Photo: getty
The stress and strain of constantly being connected can sometimes take your life off course.
By Ora Nadrich — Written on Jul 26, 2020
Meditation in the form of GPS guides is a way to relieve stress and identify solutions that work for you.
We all have destressing "secret weapons" that we pull out in times of tension, chaos, or anxiety.
It can be photos that relax us or make us smile, songs that bring us back to our heart, quotes or poems that create a feeling of harmony, or meditative exercises that help us find a sense of silence and calm.
Here are 3 meditation techniques to help you find your center.
1. Stay in the present.
This is a calming technique that helps you stay in the present by enjoying what you're focused on.
Focus on something that pleases or soothes you. For example, the ocean, a flower, the sound of the wind.
Allow yourself to be taken in by its beauty.
Feel yourself floating on the ocean, smelling the fragrance of the flower, and feeling the wind softly blowing through your hair.
Receive its pleasure by surrendering to it.
You are at one with it, its beauty is you.
2. Release negative thoughts.
This is a simple meditation that helps you not react to a negative thought, so you can let it go.
Observe your thought.
Acknowledge it.
Do not react to it.
Then, let it go.
3. Try tea or coffee meditation.
This is an easy morning meditation to do while drinking your tea or coffee. This doesn't require any previous knowledge of meditation.
Basically, anyone can try it and enjoy its benefits.
When you wake up in the morning, be aware of your thoughts. Allow them to come in and out of your mind by observing them.
Continue being aware of your thoughts when you do your morning ritual, like brushing your teeth, showering, and getting dressed.
Make a cup of tea or coffee.
Find a quiet place to sit.
Focus your attention on drinking your tea or coffee.
Feel the warmth of your drink on your lips and going down your throat.
Be aware of how it tastes.
Feel the pleasure it gives you as you drink.
If a thought distracts you from enjoying your tea or coffee, put your focus back on the pleasure it gives you by the taste and feel of it.
Be aware of not rushing to finish your tea or coffee.
Stay present as you drink what is left of it.
Take a moment to hold your finished cup of tea or coffee, feeling the appreciation and gratitude of it as a gift to being alive.
Get up from your chair slowly.
Put your cup down, and begin your day with the mindfulness you feel being in the present.
Remember: Be your authentic self.
Your authentic self is the you that is most true and real. It's the you that you were meant to be.
More for You:
Ora Nadrich is the founder and president of the Institute for Transformational Thinking and author of Live True: A Mindfulness Guide to Authenticity, named in the 100 Best Mindfulness Books of All Time by BookAuthority. She is a certified life coach and mindfulness teacher, specializing in transformational thinking, self-discovery, and mentoring new coaches as they develop their careers. To contact her, visit her website.
This article was originally published at Huffington Post. Reprinted with permission from the author.