Busting A Popular Meditation Myth

This week I’ve had three separate people bring this up with me in conversations that initially had nothing to do with mindfulness or meditation.

This happens all the time… people are interested in meditating, try it, and quickly get frustrated or feel like a failure because you can’t turn your thoughts off. 

Let me cut to the chase here… your brain is supposed to think. If you can’t turn off your thoughts or totally “clear your mind” you aren’t doing it wrong.

The purpose of starting and maintaining a mindfulness practice is not to turn off your brain. It’s to build up a mindfulness muscle that allows you to get out of the chaos of your mind, notice what’s happening in your mind and body, and get more present in the current moment. 

Why? Why spend time on this? Especially if it feels like you’re doing it wrong?

If you’re anything like you, your brain is on all day long… thinking, planning, doing. I would (and still sometimes do) let entire days pass by, go to leave work and think shit! Where did that day go? I was so busy doing or caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t take a break to take a deep breath or pay attention to what was going on beyond my computer screen and my monkey mind.

That’s the gift that a regular mindfulness practice has brought into my life. The ability to notice early warning signs of my stress so I can course correct. That one second pause that allows me to respond instead of react to something that’s pissing me off. 

I am by no means perfect. If you know me, you know I get anxious in crowds, can get a little pissy when driving, and am certainly not walking around in blissed out zen-mode all the time.

But this shit works. It’s scientifically proven that by taking mindful pauses and following the flow of your breath instead of following every thought down the rabbit hole like Alice in Wonderland, you can build new neural pathways in your brain that change how you respond to stress. Alter how you show up in life.

So, if you’re like so many people out there who are curious about meditation but don’t know where to start or feel like you can’t “do it right”, I invite you to give it a try. And give yourself a break! Don’t expect that you’ll be able to turn your brain off. 

How about you set your expectation that you’ll simply see what happens? See how it feels to focus on your breath, your body, maybe some counting. Observe what it’s like to notice how many thoughts go through your mind even during a quick 3 minute meditation. 

The brain is wild, y’all! Meditating is like the personal form of some very interesting people watching.

If you don’t have it already, my Mindfulness Starter Kit is a great and simple way to get started. And my favorite apps for beginning a meditation practice are Headspace and Calm, which both have some free options so you don’t have to make a financial investment until you find what you like.

NO PRESSURE, FRIEND! If dabbling in meditation isn’t your thing, I fully respect that. I just know that so many people have this fear of doing it wrong and that’s holding them back for some peace and calm on the other side, so I’m here to remind you there is no wrong way. 

As you’ve likely heard, that’s why the call it a practice… it’s an ongoing exploration and observation. I have a different experience every time.

If you need more support or advise figuring out how to start a mindfulness or meditation practice, hit me up! That’s what I’m here for. I’m your person to help you with this part of your life. Elizabeth@elizabethstjohn.co

Cheers!
Elizabeth