By Beth Dayo

My mind is too busy! I keep forgetting to pay attention! I can’t sit still. I don’t have time. I have other important things to do. I know I “should” but months go by and I still haven’t.

If you have experienced any or all of these, you are not alone. I’ve been there too. I once tried a meditation exercise that instructed me to notice each time I passed through a doorway. The point was for the mental recognition of passing through the door to slow you down and create more presence. The problem was, it required presence, which I apparently did not have. I had exactly one instance of remembering to notice the door, and that was well after passing through it, when I realized, “shoot, I was supposed to notice that.” 

There are so many tips, tricks and programs like the book from where I got that exercise. Maybe they work for some, but for me, and I would guess for many others, the book was another purchase that ended up in a donation pile.

This went on for years. I tried so many different ways to meditate. A weekend training, a formal zen temple, a casual meditation hall, I even went to a church meditation group. I bought and read books, tried timers and apps, and it wasn’t until I gave up on much of that, that I finally figured out why it was such a struggle for me.

At that time, having tangible results was essential. I had 4 young kids, a business, home and self to care for. Even if meditation didn’t solve everything, to prioritize it, it needed to make sense. It needed to produce results and solve some of my real life problems. I needed a tool for now, not an elusively magical practice that might enlighten me years later. If you feel similarly, and you need help in the instant you’re about to yell at your kids, or when you’re stuck in a tailspin of dreadful thoughts.

By fumbling along, I learned the practical needs I had were the perfect ingredients for meditation. By using them, not only was I able to make the changes I longed for in my life, I also learned what was missing for me in other meditation guidance. If you can relate and long for tools and practices that create real impact in your life, 

Email me to get the rest of the article: Six Important Things I Learned Along the Way.

Beth Dayo has been guiding movement and meditation in West Seattle for 13 years and will be offering a 12-week Meditation Makes Sense Cohort this fall. The Cohort is limited to 9 participants. To learn more visit www.bendnmove.com/events and follow her @life.in.the.body on instagram.