Finding Time to Meditate

Do you meditate?  I have been meditating on and off since Freshman year of college.  During those formative years I became deeply interested in Buddhism and, with that came vegetarianism and meditation.  I started meditating daily and I felt my mood lift and lighten tremendously.

That year was also the year that I started to connect and hear my guides, or at least listen to them.  I didn’t know that was what was happening at the time, but now, looking back at those moments of silence I can still hear those first inklings.

Being able to hear my guides and feeling happy daily are just two benefits to meditating.  I clearly know the benefits and have, in the past, been able to maintain a daily practice with ease.  But now, now that I have a toddler, finding those precious moments to meditate are few and far between.

So I’ve been on a mission this year to get meditation back into my daily routine, even if it is only for a few moments at a time.  Routine is essential for me, so finding those slices of my day that I can consistently practice is the key for me.

Right now I have found that the absolute best time for me to meditate is during my daughter’s nap time, or quiet time on those days she refuses to nap (which are becoming more and more common).  I light a candle and incense, turn down the volume on the baby monitor, grab a crystal and just focus on my breadth for a few minutes.  Some days it is fifteen or twenty minutes, sometimes it is only five.  But what I am trying to maintain is a consistent practice, so I make sure to do at least a few minutes everyday at around the same time.

There are also those other moments in the day where I do “mini meditations” to find some balance in my life.  One of those times is in the shower, which can sometimes be a hurried affair with my daughter pounding at the door.  I give myself a minute to visualize the water cleaning my divine self and the energy from my feet connecting with the core of the earth.  I then visualize myself drawing up this energy and have it go through each of the main chakra’s cleansing them.  Finally I connect that energy up and say Unity’s prayer for protection while visualizing white light surrounding and protecting me.  All this only takes about a minute but it helps me to feel secure.

Another moment I have found is to take three deep cleansing breadths before pulling my card of the day each morning.  This is such a simple, quick type of meditation, but it helps to center and balance me before I see what the cards have to say about the energy I will be facing that day.

So what about you?  When do you find time to meditate?  Do you have any routine or special time that you set aside to just focus on the silence?