Relentless: How I Became A Guru

*I hope my title filled with sarcasm drew you in! Carry on. 

Clear as day, I can visualize 22 years ago trying to meditate for the first time (strangely enough- in an indoor jacuzzi). I know, that’s weird. Let me explain. My boyfriend at the time (now my husband Javi) had come back from his meditation group meeting. Yeah, that was a group of people who get together to meditate. Insert eye rolling laughing emoji here.

I struggled. This “meditation” lasted about 19 minutes longer than I had hoped. I kept opening my eyes to see if Javi was as bored as I was. Nope. He was focused. Silent and with a calm energy of contentment.

Over the course of the next several years, I attempted meditating many more times. (Never with any consistency.) I even had the opportunity to meditate with the wonderful people of the Deepok Chopra center in San Diego, California. Each time, I felt more and more like a failure with an inability to be enlightened or even momentarily silenced during the meditation.

Fast forward more than a decade. Now, imagine my own surprise when last year around this time, I decided to wake up early the following morning and meditate! In that same moment, I made a commitment to myself to meditate for five minutes, three times per week. I figured even if I was bored out of my mind or annoyed with the chatter in my head, surely I could withstand five minutes. Plus so many inspirational books I had been reading lately emphasized the benefits of meditation! That night I confronted my fear of failing. I acknowledged my meditation the next day did not need to be perfect.

Here’s where nothing AND everything changed. Nearly a year later, I still meditate. I now enjoy the consistency and self-discipline of the follow through. In fact, each week I wake up early and meditate four to five times per week ranging from five minutes to most often fifteen minutes at a time. Most of the time my mind gets lost in thought until I redirect it back to breathing. Sometimes, I have moments of pure silence. I would never have reach moments of “enlightenment” without consistency and an acceptance of imperfection.

Recently during meditation, an important reminder appeared in my mind. So often we sabotage ourselves. We simply stop doing what will, given some time and consistency, be successful. If we desire to be well, exercise and a healthy diet is vital. Consistency is the key. Don’t give up if you “fail”. Be relentless in your pursuit of healthy, consistent habits.