Meditation: Chopra, Creating Abundance: Living Luxury Length: 15 minutes Where: Hahamongna Watershed Park, Los Angeles How It Felt: Peaceful Who Joined Me: Steve
Day 20 Centering Thought: “Today I treat myself to moments of luxury.”
Today we went on a little adventure out near Pasadena, as we had to drop some props off to someone for our show this week. We tracked down a spot with good hiking trails that we’ve never tried before, then went and soaked up all that delicious fresh air.
Sometimes I feel like we are living in a post-apocalyptic world, and the air is unbreathable, so we all have to wear masks. It can get suffocating (but not complaining- mask up, people!) It’s nice anytime you can get outside with almost no one around and let the air rush into your lungs, the sunshine soak into your skin.
It definitely felt on theme for today’s meditation: totally luxurious.
There are so many places to get outside and enjoy nature in Los Angeles, and there is no time better than now to explore them!
After about an hour, we found a cool, sprawling tree that basically invited us to climb up and sit in it. From there, we meditated.
The session talked about little moments of luxury in our lives being acts of self-love. Deepak explained that “luxury” doesn’t have to mean “expensive.” It can be a delicious piece of chocolate, spending an extra hour in bed in the morning, just dreaming, taking a long walk through a beautiful forest, a bubble bath, a drop of oil on your pillow at night- anything at all that feels luxurious to you.
Steve and I both discussed our meditation after, and agreed that we loved it. Not only was it relaxing, like a brain massage, to meditate in nature, but we loved the reminder to indulge in little moments for ourselves, to treat ourselves the way we deserve to be treated. So often we take pride in being stressed out (look how much I’m doing!), exhausted (look how hard I’m working!), or sacrificial (look how little I do for myself!) There is such beauty in being the one to take care of YOU, though, and not letting yourself burn out or be unhappy just to prove something.
I thought about the parts of my life that I allow myself some extra luxury. I love slow morning wake-ups, and indulge in them when I can. I love food (two decades of an eating disorder will make you really appreciate the taste of food, let me tell you), and I will splurge on delicious food when I can, making sure to taste every bite. I love little rituals like putting a few drops of essential oils onto my sheets or into a hot bath, and massages, during normal times, are feel good treats I try to budget for regularly.
I think a lot of living luxuriously is just slowing down and noticing. You can shove a piece of chocolate in your mouth (highly recommended when needing comfort food- zero judgments here!), or you can slow down and enjoy it. You can notice traffic, or take advantage of a slower pace to enjoy a sunset. You can let your mind race about work and family and everything you’re stressed about during a massage, or take deep breaths and really feel every relaxing stroke.
I think regular meditation is truly training my mind to slow down and notice things more. I feel clearer, like I have more hours in the day. I’m still finding balance in a lot of areas (aren’t we always?), but I feel a lot closer to some type of consistency in my life, as I’ve shared before. I’m taking time to be more grateful, feeling calmer and more capable of handling curveballs, and enjoying myself more.
I truly haven’t found one negative thing about meditating daily. I’m not sure I will! Just the physical benefits of combating stress, and therefore inflammation in the body- that alone is worth this experiment, worth the effort. But I haven’t had a really bad manic or depressive episode since I started daily meditations, and while it isn’t perfect, and I know that the change can be attributed to factors outside of this practice as well, I know it isn’t making me worse!
Grateful for the opportunity to make meditation a real habit during this slower living pace we’ve been forced to find in the midst of this pandemic.
Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and possibly long weekend! We truly did here.
Now, wish me luck- it’s the week the play I’m directing goes up! Rehearsals are going to be serious this week! So excited!
My Year of Meditation 