Marvelous Meditation

Dear Readers,

Over the past week, I have been doing an experiment that has been
proven to help control and manage anxiety.

I have been meditating for twenty minutes a day, once a day, for a week
to see if this was something that could work for mw. Meditation has always
been in the back of my mind. I first got the idea of meditation for stress and
anxiety when my roommate started to do it before bed. She said it really
helped her, so I decided to so my own research. I asked myself a few questions:

• What is meditation?
• How does it work?
• What is the history behind meditation? 

Because I had these questions, I went to google seeking answers. Before I do something,

such as meditation, yoga, or anything that is closely related to religion, I like to

research the history of meditation.

Meditation is closely tied to Hinduism and Buddhism, both if which I am not.

So to learn about the culture before attempting such a major part of their culture is

very important to me.

Because meditation is so old, no one really knows the in-depth history of the practice,

however it is known that however it was discovered, it must have been a “happy accident”.

Allowing our ancestors to relax after days of hunting and gathering. It is also possible that

the modern day idea of meditation can go back 5,000 years.

There are about 6 types of Meditation:

• Mindfull Meditation
• Spiritual Meditation
• Focused Meditation
• Movement Meditation
• Mantra Meditation
• Transcendental Meditation

The most common type of meditation and the most studied type is Transcendental Meditation .

Because this is this most common, this is the type I decided to do for a week.

For this week, I kept a journal and everyday I wrote down the day, time, anxiety level, and the music I listened to during the meditation. I also wrote a little about how I felt after the meditation.

Here are a few of the journals:

Day1

5:30 pm

Anxiety Level:10

Song Choice: Game of Thrones soundtrack

After taking twenty minutes to meditate today I felt more anxious than when I started. Clearing my mind was nearly impossible, so sitting with soft music playing only allowed for my mind to run

even more wild (making everything worse)

Day 3

5:30 pm

Anxiety level: 2

Song choice: Avatar: The Last Airbender soundtrack

Today was a little better, but I also wasn't extremely anxious. After the twenty minutes,I felt relaxed. But I can only imagine I would feel this relaxed if I had just lied down in bed, while being on my

phone. Is this not working? Am I doing something wrong?

Day 5

9:30 pm

Anxiety level: 3

Song(s):  LemonBoy//Cavetown

Seven Wonders//Fleetwood Mac

Landslide//Fleetwood Mac

Leather and Lace //Stevie Nicks

Edge of Seventeen//Stevie Nicks

Today I tried something a little different. The past days I've listened to strictly instrumental music, so while I was meditating, I wouldn't be distracted by the words within the songs. However, today, I decided I needed to try something different. Music with words. Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks (solo) and Cavetown all have really nice sounds that are really relaxing to me, so I figured I'd give this playlist a shot while trying to meditate. I got to say, I don't know if it will just Stevie Nicks vocal chords that sent me into a realm of relaxation but I felt amazing after this meditation. I felt really relaxed and how I imagine you are supposed to feel after meditation. First really awesome experience while meditating.

Day 7

Anxiety level: 5

10:30pm

Music: Cavetown//LemonBoy album.

Today was a little more rough. My roommates decided to be really loud and not allow me to have quite minute or two. I could even hear them over my earbuds. I really wish today ended on a higher not that I was a changed woman who loves meditation. But the truth  is I don't feel that much different after this week. I don't think my anxiety has gotten better or worse. I think I'll try for another week to see how that goes.

Overall, I don't think my anxiety or quality of life has changed. I had one really good meditation experience but only one out of seven, is it worth it?

Since meditation is simply just taking time for yourself, listening to music and attempting to relax I understand why people do it. However, based on this experience I don't know if this is for me.
I think I'm going to attempt another week on my own and see if over time meditation experience gets better. I also seem to need to get quieter roommates.

Until next time,

Jenna

Want to read more?

My experience with meditation is just one, there are many other people who have different more intense experiences than I did About Meditation , and WildMind Blog all offer different perspectives to meditation.

Question of the day: Have you tried meditation? What has been your experience?