Self Care & Growth In These Times
Meditation helps. It can be a game changer. What’s the best meditation? The one we look forward to practicing daily. I’m not very disciplined, but this practice of Vedic Meditation has helped me to become disciplined.
I learned this meditation on March 8th, 2014. I’ve never missed a day since. I’ve never done anything daily besides eat, sleep, and brush my teeth. My old daily practice? Being a stress bag. I just wanted to stop grinding my teeth at night. I just wanted to get the heat off. When I learned to meditate, I got all of those things and even way more than I ever bargained for.
I had tried what I thought was meditation before, and I didn’t get it. My mind would go into overdrive, but this practice is different; it’s powerful. Suddenly, everything got better.
One of the gifts of this practice is adaptation energy. During the pandemic, my wife and I both lost our jobs, my father passed away from a brain tumor (I couldn’t attend the funeral), my step mother changed my father’s will to everything going to her, and on top of all that, my wife and I are raising our daughter and son (ages 11 & 9 respectively). Plus, there’s a pandemic going on.
However, I have thrived during these times. I finally got time to cook, started a whole foods, plant-based diet, lost 35 lbs, and my wife got a better job. Everyday I hosted a group meditation on Zoom for 6 months during the pandemic. I started teaching more people how to meditate. I started a non-profit to spread Vedic Meditation to communities where it may not be so readily available— sharingmeditation.org (shameless plug). And this is just the half of it.
My family is getting along better than ever. Every morning I make a list of things I need to do, and even some things I want to do. Even if it’s a dream project, I start with baby steps, and cross them off as I go throughout my day. “Do something you enjoy. Don’t find the time, make the time,” the old adage goes. A hot bath. Ride your bike. A walk. Calling or Zooming with some old friends you laugh a lot with. Plus, I highly recommend adding meditation to the to-do list.
If you’re interested in learning or have a friend or family member interested I’m happy to talk. If you have your own meditation practice, great! I hope you keep it up.
What we do everyday, even if it’s just for five minutes, it all adds up. Something is better than nothing. What we do everyday is far more powerful than what we do once in a while. That works both ways too. A nice walk everyday rather than once in a while… Good! Eating ice cream late at night every day rather than once in a while… Not so good.
These are hard times. Everything in the world is going on, all the while our personal life is too. You need a break. You owe it to yourself. Meditate and see where it takes you.
Harry Archer, Meditation Teacher
Sharing Meditation Foundation | Chair
