During my spiritual quest for deeper understanding through meditation, I was given the recommendation to meditate like my hair was on fire. At the time, I thought, “Are you crazy? Why would that work?”
Today I get it! It was the perfect metaphor for absolutely living in the present moment and learning to become more mindful in all areas of my life.
Practicing this type of meditation is about developing the ability to let things go and wake up to the present moment; release control of the outcome; forget our judgments and opinions while watching ourselves just stay with what is happening right now. In other words, mindfulness!
Today mindfulness is a popular subject in the media, which brings up lots of questions. How do we get it? What is it? Why do we care?
For me, Viktor Frankl, (Man’s Search For Meaning), expressed mindfulness and it’s benefits most powerfully.
“Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our freedom. “
In these 3 sentences, I believe Viktor gives us the answers to those questions; where to find it (in the space); how to get it (power of choice) and why we might care (freedom from ourselves).
Living in my 6th decade of life, I find time flying by too quickly. Developing mindfulness in my daily life makes time slow down. It allows me to pay attention, increases my awareness of what is going on, sharpens my memory due to intensely experiencing life and brings peace and equanimity into the background of my life.
Mindfulness meditation is one path to finding freedom and experiencing a slow down of time. When I find I can’t remember what I did yesterday, I know it is time for me to light my hair on fire and practice, practice, practice!
What does it take for you to let all else drop away and focus on right here and now?
