Mindfulness

The other day right after I woke up, a flood of panic rushed over me, as I realized there was a time conflict between my school and work schedule later in the day. I frantically messaged my manager and a coworker to see if we could resolve the time conflict. Despite contacting them, I still felt anxious, because I felt uncertain whether I would be on time to work. In the end, I arrived 15 minutes late, which was not bad considering the situation. Looking back, this stressor seems very minuscule compared to greater stressors in life, however, the question is not whether this incident triggered emotions of greater or lesser magnitude, rather, how long did the emotions persist?

Compound Effect

Similar to compound interest, emotions, if not closely monitored, can build up. In my case, the emotions of anxiety and worry associated with my school and work conflict lingered until after work. Often, we are unaware of our emotions and how they affect us throughout the day. We are like a rubber band being stretched a little every time we experience something stressful, and eventually, our tolerance runs out and we become subject to our emotions, which can negatively influence our behavior.

Morning Meditation Ritual

Shortly after experiencing the intense stress that morning, I took measures to process my emotions, taking a couple of minutes to meditate. I turned off the lights, sat on my couch in a relaxed, seated position, closed my eyes, and listened to a mindful music playlist. Throughout the meditation exercise, I focused on my breath, and jotted down any thoughts or emotions that come to mind. On Wednesday after I wrote down my experience, I felt at ease with myself, my thoughts, and emotions. I genuinely felt peace. It helped me focus on things in my control, which was communicating with my colleagues, and focusing my attention on the next task at hand. In Jay Shetty’s book “Think Like A Monk”, he encourages us to dedicate time each day to sit down and reflect how the day went and what emotions you’re feeling. In the midst of life’s busyness, life has gotten so fast paced, we often have become desensitized to savoring the taste of our food or looking up from our phones to see a friend walk by.

Below are some ideas of things to focus on in your morning meditation ritual:

-Ponder things you are grateful for and write them down

-Recite self affirmations (i.e. I can do this!)

-Full body scan: deep breathe and focus on your breath, paying attention to the bodily sensations in your body, head to toe

-Listen to some meditation/relaxing music

-Pray and connect with God, with the intention to listen

To close, in a conversation Jay Shetty had with a 10-year old monk while studying at the ashram, the young monk said “When you get stressed — what changes? Your breath. When you get angry — what changes? Your breath. We experience every emotion with the change of the breath. When you learn to navigate and manage your breath, you can navigate any situation in life.”