College Tao

The plain and emotive effusions of an honest soul

Finding The Time To Meditate

It’s not important that you remember what was said, but that you are free. We are used to working hard in school to remember things.

We work hard to acquire a lot of words, notions, and concepts, and we think that this luggage is useful for our life. But in the light of practice, it is a burden. So you are free from the burden of knowledge, notions, and concepts. You are free from the burden of afflictions, anger, and despair. That is why walking, sitting, smiling, and stopping is very important.

-Thich Nhat Hanh, “Buddha Mind, Buddha Body”

College, or any other time of your life for that matter, doesn’t have to become an endless loop of to-do lists, leaving you feeling drained, fatiqued, and lost because your life has become subject to the whim of the clock ticking.

This semester I have made my life a priority, because I finally realized that within myself lies a vast apex of existence in which I am my own creator.

Meditation and embracing my own self and source of happiness led me to the internalization of that sentiment. Once you feel the happiness and wholeness that springs from the realization that you own your own life, it’s amazing how everything falls into place. 

Making meditation a priority is also making living a priority - making your self a priority. These are the methods I have found most successful for setting time aside to meditate every day:

  • Meditate at the start of the day, allow yourself extra time to wake up for it
  • Set a special meditation alarm on your phone for a random time within a stretch of time you know you’ll be free. Treat it as if it’s a call to prayer
  • Meditate as you drift off to sleep, it’s your body’s natural cycle
  • Leave yourself “meditation notes” to reflect on
  • Stop trying - the more you make a routine, the harder it will be
  • Meditate anywhere, whenever you want. 

Always remember that it’s your practice, and thus it is always accessible.

Namaste,

Anna

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