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(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) You're listening to Feathermane Soul Wisdom, a podcast

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for those looking to rediscover their wild spirit

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in spite of life's challenges.

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If you're living with a chronic illness or

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neurodivergent or consider yourself disabled, and you're looking

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to connect with your own inner untamed essence,

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then this show is for you.

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Your host is Kit Kaelstoe, Wild Spirit Storyteller.

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Thanks for listening and now onto the episode.

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Meditation, Concentration, and the Theology Blog Meditation has

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been my go-to in order to help

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regulate my nervous system and calm my overactive,

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neurodivergent mind.

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I'm not talking about spending hours sitting in

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lotus pose or repeating a mantra, but rather

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a tool that I can return to, maybe

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for 15 minutes at most, to bring me

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back to center and to soothe my anxious

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thoughts.

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Many people think that meditation means keeping the

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mind completely quiet, and that's just one type

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of meditation.

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Instead, I hear a lot of my neurodivergent

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community talk about how they can't quiet their

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mind, that they have to keep bringing it

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back to the focus, whether it's on the

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breath or just stillness, or anything else, really.

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They think that they're doing meditation wrong when

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they couldn't be further from the truth.

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If you're bringing your mind back to your

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practice, then not only are you doing meditation

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correctly, but it's working.

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If you're noticing when your mind wanders, I

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like to think of it as a dog

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off sniffing something when you're trying to go

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for a walk, then bringing it back is

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exactly what you're supposed to be doing.

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A gentle, let's return to the practice, getting

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back on track, and if you need to

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do that a hundred times, then you have

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correctly practiced meditation a hundred times.

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In Pantajali's Eight Limbs of Yoga, dharana, concentration,

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comes before dhyana, meditation.

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Thus, returning your mind to its task is

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simply the preparation for resuming your concentration and

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meditating.

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My preferred forms of meditation are a focus

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on the breath, even if it sometimes means

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thinking to myself, I am breathing in, followed

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by I am breathing out.

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I'll often pair this with the Reiki precepts,

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which begin, just for today, I will not

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worry, which is usually where I focus.

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While yoga nidra isn't specifically meditation per se,

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it is a form of it, and I'll

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often bring my mind back when I'm going

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through the sense rotation, focusing on various body

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parts, because I'll finish my arm, get to

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my shoulder, and then whoops, off goes the

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mind.

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I'll encourage you to explore various ways of

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meditating and to think about the different ways

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and how they work with your mind.

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It's not just about being quiet or silencing

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the thoughts.

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It's about finding a focus and concentrating on

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it, even if that's just for a minute

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or five.

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I'd love to talk meditation with you.

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If you have a way that works for

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you, or problems that you've experienced, let me

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know in the comments below, or reach out.

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You've been listening to the Feathermane Soul Wisdom

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Podcast, hosted by Kit Kaelstow.

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Learn more about Feathermane Soul at feathermanesoul.com.

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As a wild spirit storyteller, Kit is passionate

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about helping those who are neurodivergent, disabled, or

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living with chronic illness rediscover their own inner

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wild spirit.

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Visit feathermanesoul.com to receive free gifts or

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book a free call with Kit to discuss

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how wild spirit storytelling can help you.

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Music is Running With the Horses by Purple

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Planet Music.

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This podcast is hosted on the MuseTarmer Media

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Network.

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Find out more by visiting feathermanesoul.com and

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following the links to the MuseTarmer Network.

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Please don't forget to like, subscribe, or follow

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wherever you're hearing my voice, or tell a

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friend who may be interested.

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Thank you.