Midday Zen

My meditation challenge has been going pretty well...I did miss a day, but I am still trying.  What I have found with meditating in the morning is that I feel much happier about the day ahead.  I feel hopeful about my daily to do list, I don't feel overwhelmed by my emails and I am not nervous about seeing a voicemail light on my phone when I walk into my office.  Yes, all is well with my morning meditation and then lunch happens!  For some reason, I can only keep my little zen peaceful feelings from about 6:00-12:30, when I get back from lunch, the feeling is gone! 

I should be happy, I leave at 4.  My day is more than half done by the time I get back from lunch, but I just can't maintain my peace.  After thinking and praying about what to do to get me over the hump, I came up with a list of ways to get a little Midday Zen at my desk!

1. Try to find a time that you are alone...yes you can be at your desk, but try to pick a quiet time.  A good time at my job is to do it when most people take their lunches.

2. Make your list--empty your thoughts onto paper.  In most cases, since you are already at work, it is likely that you already have a to do list for the day so you may be able to skip this step.

3. Sit up straight, sitting up straight allows for deeper breathing.  You'd be surprised, how much proper breathing calms you down and opens your airway. 

4. Mantra in your head--this piece isn't essential for everyone, for me....I have to do a mantra in my head to get started.  If I don't have a mantra, I think of all of things I will do when I am done meditating....(which completely defeats the purpose)

5. Pick a focal point if you can't close your eyes. (Everyone doesn't have to know what you're doing :-)  Your focal point can be something like a picture of your husband, or children.  Pick anything that puts a smile on your face.  I tried this today and I looked at a picture of my husband holding my son.  Whenever I see my husband hold up my son, I think of the scripture:

Matthew 18 1-4,  At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

6. Be thankful!  Let's face it, work can be stressful...but be thankful!  Remember, stress in small doses can be healthy!  Funny thing about giving thanks...the more you do it, the more you feel it.  Try this--whenever you are having a bad day, bad week, bad month...just start giving thanks to God.  Trust me, when times are hard, at first, you won't even believe that you are thanking God.  The more you keep saying..."Thank you, Thank you, Thank you"...the Holy Spirit will begin to reveal to you what God has given to you out of grace.  Note: Grace is when God gives us what we DON'T deserve, Mercy is when we DON'T get what we DO deserve.

7. Remember, meditation is not about what is going on around you, it's about finding your own quiet.  Meditation, like prayer, is not necessarily about how long you do it, it is about the quality and the intentions of your heart. 

Give these 7 steps a try....hopefully you will be able to find a little zen in the middle of your day!

~Enjoy!