I am really enjoying the Chopra Center's 21 Day Meditation Challenge. Each day, participants get a free meditation of about 15 minutes. Each day, there is a focus for the meditation. Today's introduction really spoke to me and I want to share it:
Releasing Negative Patterns and Addiction
As David Simon observes, we all are addicted to something. While you may not have a destructive relationship with alcohol, nicotine, or gambling, if you closely observe your thoughts, emotions, and behavior, you may notice that you have more subtle addictions, such as an addiction to approval, perfection, or control – or a compulsive need to be right. At the root of every non-nourishing behavior is a desire to fill unmet needs for security, comfort, self-esteem, and love. Yet acting out a pattern of addiction or compulsion will never fulfill our deepest needs. As the Sufi poet Hafiz advised,
“Learn to recognize the counterfeit coins that may buy you just a moment of pleasure,
But then drag you for days like a broken man behind a farting camel.”
One of the greatest gifts of meditation is the clarity and peace it opens in our lives, allowing us not only to recognize the counterfeit coins, but to no longer feel compelled by them. Meditation helps us realize that all our happiness, love, and wellbeing reside within. In meditation, we tap into our own, inexhaustible source of good as we release the need to seek it outside of ourselves. This doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy our possessions, relationships, and activities – only that we know we aren’t dependent on them for our happiness. In today’s meditation, we will experience the gifts within and begin to release any negative patterns in our lives.
This was especially touching to me, because about 8 months ago, my husband and I gave up red meat. Then, a friend told me about her sugar addiction and the mental and emotional clarity she gained by deleting sugar from her diet. Back in July, I gave up sugar myself. Of course, any meal plan that eliminates sugar also eliminates alcohol, so I'm alcohol free, too.
I guess I've been patting myself on the back for these healthy new habits and then today's meditation brought me to other patterns I am still dragging behind me: addictions to approval, perfection, or control. Make that and control!
Yes, I see how I allow these obsessions to fill my life and cause me to be anxious and fearful. So, today, armed with a new kind of inner peace, I am setting an intention to go within and rest in that sweet place and allow the real me to come out and play!
Oh, and a note about the other habit mentioned: the need to be right. I gave that one up a few years ago, when a wise mentor asked me if I would rather be right or happy. Anytime my sweet husband or a friend brings up a factoid that I may think is incorrect, I remember this and smile. It's so much more nourishing to myself (and them) to just let them think they are right! In the end, does it really matter anyway?
If you would like to join the Chopra 21 Day Challenge, go here:
http://www.chopracentermeditation.com/bestsellers/MEDITATION_WINTER_2012/register.asp
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