Meditation: Calm, Daily Calm: Chitta Length: 10 minutes Where: Fryman Canyon, Los Angeles How It Felt: Peaceful and Beautiful Who Joined Me: Steve, Laura, and Amy
Our guests left to fly home this morning, but we had a wonderful day together Sunday. We even got to treat Amy, our sister Laura’s girlfriend, to her first ever In & Out! Big day.
We started the day with fresh smoothies made by Steve and an absolutely gorgeous hike. The weather was perfect- low 70’s and sunny. Not too hot with a slight breeze. I was so excited the whole group wanted to meditate with me! I love group meditations, where you connect with everyone’s energy. Feels amazing.
We went to the Tree People theatre space I’ve written about before and made ourselves comfortable on the bleacher type wooden seats. Birds were chirping, the sky was a stunning clear blue, and the air was fresh and clean. Heaven.
As I usually do when meditating with others besides my husband (who is always happy to join whatever meditation course I’m doing at the moment or need that day), I chose the Daily Calm session to keep things simple. We learned about “chitta” and how many Asian languages don’t distinguish between the heart and mind.
Happiness, we were told, is not something we can just logic our way into. I loved the example of a trip to Hawaii- you can plan it perfectly, with a vacation full of nature, beaches, sunshine, delicious food, and amazing experiences, but if you happen to be heartbroken, you will still find yourself miserable. To find balance and happiness, we have to listen to our heart, too. First, usually.
Often, what we think we need to be happy isn’t quite the thing at all.
How does it feel?
I loved everything about this moment, this hike, this sister time, this meditation- all of it. I love seeing my sister-in-law happy and spending time with someone who treats her like the amazing person she is. I wish that so much for all my siblings, but you can’t force someone to stop accepting poor treatment, so when it does happen, it fills your heart to the absolute brim.
Check your heart, and stop talking yourself into staying in situations that don’t make you happy. Stop taking responsibility for the happiness of other people. Please. Live the life you deserve to live. Don’t settle. Don’t accept abuse and constant criticism. I promise you, whatever you think, you 100% do not deserve to be treated that way.
I wish I could convince everyone I love (and everyone in general) of this! It’s so important! Stop accepting crappy treatment because you can think of reasons to keep taking it. There are always a million excuses, but, at the end of the day, you have this one life. This is it. It’s yours to protect! You’re worth it!
My Year of Meditation 