It’s been more than a year since I’ve created a post for this blog. The reasons for this are varied and complicated. I will likely struggle to find coherence in them. Maybe they don’t matter – I’m writing now. More importantly I’ve decided to add a third key word to my quest and to the tag line of this site – “The quest for time, financial, and spiritual freedom.”
I’ve been exploring the edges of my spirituality and this is something new. In fact that word was not part of my repertoire until somewhat recently when by chance I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It had a disruptive effect on me. By that I mean it shook me into awareness of a whole new dimension of freedom to explore. A dimension with seemingly limitless possibilities.
I won’t attempt to review that book now; it is deserving of its own post another time. What matters to me now is it has awoken a new growth path for me. One of meditation, self-reflection, (my) truth, and spirituality. It feels like a portal to taking the red pill which feels a bit scary while at the same time invigorating.
Around the same time I heard a radio broadcast by Bob McDonald on CBC Radio that suddenly made the elusive concept of meditation seem much less daunting than it had previously. He found that meditating 10 minutes a day for 10 days had a scientifically measurable impact on his brain scans. The prime focus of meditation was simply breathing. Something we take for granted every day and something that helps us centre our presence and calm our wandering mind. What about that wandering mind? Observe your mind has wandered and non-judgementally refocus it. The non-judgemental part is important. Refocusing is like doing a weightlifting repetition – your focus muscle will strengthen with time and gentle redirection just like your muscle fibres will grow stronger.
Has meditation helped me? Absolutely. It is a fantastic stress preventer and reducer. I’m not sure whether it reduces my fear or adds something to my fear to make me more calm and courage. Have I made the most of meditating? Not even close. I’ve not yet successfully made it a consistent habit. I have much to learn and much room for growth.
Am I still searching for freedom? Most definitely. More than even I believe it is not a destination, rather a journey with many twists and bumps anticipated and that’s just fine by me.
I intend to be more consistent in creating new posts. The same way I intend to meditate with regularity. We’ll see how it goes…