Serenity Walks

Jun 18

My relationship with meditation wasn’t a pleasing one. It started when I was a kid, in a religion class at school. We, students, were told to sit on the floor, closed our eyes, and put our focus on their breathing. Count 'One' when inhaling and 'Two' when exhaling, then repeat the process

We didn’t know why we needed to do that. What’s the point of meditation? Why it’s important, or what are its benefits? Nothing at all. The only thing the teacher told us was it was a religious ritual. I pretended to follow along so I didn’t get scolded by the teacher.

The bigger problem was how challenging it was to keep staying awake while closing your eyes after lunch. I didn’t even mention how sitting on the floor made my leg goes numb every single time.

Needless to say, I didn’t find meditation helpful at all. But throughout my journey to learn more about myself, I stumbled upon the book called “Think Like a Monk” written by Jay Shetty. It transformed my belief and educated me on how meditation worked.

The means to be present

In his book, Jay explained the process of meditation as an action to stay with our inner self, being aware of thoughts inside our mind. To see it and let it comes and goes without involving ourselves with them.

People who are willing to go deeper can reflect on the thoughts they’re having. Why do I think about it? Where does this belief come from? The key is to focus on one thing at a time and try to look at it from every angle possible.

His approach to meditation makes much more sense than what I knew, so I decided to give it a try. To my surprise, it worked much better. The benefits were almost instant too. It helped me tune in before deep working and helped me wind down before going to sleep.

Apart from what I experienced, Meditation and self-awareness provide many benefits, such as

Reduce stress *1
Improve depression and reduce negative thoughts. *2
Increase positivity, empathy, and compassionate behavior toward others. *3
Develop mental awareness and help manage triggers for unwanted impulses. *4

My way of meditation.

Unfortunately, the habit didn’t stick. I felt that it was too demanding for me to have my environment quiet every time to do it, especially when my house was always loud. A few months later, I dropped it altogether.

Instead, I picked up daily walking as an alternative solution to meditation.

I always enjoy walking as it gives me a sense of freedom when I go outside. The feeling of the wind running through my face and the vast blue sky is the perfect combination to help me enjoy the moment.

The best part for me about walking is that I get to take a peaceful, serene break from all the chaotic life throwing at me.

My walking ritual

When I go for a walk, I rarely look at my phone. Instead, I either put on my earphones and listen to some music or completely go offline. I also take a water bottle since I tend to walk for at least an hour and want to make sure I’m well-hydrated.

I notice that when I walk, especially outdoors, I tend to go inside and reflect on what happened in my life. Sometimes, it was my struggle in my personal life and other times about my business concerns. I like to ask myself reflective questions like

why did I feel stressed at particular moments?
What was I really looking for at that time?
Am I on the right path in life?

That being said, sometimes, I noticed myself talking out loud to myself (people probably looked at me, but I was too concentrated on the conversation; I didn’t even notice them.) I find that saying things out loud just to listen in audio form and not the voice in my head can help me see situations much clearer.

If you’re interested, you can start with small steps. Find (or make) ten minutes of your personal time, putting on shoes and going for a quick stroll. I’d recommend doing it early in the morning or later in the evening since it’ll give a better relaxing atmosphere. During your walk, pick one thing that you want to think about and focus on it.

Here's a quick tip, do take your phone with you. Whenever you have an insight or idea, type it down on your note apps so you don’t have to worry about forgetting about them. Let your brain do all the thinking, and let technology be your trustworthy storage.

Find what serves you

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., Center for Mindfulness at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, also recommends exploring many forms of meditation to determine which form suit for our lifestyle.

While the benefit of meditation is huge, it’s important for you to explore which method is best for you. Meditation comes in many forms. For some of you, it comes in the form of doing dishes, doing Yoga, or lying down on the floor.

For me, it comes as a form of walking. Also, note that what I do isn’t what the internet calls “Mindful Walking.” I don’t walk in a laser-focused mental state. I find that it is also too demanding for me to make it a habit. How I walk is just my way of relaxing and reflecting on life.

Meditation's purpose is to help us become self-aware of our feelings and thoughts. It doesn’t matter how you’d do it. As long as you remain focused and be able to reflect on your life, that’s a form of meditation.