The loving-kindness (Metta) – Meditation

The following post is written by Courtney Herring. Courtney is the Managing Editor/Intern for this site, a Social Media Strategist and writer. You can find her sharing newsy musings on her and on . Just a short time ago, if worrying about the “what ifs” of life were an Olympic sport, I probably would have won the gold medal. Because, just as anxieties were put to rest in one area of my life, another set of worries flared up so big it dwarfed the issue I was worried about before. I don’t know if I could officially declare that I suffered with anxiety, but a lot of the signs were certainly there. While I didn’t want to “claim” it  (because I didn’t want to give “it” power over me), I didn’t want to deny its existence, either. One thing for sure is I didn’t like it – not one bit, because It made for a miserable, dread-filled life. Even when I did experience a positive moment or a victory, I was always doing what labeled as “.” I could rarely ever savor a great moment because I was soworried about the other shoe dropping. Ironically, I’ve always had an active prayer life. But, I still worried incessantly – even when I had supposedly prayed about a certain issue. I was still always a big ball of stress. I knew I had to do something more about it. That’s when I was introduced to .Up until recently, I unknowingly equated meditation with some weird, zen-like lifestyle that was foreign to me. I also didn’t know the difference between meditation and prayer. Little did I know, meditation could serve as a great supplement to prayer. And, studies and have detailed the positive benefits of meditation, from reducing anxiety and stress, to relieving depression and physical pain. The difference for me was that I had to just shut up. If I was going to quiet the negative thoughts, self-talk, and rid my life of unnecessary worry and stress, I’d have to really be quiet. Admittedly, my first experience with meditation was not a “successful” one. My mind wouldn’t stop racing! But, Iwasn’t discouraged. Later, I had a friend, who was more experienced, walk me through it. And, to my surprise, I left feeling…calm, like I could handle whatever situation I was dealing with. My views of what was worrying me shifted and I was able to be more present than ever before. That’s what I’d say the core of meditation is about: being present. Centering the mind on the NOW moment, instead of allowing it to jump to conclusions about what might happen. So, how was I able to calm my mind and reduce my stress? Through a couple simple steps: I found a comfortable quiet place and set aside time where I wouldn’t be interrupted. I began the process of quieting my thoughts by focusing on my breath by slowing down my breathing to find a rhythm. The beauty of meditation is that there is no one way to do it. It’s all about quieting the mind and becoming present. Meditation is something you practice, and once you find a method that works for you, the benefits are priceless! Once I had a couplesuccessful meditation sessions and experienced the positive benefits for myself, I started reading more about the practice to gain a better understanding of it and to reap more benefits. Reading books by and have greatly improved my meditation sessions. In fact, after reading by Beckwith, I found a way to combine my meditation practices with my prayers. I feel like my world has opened up. The wonderful thing about meditation is that while it is a spiritual process, it can be a great complement to any religious tradition or practice. Now, I stress out a lot less. My mind isn’t always filled with foreboding thoughts and I don’t always jump to the worse case scenario when addressing certain issues that arise in my life. Now? Instead of being a front-runner for a gold medal in the Worry Wart Olympics, I don’t even have a place on the podium. The powerful thing I realize coming out of my meditation sessions is that my situation wasn’t necessarily changing. I had. Now, when experiencing anunfavorable or stressful situation, I do what I can about it and leave the rest alone. I go into my “woo-sah” to calm my nerves and quiet my thoughts. And I leave those moments gaining new perspective and feeling rejuvenated. That’s the way meditation has supercharged and changed my life. Have you tried meditation? How has it impacted your life?