Have you ever reached a point in your life where everything seems to be firing correctly… except for one thing? And that one thing is the one link that is keeping you stuck? That’s what I feel like right now. That missing link, for me, is the oh so elusive confidence.

This brings me to the subject of this blog post: meditation. I think that, in large part, confidence comes with having an understanding of who you are and what you have to offer.

While listening to an audio interview with Sarah McLean, the author of the book “Soul Centred Meditation,” I heard a statement that really resonated with me. It was this:

“Who would you be if you didn’t have that limiting belief”

Really makes you think doesn’t it?

In this same interview, she also shared a meditation that she calls “an inquiry practice.”  I’ve transcribed it for you here. Before continuing, first consider Sarah’s 3 ingredients for a successful meditation session:

1. Willingness to do and stick with the practice.

2. Attention – a gentle nonjudgmental attention

3. A focus for that attention – a chant, a candle flame, a movement, a sound, a mantra, something you’re feeling

So here’s the meditation. Record yourself reading this out loud and then meditate to it. Should be around 10 minutes long. Enjoy:

Sit comfortably with your eyes closed, and sit relatively slow.

With your eyes closed you can begin to welcome the sounds you hear in your environment, welcome the sounds you hear near and far, welcome what’s here – don’t resist anything.

Also with your eyes closed you may begin to notice that you’re more aware of how your body feels on the sofa, on the chair, or on the floor. Feel your body. Your body is always an anchor to this present moment. Your body is always right here and right now,

Relaxing your forehead and your scalp. Relaxing your eyes and that beautiful face. Relaxing your mouth and your tongue. You can tuck your chin in slightly, and allow the back of your neck to lengthen just a little bit, as you let your shoulders relax, moving away from your ears.

Let your arms hang from your shoulders, relaxing your fingers and your hands

Feel the support of the chair, let your spine relax. Relax into it from the base of your scalp to your tail bone. Relax your chest, your diaphragm, and your belly.

Let your hips relax and sink into the chair as you let go of any tension in your right leg, from hip to toes. Your left leg, from hip to toes

In this practice we don’t try too hard, we can lose track of where we are but we just come back to the actual body and what’s really going on, instead of your thoughts about it. And you feel there’s tingling or numbness, there’s pain, there’s some energy, there’s some heat or coolness.

Also with your eyes closed and your body relaxed you can bring your attention to your breath

It’s a gentle relaxed breath. Let your breath charm you as you notice the cool air as you inhale, the warm air as you exhale. The rise and fall of the chest, the expansion of the back and the belly. The contraction of the back and the belly. Just feel the rhythm of being inspired. Whenever you notice your attention drifting away from the breath just bring it back here without judgment. The breath is always right here. The mind travels from the future to the past. But the breath is the anchor to this moment, so come back. Train your attention.

Feel the gentle rise and fall of the chest, and let your awareness drop down to the centre of the chest. You can imagine that your heart is breathing, that the breath is moving in and out from the heart’s centre. Right out in front of you. Keep your body relaxed. Let your breath be natural, and keep your attention right on the centre of the chest.

We’ll ask ourselves some questions here. With our attention right here. We’ll ask silently, and we’ll just be listening. Not only now, but listening in our lives for the answers

So the first question you can ask yourself, with your attention in the heart’s centre is:

Who am I? Who is this one sitting here? Silently ask, and then we’ll let that question go. 

and we’ll ask the next question silently, you can ask it a few times, and going back to the present. Listening, being present.

What is my heart’s desire? What do I really want? And you can let that question go.

And the last question is :

How can I best love myself? How can I best take care of myself?

Simply ask, and listen.

You can take your attention off the answers, off your breath.
Simply sit in the silence with your eyes closed for a moment. Just enjoying your own company, enjoying this moment. This is where your life takes place, this is WHEN your life takes place.

Keep your eyes closed. Giving yourself some deeper breaths.
And whenever your ready, take your time, there’s never a rush, begin to open up your eyes with a downward gaze. When you’r ready to engage you can open up your eyes all the way.

To finish (according to Sarah), the benefits of a regular meditation practice only become visible after the practice is complete – as you’re walking through your every day life. She says that meditation works in 3 ways:

1. It trains your attention to be right here and right now
2. It trains you to focus your attention on one thing at a time – your breathing, your body, etc.
3. It helps you to be more aware of what’s going on inside. How you’re feeling. Your intuition, your emotions.

Try this meditation yourself, and let me know how you find it. 

What’s your opinion on meditation?