Much of humanity believes in God and practices a religion.  Most of these religions remind people that God is all-knowing, all-powerful and yet, we humans, even those devoted to religion, do not trust this basic tenet of most faiths.  If we did, we would never worry about anything, would we?  You are connected to all that is and you are safe, but you probably can’t feel this if you don’t quiet down to listen.

The way most of us lead our lives, moments of solitude are few and far between.  For some, the only solitude they have is while sleeping or in the bathroom!  I have always been an introvert, which means I need time alone to recharge my battery.  I relish it.  But even the extroverts need time alone.  The most important relationship we will ever have is with ourselves.   I am a mother, so I know some people might think that suggestion is sacrilegious, but it is true.  We have enormous responsibility for the wellbeing of our children, but that does not negate the fact that you are the only one who never leaves you…ever.  You were born with you, you breathe every breath with you, you will die with you.  In fact, if you are a parent, allowing your kids to see you valuing yourself enough to carve out sacred solitude teaches them an incredibly important lesson about self-love.

We each have a powerful energy source within us.  To me, it’s God, to others it is universal energy.  Whatever you label it, when you are focused on the minutia of life, on moving from one task to the next, on busyness, you can’t feel this energy.  It is only in silence, of body and monkey brain, that you feel this energy pulsing…and it really does pulse.  It reminds you that you don’t need to figure out the next 4 steps to take to achieve your dreams because when you listen to this energy source, it tells you your next step, through intuition and signs all around you, precisely when you need to know it.  It is God, holding you in the palm of his hand.  It reminds you that you are perfectly fine in this moment.  It reminds you that you are connected by a web of energy to every person, animal, plant and etheric presence that exists.

Meditation has become absolutely essential to me.  It’s like plugging myself into a charger.  Many people are intimidated by meditation and I understand why.  It takes practice to quiet the body and the mind.  We aren’t a patient bunch.  Pop culture spirituality, as it has become ‘en vogue’, creates ego competition.  Can you perform the vinyasa poses correctly in yoga, and in a room as hot as the Amazon rainforest?  Do you cleanse?  When you meditate do you ‘transcend’?  Here’s the truth: we are all spiritual already.  You do not need to do anything to become more so.  Where I think we could use some help is in connecting to the inner guru within each of us.  For some people, yoga helps.  For others, it’s nature walks alone, running or saying the Rosary.

I have personally found that transformation comes for me in the space between my thoughts.  Getting silent long enough to have space between my thoughts is something me and my monkey brain have worked a lot on.  Spending time by myself, in nature or meditating on my bed, is the best way I have found to tap into that.  Being perfectly still connects me to the river of wisdom within.  It’s a mighty river.

Meditation is simply quiet reflection or contemplation.  There are many approaches.  I don’t personally believe you should try to control your thoughts in meditation.  Feel free to notice your thoughts as they drift by, just don’t attach to them.  It is the absence of control that is at the heart of meditation. It’s about letting go of our illusion of control.  I even approach breathing in a different way.  Often I have read meditation experts recommend that you focus on your breathing, probably to distract you from your wandering thoughts.  I prefer to let my natural breathing rhythm take over because, and meditation experts might not like me saying this, it is between my breaths, and especially when I allow them to get shallow, that the BIG, JUICY insights reveal themselves.  These are the moments when I realize I don’t need to do a darn thing to heal myself because I am already healed.  These are the moments when I receive profound ideas about the nature of life.  These are the moments when I feel like I am floating on a river, lovingly protected and guided.  It’s amazing.

Thomas Edison was fascinated by the ethereal (non-physical) world around us.  One of his last projects before he died was attempting to build a telephone to connect with the dead.  Even before working on this device, Edison was known for meditating several times per day to gain inspiration.  Edison believed there was a veil between being awake and asleep and in that moment we were most connected to our souls, our higher consciousness.  It’s known, scientifically, as the theta brainwave state.  He would sit in a chair holding ball bearings in each loosely closed hand and would set metal pie tins on the floor beneath his hands.  As he drifted off, the ball bearings would fall into the pie tins waking him instantly.  He would immediately write down any impressions, sights, or sounds that he was thinking of in that theta moment.  I wonder if that’s where the inspiration for the lightbulb came from…

I also have amazing walking meditations in nature.  Nature is a chorus of inspiring sounds.  This chorus has the power to connect us to the larger web of life.  I walk every day at a nature preserve.  Sometimes I walk with people and sometimes I walk alone.  Walking alone offers me the chance to connect with my inner wisdom by following the constant drum of nature’s own theta rhythms.  Birds and insects sing their own rhythmic songs.  My favorite of these is the powerful, theta sounds of the cricket.  Sometimes I find myself drifting into a theta state just by standing in proximity to a cricket hidden in the brush playing me her sweet natural violin.  Even if you live in a city, the white noise can be powerfully soothing if you let it be.

Whatever approach calls to you, please consider spending some time alone connecting to the part of you that already knows her worth, her power and will help you to connect with the Source of all.  Keep at it.  It will likely change your life.