Developing your mindfulness and the practise of meditation has many well documented benefits. I’m a big fan and believer in the power of meditation and for something so simple in concept, accessible by us all, there is probably no greater investment you can make considering the high returns you can get.
But there’s a problem. Simple doesn’t make it easy.
To meditate and access the mindful state is actually really bloomin’ difficult. In fact the more you try to meditate and clear your mind, the harder it gets. No matter how much you tell your mind to quieten, it seems to win out every time. Leaving you feeling that this meditation lark is just for the enlightened ones! Or so I thought. Turns out, the pathway to meditation is to not try in the first place.
Learning to accept and observe the thoughts that come to mind whilst meditating is part of the process. The distinction being, that thoughts are just that, stuff in your head. The trick is to be the observer but not the follower of those thoughts.