Meditation Experiences
To healthcare workers in COVID 19…
This COVID 19 pandemic crisis has brought the world many tragedies. Many people have died unexpectedly, including the young and including many healthcare workers who have been in the frontline trying to save lives. We all are being hit hard. Some of us still in the midst of it, with adrenaline rushing no doubt, barely having time to reflect on one’s self. Nobody knows what to expect with this new disease that has spread so fast worldwide and is causing such horrible deaths to our patients. As healthcare providers, I am sure it is hitting us even harder. We studied and trained in our fields for years in order to save people’s lives. And this disease is showing us how little we can do to stop it. It is a war against nature.
Still we have many who are brave, many who are sacrificing, and many who are working hard to find a way to fight this. During this difficult time, I urge all of you to also look within yourselves and meditate. Throwing away our minds full of fear, the unknown, the knowledge that we learned in the past that prevents us from seeing the now, all the anxiety and depression, the trauma, etc. By letting go of these minds that are hindering us, we can be better healthcare providers for our patients and continue to move on without ourselves breaking down first.
We can stay strong for our patients and their families and continue to be compassionate, while having clarity in our minds to make better judgment calls and decisions during this crisis. As a physician who does this meditation method I can truly say that without this method of throwing away my thoughts, living through this pandemic would have left me in a panic and feeling depressed to see all these patients dying tragically and seeing even colleagues sacrificing their own lives. Though I still cry from sadness, by throwing away my negative thoughts and filling my mind with the universe mind, which is always positive and unchanging, I can continue to quickly move on full of energy and positivity and think clearly to make better decisions for my patients and my staff. I am full of gratitude to my patients and fellow healthcare workers. I am hopeful that through this crisis, people will begin to look within their minds, see how much stress has been accumulated, and decide to throw those stressful thoughts away. Let’s start by changing myself first and be the leaders to guide the communities to change for the better! Let’s meditate together! Be safe, and thank you everyone!
Jina Kim, MD / Suwanee Meditation, GA, USA
My heart is filled with joy and gratitude!
My name is Evan and I am a musician who plays mostly jazz. I play the saxophone, flute, clarinet and piano.
When I first started, my goal was simply to get over a “dark period” that I was going through where I couldn’t feel any happiness. It really felt like there was a black cloud over me and I just couldn’t get out of that mindset no matter what I tried to do that had always seemed to work before.
My mentality changed relatively quickly and the clouds moved away bringing sunshine and smiles. There was a surprise when this happened. Playing music became much easier. I was able to change and grow musically and as a result I am a better musician now.
After my very first meditation session I went directly to a performance. I could tell that something in my mind was different that night. I was able to play easier, freer, and without so many thoughts running around simultaneously as I played. It was a slight difference but it was very noticeable for me. I actually HAD FUN.
I continued on month after month with the goal of wanting to grow as a person, and clear out the mental blocks, and issues that I had been holding onto my whole life. This allowed me to just free up everything in my mind. So as I went on playing show after show, I could feel the effects.
That’s the place that I find myself in every day. It is so gratifying and enjoyable. My saxophone seems to be playing by itself sometimes. I can actually enjoy my sound and musical ideas as they are coming out of the horn. I can simultaneously listen to myself play. Before I meditated I was stuck in a self-deprecating and analysis of my playing and constantly chastising myself. But it changed gradually to enjoyment.
Now I feel grateful to the Universe for putting me into a position to play music and make people happy. My heart is filled with joy and gratitude while I am playing.
Musicians are very sensitive to vibes, feelings, and our struggle to tap into our creativity. We need to be free and clear when we pick up our instrument. It is too difficult to play and perform when we have anxiety, depression, fear, what have you.
This meditation allows us to be a better creator, performer, composer, etc. Above all it allows us to be a better person for the world.
Evan Schwam / Jackson Heights Meditation, NY, USA
The difference in my life …
can be described with one word: Gratitude.
I don’t have any dramatic life story to tell. From the outside, my life looks quite ordinary. I grew up in a safe environment in a suburb in the outskirts of Stockholm. I had friends, a Nintendo video game and everything a kid could wish for. My family was not religious and relatively open-minded, so I was free to make my own life decisions. I graduated from university and got a job at an IT company and thought I would be happy but, in my mind, I was never truly happy. Every time I achieved something that I wanted, I just wanted something else, something more. I was constantly stuck in my thoughts with my wandering mind. I was always wondering, stuck in my own thoughts, asking myself why I had so many thoughts in my head. I tried so many different things to find an answer but everything I tried only gave me a temporary release.
Though very quickly I realized by doing this meditation that this thinking was about myself and the reason that I think so much and why I was so stressed was because I was caring only about myself. For me, I used to carry things that were unnecessary. I knew that ruminations were unnecessary and bad for me but I didn’t want to nor know how to let go. However, through this meditation method I learnt how to truly let go of the worries and thoughts and to me that is true relief.
Now, there is a huge difference between the me before and the me now. Before, I needed so many things in life to be happy. I needed my hobby and I needed to have certain people in my life. I thought I needed a lot of things. Now I have no worries about the future so with this mind I can just live and the universe will take care of things for me. Now I have also learned that when I sincerely care about others more than myself my stress fades away and I now know how to truly contribute to the world. The difference between my life before and after the meditation can be described with one word: Gratitude.
I feel so much gratitude for this meditation, for being able to let go, and for being able to confirm with my mind that I am fundamentally one with everything around me.
Joakim H. / New Grad / Stockholm, Sweden