I committed to a regular meditation practice in January 2017. I had dabbled in 2016 and even turned my kids’ playroom into a meditation room. Making that space was extremely instrumental for me. I felt so happy that my husband agreed to it, and if I was going to make this a place for sacred stillness, I was following through. My kids never played in their playroom, so I had little to no guilt about transforming the room. I kept the space open, with just a couch and a chair, although this year I added a desk so I can write up there, too. I put up some inspirational art. Some old curtains. Brought up my essential oil diffuser. And, bam, I had myself a legit meditation room. Now please don’t get me wrong, I think people can meditate anywhere. I just felt like this was what I needed to do, and I had the support to do so. I love my mama bear cave. It makes me happy every time I go in it. It is a place for me to recharge, so that I can live this life with more ease and grace. Meditation is one of the many ways I take care of myself, and I’ve finally come to grasp the notion that self-care IS how I can take the best care of others.

I started my meditation practice by first finding an app. I was not really ready to sit in complete silence with my soul, so I thought guided meditations were the way to go. I chose the Insight Timer app, and still use it today. It’s awesome. And Free. There are literally thousands of guided meditations available through this app. Meditations for Recovery and Healing, Stress and Anxiety, Sleep, Creativity, Happiness, Peace. You name it and there’s a meditation for it. It took me a while to find my groove, but eventually I found voices that my ears like to listen to, with good messages that fed my spirit. Some of the personalities on there were like nails on a chalkboard, but I just kept going. I know if you keep trying, you will find some that speak to you. Your soul wants you to meditate. Don’t give up. The time you devote to meditating will be well worth it. You will come to crave these quiet times when you can go within and feel peace. The world we live in is so loud, isn’t it? My soul used to scream at the unbearableness of silence, but now, after meditating for some time, my soul now screams from all of the noise. I can’t hear what my soul has to say with all of the stimulation around me. When I make the time for stillness, for quiet, I can calm my mind and interact more peacefully with the world and people around me. It chills me out like a glass of wine might, but this is a chill that does not numb me. I see things more clearly, and with this clarity, there is more enjoyment and love and peace of mind. Your soul wants to be heard. It doesn’t want to be smothered by substances and material things. I think we all know this in our hearts. Life is just very hard. Being a human is extremely difficult. Perhaps if we just start connecting more to the power within us, we’ll stop looking so hard for the answers outside of us. We will be able to see more of the beauty in this world, and gain the understanding our pain wishes to teach us. Find the courage to sit still and listen. The silence speaks. It really does. Try it for a month or maybe a year, and see how things change for you. I am so grateful for my practice and I really hope you give it a try. Your soul will thank you.