I used to think that meditation was about sitting, uncomfortably, for long periods of time.  I thought it was mythical and that only a few people achieve it’s intended benefits. I thought it had to be done in complete silence.  I thought people who meditated could easily turn off the sounds, sensations around them and thoughts in their mind could be ignored.

I had to let all those ideas go to find my own meditation journey.   That said maybe some day I’ll be able to meditate that way.  Until then I’ll rely on my favourite guided mediation app Insight Timer.

This app lets you choose the topic of your meditation and a preferred time of the meditation.

My topics of choice are usually: morning meditation, chakra clearing, future self, protective white light, breath work, affirmations or mindfulness.  Time wise the sweet spot for me is 7-11 min, preferably 8-9 min.

Now for me the absolute game changer has been to journal after my meditation.  I always include a gratitude list but other than that I may journal about what the meditation taught me, what I saw or learned, affirmations, future journaling/thank you letter etc.

I learned this trick after completing the 21 day meditation challenge created by Deepak Chopra and Oprah.  It was a whatsapp meditation group (sounds awks – but the community was helpful).  And although the meditation topics didn’t resonate with me completely, the practice did (thankfully!)