Dear Diary,<\/p>\n
The practice of mindfulness and meditation cannot be separated from introspection.\u00a0 On the contrary, developing an awareness of our inner selves is at the core of the practice.\u00a0 In the beginning stages of learning how to re-train our attention, it is still relatively easy to focus on more surface-level factors:\u00a0 breathing, eating, walking, etc.\u00a0 However, once a level of skill has been attained in regards to being present, the undercurrent of our emotions becomes accessible;\u00a0 it is this point where our commitment to ourselves gets tested the most.\u00a0 Our inner emotions are often complex and turbulent.\u00a0 Feeling multiple emotions at once is ok, even about a singular topic or event, as is peeling back the layers one at a time.<\/p>\n
Meditation takes courage.\u00a0 We must be brave to cultivate the resiliency needed to understand ourselves and where to go with the information.\u00a0 If you live long enough, chances are some scars were earned along the way.\u00a0 Delving deep into ourselves to heal is scary; it forces us to confront whatever emotion or thought we’ve been holding on to all this time.\u00a0 Our inner feelings may come from a well of anger or sadness, but as long as those are the basis for other emotions, we’ll always be hurt (or cause harm) by them.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we might not even realize what we feel deep down because of the myriad layers covering it.<\/p>\n
Healing is not linear.\u00a0 There is no magic threshold wherein you sit cross-legged with your eyes closed for long enough, and everything vanishes.\u00a0 Additionally, sitting doing nothing may prevent our healing entirely.\u00a0 Meditation is the alignment of our intentions and actions.\u00a0 A meditative state can be found almost anywhere:\u00a0 cooking, bike riding, sewing, gardening, etc.\u00a0 It is ok to proceed at a comfortable and sustainable pace.\u00a0 Perhaps, we begin to feel overwhelmed and need a rest day.\u00a0\u00a0 It is ok to practice inner compassion and patience and survive the day without making anything worse.<\/p>\n
We never know when things will ‘click’ inside our minds.\u00a0 We could endure a long period where it feels we make no progress, then suddenly have an epiphany moment.\u00a0 When we have a breakthrough moment, take some time to appreciate the journey leading us to it.\u00a0 The epiphany moment itself is crucial, but not as much as all the work we put in getting there.\u00a0 Validating the work we put into ourselves helps build the resiliency needed to look forward to the next stage of the journey with hope.\u00a0 After one easy part of life, a difficult one will follow, and then another easy one.<\/p>\n
The difficult periods of our journey demand the most courage.\u00a0 We might feel frustrated because we were making progress and then stopped.\u00a0 We may grow impatient with the obstacles life throws at us.\u00a0 We might not be ready to develop the answers required to heal.\u00a0 Finding the balance between disciplined effort and emotional or mental rest is a process unique to us as individuals.\u00a0 We shouldn’t constantly practice escapism, but it is ok to put things down for a little while.\u00a0 It is the courage to get back up and take another step down the path that enables success.\u00a0 A violent storm does not last forever.<\/p>\n
What is inner bravery?\u00a0 Inner bravery doesn’t have the same visual effect as a firefighter running into a burning building to rescue someone trapped and disoriented.\u00a0 Developing the courage to confront ourselves assists in leading to an organic conflict de-escalation.\u00a0 We remain calmer longer and in more situations because we become aware of ourselves and want to become.\u00a0 We become reactive to the world around us less and develop an ability to invest in what is meaningful consciously.\u00a0 Bravery is being our true selves,\u00a0 not wearing the mask some external force placed on us.\u00a0 Vulnerability is a consequence of inner courage as people can experience who we are and may react unfavorably.\u00a0 However, by cultivating courage, we also can manage how we value their reactions.<\/p>\n
Courage is the mechanism of converting intention into action. \u00a0If we want to become more skillful at something,\u00a0 we must be brave enough to fail during the learning process.\u00a0 If we need to confront someone to heal,\u00a0 we must have the courage to value ourselves as worthy.\u00a0 Change can be scary.\u00a0 However,\u00a0 emotions such as anger (a desire to protect) and hope (assigning meaning) can be used through inner courage to accomplish our intentions.\u00a0 Meditation and mindfulness are excellent practices to engage in, but knowledge without action is rarely helpful to those suffering inside.\u00a0 Understanding what we feel and why is an essential step, but nothing will change without developing the courage to act.\u00a0 When the time is right, be brave;\u00a0 you are worth it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Diary, The practice of mindfulness and meditation cannot be separated from introspection.\u00a0 On the contrary, developing an awareness of our inner selves is at the core of the practice.\u00a0 In the beginning stages of learning how to re-train our attention, it is still relatively easy to focus on more surface-level factors:\u00a0 breathing, eating, walking, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[304,337],"tags":[312,327,325],"class_list":["post-28179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dear-diary","category-the-mindfulness-journey","tag-312","tag-meditation","tag-validation"],"yoast_head":"\n