BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Buddhism Finding Your Mindfulness - What's Yours?

Hi to everyone! Being new and all, I just wanted to share my story. I am a normal working employee, I wake up every morning, get ready, go to work, meet deadlines, then go home. During weekends I do my laundry or meet with friends. Basically, I am a normal person but recently I have found that I have been living my life all according to a routine, and have found that I am lost in my own routines! I do not know who I am anymore! My close friends suggest that I try meditation, learning from within and who I am inside. I just wanted to know if there are anyone else who has experienced the same and how you got through this? I think I am in my quarter life crisis and will appreciate much help as i can get! thanks very much!

Welcome peanutbutter (would love to know the story behind you choosing that name!) So glad to hear you have begun exploring meditation and mindfulness. I think everyone's path is very individual, so it's hard to say when you will 'feel' like it is benefiting you, but with time I am certain you will. I think it can sometimes be detrimental to think in terms of what is 'typical' or to be too focused on when or how, because then your own expectations can get in the way, and keep you from seeing what is right there already.

That being said, I think one of the first benefits that many people see is a shift in their relationship to their own thoughts. You mention feeling like you are stuck in routine, just going through the motions. I think if you begin to think of your mindfulness practice as something you attempt all the time, not just when you 'sit down' to meditate, you will see a shift right away in that regard. You will start to feel more alive more often.

There are a lot of wise people in the BellaOnline forums, on all sorts of different kinds of spiritual paths, so I do hope more chime in! Good luck-

Welcome PeanutButter!

I think the key for meditation is to simply do it. There will be times when your mind is jumping all around and that's OK. The point is to practice and work on it, you'll make tiny steps of progress each time. Over time your mind learns how to quiet down. You don't need to practice only when you are calm, because when you're already calm there's not much to practice If anything it's even better to practice when your mind is jumpy because that's what you're working on!

How do you currently meditate?