From davidji, Dean of The Chopra Center University:

“Rituals are powerful behaviors. And when you combine ritual with meaning, amazing things happen – you get transformation. And transformation is a form of evolution. So by adding meditation into your daily set of rituals, it will effortlessly become a part of you.”

Each morning we wake up to a new guided meditation in our email inbox, and it has taken just six short days for me to appreciate, and even crave the meditations led by davidji. I think I am well on my way to creating a new morning ritual!

Todays meditation began with a body scan. This is an important and very powerful exercise we can all do daily. It does not need to be part of a meditation practice. On its own it is a great way to become present and in tuned with individual sensations in our bodies – good and bad. Often it happens that we acknowledge the pain and lose sight of the rest. A body scan will allow you to become aware of the parts of you that are quiet and comfortable, even in the most severe flares. If you begin your day with an active awareness and celebration of the good, it may just help to manage the other.

So while seated comfortably with my head phones in, I followed the gentle, almost seductive voice of davidji as he lead us in a celebration and exploration of our bodies. First, I celebrated my toes:

“How are my toes doing? How are my toes? Let’s celebrate my toes.”

I did not get past my toes and I was already smiling and joyful with this exercise. My toes felt good! Happy little toes! Happy to stretch and wiggle and slide across the cool, smooth surface of the wood floors. Who knew toes could bring such joy? (Besides my little Koko. She loves toes!)

As we proceeded to scan and bring awareness to our bodies from the toes up, I discovered more and more things to celebrate. I celebrated my feet for the stability they bring me – moving on to my shins and calves, on up to my knees – celebrating my knees for all their flexing and bearing, and for how hard they work. And on and on upwards. It was a magnificent celebration of my body – the same body that for so long has been the source of so much pain – physical, mental, emotional. Not today. Today it was a celebration.

Can you imagine scanning your body right now and finding things to celebrate? I hope you can. And if you cannot, please, try the day six meditation for yourself. It takes about 15 minutes from start to finish. It may be best to try it in the morning, but anytime you can find to sit down and meditate is a good time.

So today was a success, as have been the previous five day’s meditations. I am so pleased I signed up to participate in this challenge, and grateful to have you to share it with. And I would really like to know – what did you celebrate today?

The Law of Detachment says that in order to acquire anything in the physical universe, you have to relinquish your attachment to it. This doesn’t mean you give up the intention to create your desire. You don’t give up the intention, and you don’t give up the desire. You give up your attachment to the results.

I am sharing this with you to explain an epiphany I had last week while attending an introduction to meditation class at The Chopra Center. I scheduled the event as a support group function and was hopeful that many members would take advantage of the free class. The RSVPs for the event were low – 5 yes, and 3 maybe. It is understandable and common to have people unwell enough to attend or to change their RSVP at the last minute from yes/maybe to no. In the end only three of us made it to meditation, and one member who showed had to leave because she was having a reaction to the incense burning throughout the center.

As I sat there trying to relax and prepare for the meditation I was unfocused and thinking about what more I could have done to encourage participation. I believe strongly that meditation is a great tool to aid us in our never-ending quest for wellness. How could I share my beliefs with the members and make them believers too? These thoughts distracted me, but soon the instructor was able to gain my full attention. At the end of the class she shared with us the intention of Chopra’s Law of Detachment and read to us the following step explaining how to apply the law:

Today I will commit myself to detachment. I will allow myself and those around me the freedom to be as they are. I will not ridgidly impose my idea of how things should be. I will not force solutions on problems, thereby creating new problems. I will participate in everything with detached involvement.

There it was. The universe was speaking to me on that day and telling me to let go and detach from the expectations I have placed on the meetings and events I schedule for the group. It was like a weight being lifted. There were about 15 people in the room but I felt like she was speaking directly to me.

There is no reason for me to get frustrated or discouraged when my members do not attend. I cannot set their goals and intentions for them. I cannot tell them what will work and what will be good for them. I can only continue to schedule meetings and events, enjoy the members who do attend, and give the members who do not attend opportunities to do so in the future. My intention when I started the support group was to create a place for people with Fibromyalgia and chronic pain to come together to learn, laugh, share, and encourage. My intentions have not changed, but I had become too conscious and attached to the results. I am determined now to let go of my expectations and just continue with my intentions. Good things will happen and members will show when they are ready.

The Law of Detachment was read to me on a day when I needed the lesson the most. I am so grateful that I was present and open to the message. Isn’t it amazing how serendipitous our universe can be at times?

18/30

Friday I attended an introduction to meditation class at The Chopra Center. The instructor guided us through the history and benefits of meditation and encouraged us to make it a daily practice. She then went into a discussion of what it takes to make a new habit and explained that it takes somewhere between 21-40 days to turn a practice into a habit.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Habit (psychology), an acquired pattern of behavior that often occurs automatically. Habits are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly, tend to occur subconsciously, without directly thinking consciously about them. Habitual behavior sometimes goes unnoticed in persons exhibiting them, because it is often unnecessary to engage in self-analysis when undertaking in routine tasks.

When the instructor explained the timeframe necessary to turn a practice into a habit it brought my thoughts immediately to my assignment. Without being conscious of it, I have instinctively set my assignment within the guidelines of how long it would take to make daily writing habitual rather than a forced behavior. My desire is to write daily, but it has not been habitual and it has often felt like a task rather than a wanted behavior. Usually it is my battle with Fibromyalgia that keeps me from sitting down at my desk to write. But if I can turn writing into a daily habit, like drinking a gallon of water, I will be more likely to follow through, regardless of how I am feeling. It is not as though I have discovered the wheel mind you. Many people are aware of this benchmark, and use 30 day trials as personal growth tools. If you would like to read some interesting examples, Steve Pavlina has written a blog post chronicling several of his own 30 day trials and explaining better than I the benefits of making something habitual.

Once my assignment is complete I am confident that daily writing will be a habit and not a practice. I am also excited about the potential of other 30 day personal growth experiments. Meditation is definitely on my idea list, but the possibilities and potential are endless. Check back with me on day thirty to read a final assessment of this assignment and find out what my next 30 day trial will be.

16/30