mostly about my love ones. Life has brought some challenging situations in our lives that has been difficult to deal with. However, by redirecting my thoughts and learning how to cultivate my mind, I have learned to substitute, replace and feed more positive thoughts.

I honestly can’t recommend it enough. It has changed my life in wonderful ways. And although, I didn’t succeed right away, I can honestly say that this is a natural part of my life. Whatever your soul needs, you owe it to yourself to be good to you. It’s worth it. You are worth it.