Meditation Challenge Update
It’s been about two weeks since I wrote in, declaring my intentions for the 21-day meditation with Oprah and Deepak. The update is I have failed miserably. Like bad. In the past 14 days, I have meditated a total of three times. Yeah. The challenge started on a Monday, but I began on Tuesday because that’s when I got the email linking to the first meditation. I also meditated on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is where I fell off the wagon. I totally forgot about meditating on the weekend and then into the next week I never got back on the wagon. Now, I feel too far gone to continue.
The meditations are only available for 5 days, so I could start back up (having missed some) but I’m so not into it right now. Admitting this to myself and you feels like a big failure, but I would rather be real about my failures than pretend to be someone I’m not. I hear the negative voices in my head and have to work to let them go.
I still crave a quiet, still alone time in the morning and will be making an effort to incorporate that more, but I think pulling out my Bible/praying/journaling would be more natural to me than meditating.
How are you doing with the challenge if you tried it? If you’ve stuck with it, I applaud you. And I hope you are getting something good out of it. Are you hating me for not continuing? I feel like a workout partner who quit, leaving you hanging. And that feels bad. When it comes to certain things in life, we absolutely have to keep going, whether we feel like it or not. You have to wake up to feed the crying baby, you have to go to work, you have to take your parents to the doctor, you have to pay the mortgage, you have to meet that deadline. But, there are other times when it’s really okay to let something go. Only YOU can decide what those situations are. And you have to face the consequences for your decision. I completely get it if you’re disappointed in me or upset or think I’m not good with my word. I have to live with the fact that I said I was going to do this and I didn’t finish. And I chose to put it out there on the Internet, so it’s a public fail.
I would appreciate your grace, your kindness, your empathy. The friends who support us when we’ve let ourselves down are the kind of people we need in our lives. It’s the kind of person I want to be in return.
My intention for trying the meditations initially was to try to still myself each day so that I could be more present and more peaceful on the inside. Admitting that I failed makes me feel human, vulnerable, and a little bit brave.
I unfortunately did even worse! I did the first day on the Monday and that's it. Every day I would say I was going to and then never get around to it. After a few days I felt like I was too far behind to pick back up.
Thanks for sharing that Amanda. Now I don't feel so bad! 🙂 Once you miss, it's hard to get back to it.
I quit too! I only did it twice. Glad to know I'm not alone. Hopefully Deepak will forgive us! 🙂
Good to know I'm in company with you Katie!
Megan, I didn't realize you were trying the challenge. Let me just say, while it is good to commit to something like that…if it's really not for you…you won't stick with it. You mentioned pulling out your Bible and praying…that most certainly can be a form of meditation…you are meditating to calm your heart and mind to here what He has to say to you. I learned a long time ago, God isn't looking for us to have a set time of day for a set number of minutes/hours, etc. We can be still for 2 minutes in the car…the point is we are looking to Him to guide us, listening to what He has to say, not going about our merry little way doing life the way WE want to do it.
While I applaud Oprah and Deepak for this type of challenge, meditation has many different forms and you have to make it your own in order for it to work and to stick with it.
Again, my two cents for your Monday morning 😉
I believe everything is a personal journey when the time is right for you…and I don't think you failed in any way. At this moment in your life, your meditation takes on different forms possibly then just the 10 mins set aside every day. I meditate when I walk my dogs during the afternoon when the neighborhood is peaceful and I'm not around electronics. I meditate in the shower when I cannot really be bothered by anything. I meditate when I do my pm yoga before I hop into bed and think about the 5 bajillion things I need to do the next day LOL. I think that having small moments during the day is best for me, might not work for everyone but its what works for this girl. And you will find what works for you like pulling your Bible out and reflecting on passages. What's important is you recognize the need for a little self-reflection during the busy days and the quieter times too.
hugz,
Suzanne
I like how you meditate at different times of the day and while doing things too. It's so hard to just sit there. I didn't realize it, but I would say I meditate on runs when I don't have my iPod with me. Those are some of my best 'conversations' with God.
Hey, great post! I've had interest in meditation for a while now, but could never quite perform it properly due to living in the middle of a city – too much hustle & bustle.
I have a health blog myself where me and a friend of mine try to cover many topics pertaining to health.
We're trying to garner more information to do with meditation also. I found your articles very helpful.
Our main site is healthisfitness.net
If you would like to check out the many different topics we cover on health sometime?
Omg Megan, I just read this. You are so sweet and such a beautiful person from what I can see, there is absolutely no need to make excuses or tell people that you failed in something. People read your blog because we enjoy the person you are and the honesty and the awesome stuff you put on it. I speak for my self when I say I think you are awesome whether you finished the challenge or not. And those that have doubted you or have anything negative to say about it then obviously have too much time on their hands and don't have a life. (sorry for the blabbing lol)