Marcy Westcott is a Certified Meditation & Mindfulness Instructor with advanced certification in MMI Mindfulness@Work through the McLean Meditation Institute of Sedona, Arizona and Santa Barbara, California.
Related link:
www.thestillstatemeditation.com
Meditation is the perfect way to connect with your inner world. I know that sounds like hippie stuff but our connection to our inner world dictates our happiness and overall well-being throughout the day. During my morning meditation today, I realized the calm state I was searching for through my aural mantra was like I unplugged my brain and inserted a completely different one. It was as if I had ten brains on a shelf and I plugged in the one all the way on the left. Think of a bunch of operating systems: 1.0, 2.0, all the way up to 10.0. The brain I needed was not even really the 1.0 version. I needed the .0001 version - that’s the calm mind. As I was meditating, I made it so I couldn’t even generate thoughts. I was in feeling mostly. I was pursuing the pre-thought mind and in that’s where you get the most rest for your mind.
Imagine stripping all the upgrades and apps to your brain. Your mind is your computer and you need to have the skill to hop back to the brand new computer - factory version. It’s turned on - it’s powered up completely. It has full power and a surge of currency is running through it - yet no power is able to be used for thinking. That’s where you want to get in meditation. It’s like trying on a bunch of different sunglasses or virtual reality goggles. Try it! Sit comfortably - preferably with your dog snoring nearby - and ask Siri to set a 20-minute timer. Focus on an aural mantra that has no meaning to you - perhaps “ahhh” - and allow yourself to experience your pre-1.0 operating system mind. You’re fully powered up but it’s running no programs. In fact, it doesn’t even have the ability to do so! Oh, and breathe! Tell me how it went!