Reset Your Day - Reset Your Day: Clear Your Mind and Start Fresh

Meditation is something I've tried off and on over my adult life but I never achieved the kind of success one envisions... you know, that stillness and one-with-the-universe trance thingy you expect from someone like Shirley MacLaine. Me? I'm always chasing my brain. My good friend Sandra has encouraged me to continue trying and, after my recent health scare, this week seemed like a good time to give it another go. Plus how I start my day is as important as resetting it when I get off track so seems fitting here. Also, now that I'm older I'm not as judgmental of my skill or lack thereof; I consider myself successful if I have a sense of peace when it's over.

I've also changed my idea of what meditation is. It doesn't have to be that new-agey experience locked in a yoga position with incense burning. While that image seemed pretty cool to me when I was younger, it's no longer my goal. After all, it's not the process itself I'm after; it's the benefit. So I don't care what meditation "should" look like; I care about the result. I think meditation can be sitting quietly with your eyes closed and spending five minutes in prayer, reviewing affirmations, imagining how your day should unfold, feeling grateful, or listening to relaxing music. It's whatever you do that allows you to start your day in a place of peace and gratitude.

Sandra recently recommended some new music in iTunes and one of those artists, Deborah Van Dyke, I really like. Deborah has an album of sounds of singing bowls mixed with human singing and it's very relaxing. (I learned about singing bowls from Sandra, too.) Since I need help staying focused, I prefer guided meditations, and a few days ago, I began listening to Deborah's "Chakra Meditation" from her Crystal Voices album while I meditate. Don't be scared off by the reference to "chakra"; this is simply a guided meditation.

Here's a true summary of how my meditation went this morning with just a few of my thoughts shown in italics. Believe me, there were plenty more thoughts racing around and I was trying to corral them and focus with deep breathing throughout... but I was chasing my brain the whole time. You might wonder how I can remember what I was thinking: Well, I was awake not in some trance. I was relaxed most of the time, but clearly awake.

Deborah begins the introduction over the sound of singing bowls.

I like how she connects the bowl vibrations and energy. I can feel the vibrations from the bowls. I like the vibration from my singing bowl, too. It has a rich deep sound, much deeper than these crystal bowls. I don't think I could listen to this with earphones. Too much vibration in my head. Oprah was just talking about energy in her Lifeclass, what you put out and what you allow to come into the room. Everyone should be watching Lifeclass. And Dr. Jill Bolte... What is her last name? I should remember. Taylor, it's Taylor. Focus on Deborah. Deborah has a nice voice, easy to listen to. Sometimes I don't like women's voices... and bring it back, a deep breath in, hold it, slow exhale.

Deborah speaks occasionally over the singing bowls.

Wow! It is really windy today. That storm is coming in and we're supposed to have rain and snow tonight. I better clean up the dog yard before it gets wet. I don't want to deal with that when it's wet. It will be worse if it freezes and sticks to the ground, then you have to chop at it... and bring it back, a deep breath in, hold it, slow exhale.

Beautiful sounds of singing bowls and Deborah speaks a few words.

I can't remember if I forwarded that email to Kathy last night. I need to check when I'm done with this. She'll be happy about that. I didn't check my email yet. I should have done that first. Now I'm thinking about email and clients. This isn't working today. I might as well quit and get to work. But I need to do this, too. I should fight this feeling. I can always work. I can add more time this evening if I need to to make up for this. It's 15 minutes. Surely I can take 15 minutes for this. That's my problem right there. Too much work. There's nothing so urgent on my computer that it can't wait 15 minutes. I'm feeling very anxious about not working. Wow! I'm uncomfortable. That's anxiety I'm feeling. Which is another reason I need to do this. I'll try for a couple more minutes and see if I can focus. I'm not focusing at all today... and bring it back, a deep breath in, hold it, slow exhale.

Beautiful singing bowls.

That new doggy door is really loud. But the magnets are strong and maybe that will keep the wind out this winter. It's not as good as the double door I had but I think it seals pretty well. I think it will be okay. I should be able to focus and not hear the doggy door or Zoey going in and out. If I get better at this, maybe I'll be able to block out everything but then I wouldn't hear Deborah and her singing bowls so I'd miss that... and bring it back, a deep breath in, hold it, slow exhale... Man, this slow deep breathing feels really good. I should focus on that. I could do that anytime during the day. It almost feels like I'll fall asleep but I'm wide awake, really wide awake, too wide awake, and my mind is all over the place.... and bring it back, a deep breath in, hold it, slow exhale.

Some nature sounds added to singing bowls.

I like the rain sounds she uses. Sometimes the rain on these things is more like dripping water and it's annoying. I'm so glad the plumber fixed both my toilets last week. He's such a nice man, seems like a gentle person, and he didn't charge me nearly what I was expecting. I hope his wife gets his Google Places page set up so I can write a review. I need to check that next week. I like that he uses his first name for his business, Briggs Plumbing. Everyone asks him what his first name is because they think Briggs is his last name. I asked him, too, the first time he came out. That's a good first name. If I ever get another male dog, I could name him Briggs... and bring it back, a deep breath in, hold it, slow exhale.

A few positive words from Deborah over the singing bowls.

I like that Deborah doesn't talk the whole time. Whew, Libby! Good Lord! For such a little dog, you're deadly. You need to go outside. I wonder if other people put their dogs outside or in a room when they meditate. I bet Shirley MacLaine doesn't smell dog farts when she meditates. I remember she talked about being able to block out extreme pain and extreme cold. Or Tina Turner. I think she has a little dog. She chants. I don't think I could chant like that, just kneel there and chant. Was she sitting or kneeling? But maybe if I'm chanting with someone, I could do it. Deborah has chants on this album. Or is it the other album I was listening to? I could chant with her. Tina still looks great and has so much energy and laughs so easily. She has a great laugh. I love that... and bring it back, a deep breath in, hold it, slow exhale.

Singing bowls and nature sounds.

This seems like a long 15 minutes today. Maybe I should stop. I could just stop. I have a lot of work to do and I know I've been sitting here at least 10 minutes. That counts. I'm feeling relaxed. I could just stop and go to work and I can still say I meditated today. I don't have to do the whole thing. It's better than doing nothing so I shouldn't feel bad if I don't do the whole thing. I don't like quitting but this is taking a long time today. I forgot if she says it's over or there's a bell or something. Does it just end or is there an actual ending? It must be about over so I'll wait and see how it ends then I'll know for next time... and bring it back, deep breath in, hold it, slow exhale.

Oh, it just stopped. No final announcement or special gong or telling me to come back like some meditation tapes. I'm done so now I need to open my eyes and come back. A few deep breaths in, hold, slow exhale. That feels really good. I just noticed how heavy my arms feel. I didn't even think about ''my eyes getting heavy" or "my arms getting heavy" like some guided meditations I've tried. That surprises me. I didn't even talk them into feeling heavy. I know I can lift them but I don't want to. I just want to sit here and breathe for a while. I don't want to open my eyes yet but I need to get to work. I wanted this to end and now I just want to sit here and breathe. I guess this was a good session. I need to open my eyes. And my mind was all over the place. One more deep breath, exhale. This was a good one. Eyes open and I'm back.

So that was it or at least that represents a small part of it. My thoughts were everywhere today and I almost quit several times yet I ended feeling extremely calm and didn't want to move. So a teacher might give me an F for my meditation skills today, but considering the result, I give me a B+, maybe even an A-. And I'll do that again tomorrow. It's only 15 minutes. If you think you can't meditate, change your idea of meditation. If i can achieve this result, anyone can.