Have you ever struggled with developing a meditation routine? Do you feel strongly in your heart that a daily meditation practice could help your soul grow and in the least help you cope with daily stresses, but can never seem to make it a habit? Have you ever wondered what it will take to fully embrace it and make it part of your life? So have I. For me, the motivation to meditate everyday lasts for a day or two, but vanishes thereafter. I personally either find an excuse - usually that I don't have time - or I simply forget. And then I start over. It has been an endless cycle.
There are myriad ways of developing a habit and I think Matt Cutts in this TED Talk is on to something. Wouldn't we all benefit from and have fun with doing something new for 30 days? Why can't meditation be one of these ideas?
Perhaps when thinking about implementing a life-changing practice, a new habit, a hobby, it's important to begin in increments. As fervently as we may want to make a positive habit become a daily practice, it is overwhelming to the brain to motivate everyday not knowing when the effort will stop - it is naturally difficult for anyone to consciously sustain an exertion of effort, whether mental or physical, for an endless period of time. So when we break that effort down in increments, knowing that there is an end in sight, we are able to sustain it for that period of time and along the way we may even be able to develop a habit.
Armed with this motivational idea, I am trying meditation for 30 days. My goal is to meditate for at least 20 minutes per day, but I won't feel defeated if life only allows 5 minutes on some days.
I would urge any of you to also watch Matt's TED talk and think about what you'd like to try for 30 days and go for it. It's such a brilliant concept. Even if you fail, you can start over, and I'll bet you will learn something just from the attempt.
After all, as R. Sharath Jois said, "Yoga is not doing, yoga is what happens."