Between now and Jan 6th when we kick off our 2023 30 Day Meditation Challenge, I’ll be sharing five (unconventional) reasons + videos on why you should meditate.
In case you missed Reason #1 last week, it was because people are annoying and kids are difficult. Seriously.
Today is Reason #2, even this monk got jealous of other monks.
While talking to a woman about our upcoming Soul Circles, she mentioned a friend in New York City who used to work in fashion and is now a Buddhist monk.
This woman gave up all her possessions to become a monk over ten years ago. She enjoys spending her days contemplating the meaning of life, studying her brain and how she reacts.
She gave away all her possessions and lives a simplistic life.
One day, this woman began imagining the other monks who live in the forest.
She thought; “They get to wear those robes that are a cool mustard color, why do I wear just plain brown robes?”
She was envious about the color of the monks’ robes.
That’s when she realized this human mind is so complicated. She’d literally taken away everything, all her possessions, and she still found something to compare herself to and become envious about.
We’re all crazy, and maybe that’s ok.
A coaching client of mine who’s a doctor who might not want to be a doctor anymore told me, “But what if I stop practicing medicine to launch this new business, and I just bring all the same problems with me? I’ll still compare myself to others and think I’m not far enough along. So what’s the point of changing careers?!”
What if we’re always going to compare ourselves to others, no matter what we’re doing? And what if outshining others is not the point?
What if the point is to become more you?
One of the best ways I’ve discovered to become more me is to learn how to quiet my mind enough to hear what’s really inside. Deep in my center.
You have a core, an essence.
Some might call it your soul. This place inside you is so vast and wise. This place inside you doesn’t care if you’re driving a fancy car, if your hair looks good, if you’re wearing mustard yellow or brown robes.
This place inside is where the heart of your awareness resides.
And within the heart of your awareness is the awareness that none of these other trappings really matter. Brown robes. Yellow robes. Who cares? Mind who judges brown robes. Who cares? It’s all accepted. It’s all included.
You access this place by going within. By sometimes observing the craziness of your own mind and laughing at its ridiculous yet adorable tendencies.
Oh cute little mind! I gave away all my possessions and you still found something to be envious about. I love you. I love my own brand of crazy. I accept it. I witness it. And I know, this is not really who I am.
Reason #2 for why I meditate is because it helps me observe my own crazy (rather than believe it!) and approach my crazy, fabulous mind with a bit of love and compassion.
This is why I meditate. To have glimpses, tiny little shimmers and glimmers, of this type of deep awareness. To witness my crazy mind and love it up no matter what. So that it doesn’t run the show unconsciously. So I’m not rushing to the store to buy some yellow robes.
Because I know, no matter what, my mind will find some yellow robes to obsess over. But that doesn’t mean I have to go out and buy them. (and sometimes I do buy the yellow robes, because it’s natural to have desires). That’s just how it is.
If you want to learn to observe and quiet your beautiful, dramatic, crazy, adorable mind, join me starting January 6th for the 30 Day Meditation Challenge!
We’ll kick things off at 9am PST on January 6th with a LIVE Group call. Get all the info below:
I hope to see you on January 6th! And until then, please know there’s nothing wrong with you or your brown robes. And there’s also nothing wrong with wanting yellow robes. It’s all accepted. It’s all included. It’s all part of the experience.
Happy holidays and much love!
Vanessa
Join HERE: http://www.vanessaloder.com/30-day