#meditationchallenge

for habit-formation, the consensus is that "doing x for y days" will set you up for a solid habit. unfortunately, it's one of those cases where science was taken by media and twisted into a product. that product being challenges.

anything from 30-day yoga challenges to Inktober to Mermay to Knightober (gosh the art community has these for every month and week of the year i think), the bottom line for all of them is that if you practice something for long enough, you'll either get good at it and keep doing it, or you'll have at least done it.

thing is, for a completionist, perfectionist mind, this just utterly misses the mark. i can't even start a challenge, because i know, down the line, there will be a day when i won't be able to or won't want to do it. and then it'll all come crashing down - do i skip the day and continue with the next, potentially missing out on something interesting? do it do that day's challenge the next day, extending the duration of the challenge beyond what it was supposed to be? ugh!

way easier just never to begin it at all.

fortunately, habit-formation can still be done in less agonising ways. two life-changing habits i've introduced in my life over the pandemic - meditation and daily morning yoga - started out as a non-committal exploration. i tried out this thing once, just to see if it would feel good. and then, if it did, i'd do it again the next day. i could quit any time i wanted to, skip any day i wanted to. stop completely. i didn't have to do it, no higher power ordering me to do it. it just felt good and that's why i kept doing it!

there are also less stringent forms of challenges that i can commit to, like doing the thing at least 14 days out of 30. that gives me virtual "day off" tickets i can use on any day i just don't feel like it.

Cortisol is a our body's strain hormone this is released by the adrenal cortex. It plays crucial role inside body's physical or psychological stress response, but too much cortisol can have negative health consequences .It raises blood sugar and blood pressure even as suppressing our immune system.  It's normal for cortisol level to peak from time to time, but in some point , they're meant to return back down. In today's blog, we will discuss what are the symptoms of high Cortisol and how we can balancing Cortisol by trying the 7-day challenge.

Some of the signs and symptoms of high cortisol levels include:

Fatigue can indirectly lead to high cholesterol levels by:

“The principle of nowness is very important to any effort to establish an enlightened society. You may wonder what the best approach is to helping society and how you can know that what you are doing is authentic and good. The only answer is nowness. The way to relax, or rest the mind in nowness, is through the practice of meditation. In meditation, you take an unbiased approach. You let things be as they are, without judgment, and in that way you yourself learn to be. —CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHE”

More Love Meditation Challenge Hosted by MindOasis register for the (free) challenge! Day 1 - Setting My Intention Even though I am a healing arts practitioner I still ache. Even though I assist in and aid in promoting relaxation, and work to comfort people in their experiences with their bodies, I am not always in tune with mine.

Even though I work on being grounded, as the basis of my career in the healing arts, I have not always been able to care for myself.

How do I bring myself back? How do I stay aligned? How do I discern what I need vs. what I can handle?

Simple, yet complex. I embrace the present moment, the nowness. Often, I find myself wrapped up. Either in the comforting or disturbing delusions of the past. Sometimes I am wrapped up in the promise of the future. The never-ending to-do list, when will I check off that next task? The future lifts me up like I am leaning forward in a swing set, waiting to jump off and not being able to appreciate the flight itself.

How can I make this simple?

In Buddhism, there is the concept of seeking refuge in the "Sangha" or the community. The community reminds you of your meditation practice and reminds you of the sacred interconnectedness we share. It reminds us to do the work and to be accountable for our inner worlds. When we are accountable for our inner worlds, not only can we find joy but we can also radiate that joy outward.

Find your people! The people who hold space for you but also tell you what you need to hear when you need to hear it.

I am challenging myself to sit and meditate daily for 30 days, I would not be able to do this alone. Nor should I.

Therefore, my intention for this challenge is "To Be of Benefit to Others". Because in service there is joy.

The goal of mediation is not to get rid of thoughts or emotions. The goal is to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions and learn how to move through them without getting stuck.

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