A friendly reminder:
The only time to begin again is Now
Whether it’s your Meditation practice, Yoga practice, going to the gym regularly, walking daily, eating healthily, abstaining from alcohol, remembering to tell your family you love them, setting boundaries, journaling, painting, jogging, dancing, reducing your time doom scrolling on social media, baking, or all of the above all at once (reality check here for some I’m sure!), whatever the thing is that you know nourishes your Soul or brings you greater health or clarity, that you have stopped doing, there are two ways you can approach the realisation that you’ve stopped (or maybe you’ve not yet started)!
1. Self violence. Beat yourself up mentally. Believe the thoughts arising that you’re a shit person, you can’t do shit, you’re a failure, you’ll never amount to anything, you can’t stick to anything, you’ve tried before, you’re broken, something is wrong with you.
*NOT RECOMMENDED!*
2. Compassion. Celebrate that you’ve noticed, meet said bombardment of hideous thoughts about yourself with Compassion (I mean if you said those things to your best mate, he/she probably wouldn’t hang around for long) and begin again (or begin if its your first time starting!). You can only make a choice when you’re consciously aware. The moment you realise you have deviated from your plans and intentions is the only moment you can choose to begin again. Whoo Hoo!
2.1. Compassion and Acceptance. If you’re neurodivergent, proceed as 2, except you know as well as I do that starting can be the problem. You can see it as your brain is broken (and it sure does feel like that sometimes) but thats falling into the grip of point 1. Or you can accept “It’s my wiring and I don’t have the instruction manual”, hopefully followed by “I’m willing to stay curious, find out what lights up this squidgy, walnut shaped organ I’m carrying around in my skull and unashamedly ask for support when I need it”.
You may need support in moving through the guilt and shame projected upon you from a very early age for not fitting in a neurotypical box (or if you’re neurotypical for not fitting into your parents or teachers expectations). You may need support from someone that understands how your brain functions and doesn’t reflect to you the thoughts of self violence in point 1. You will need different strategies to get you going in the first place if you have executive functioning challenges like myself. You will need to learn be exceptionally Compassionate and Patient with yourself and sometimes you just won’t be and that’s ok too.
Please do not ever give up on yourself. Keep exploring, staying curious in getting to know how you function best and what accommodations you need to give to yourself. The more comfortable you get in your own skin, the less easy it is for your own mind and the judgements of others to push you out of your centre. It’s an ongoing practice of trial and error but if you embrace the frustration, it can become the fuel that moves you forward, not necessarily in a neat, straight line, but a series of spirals, always expanding out into more Wisdom.
Practicing Meditation everyday is ideal. Life, if you haven’t noticed, doesn’t give a shit about ideals. Shit happens and shifts happen, usually not long after. Take a breath and keep going (which sometimes means stopping if you get overwhelmed before you begin again). Keep exploring what is “you” and what is “not you” and try your best to have a sense of humour about it all.
Two of my favourite teachers have two of the most awesome books to help with shifting our mindset and navigating a Spiritual path.
Chit Happens by Narian Ishaya – A Guide To Discovering Divinity
“Chit is the Sanskrit word for consciousness itself. Chit Happens is the companion for anyone on a spiritual path, whether a beginner or more experienced.”
Shift Happens by Robert Holden – How to Live an Inspired Life… Starting from Now!
“Packed full of wisdom, Shift Happens!, tackles the fundamental everyday concerns that can undermine true joy and fulfilment.”
I have a shit story, recorded for the Nibs Talks and on you tube somewhere. Also a shit poem that is currently spoken on an instagram reel, it didn’t make it to the website yet. I also won the Golden Turd award when I helped out at this years Long Dance! 🤣
I thoroughly recommend you read the above books. I always come back to them for reminders when Im feeling stuck, beating myself up, or if I forget why I’m even doing any of this in the first place.
Regular Meditation helps us to be vigilant with the illusions and projections and down right nonsense that we tell ourselves, as long as we accept from the outset, they are not helpful and not real.
Here’s the zoom registration link for tonights Meditation Cafe, Monday 2nd December 2024, 7.30pm, Join us tonight to go back to basics of why we Meditate, to press the reset button (if you need to begin your Meditation practice again), or to begin it for your first time if you’re a newbie!
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEuce-ppzsiG9Lh2IKMMcFcds55dMmqJWwE
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No previous experience necessary to join us, an open mind and willing Heart is helpful. You can find the weekly registration links, read about any potential contraindications (especially read if you’re struggling with your mental health or experiencing any kind of trauma) and other things you need to be aware of, on the Meditation Cafe page . If you have any concerns, please contact me beforehand to discuss whether this Meditation practice is for you, or how we might adapt the practice to support you.
Meditation Cafe is part of The Silent Revolution and is free by default. If you’d like to support me in this work, you can if you feel called to, “Buy Me A Coffee” in the Cafe, pay for the tuition received (the going rate is between £5 – £8 for similar online classes) or express your Gratitude with a donation here:
http://paypal.me/thebendywitch
There’s no obligation to donate implied AND all donations are Gratefully received 🙏🏼💞
Thank you for liking, sharing blogs and poems you resonate with with friends and for sharing any thoughts provoked, contemplations and your experiences of Meditation in the comments.
The Bendy Witch 