(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) You're listening to Feathermane Soul Wisdom, a podcast
for those looking to rediscover their wild spirit
in spite of life's challenges.
If you're living with a chronic illness or
neurodivergent or consider yourself disabled, and you're looking
to connect with your own inner untamed essence,
then this show is for you.
Your host is Kit Kaelstoe, Wild Spirit Storyteller.
Thanks for listening and now onto the episode.
Meditation, Concentration, and the Theology Blog Meditation has
been my go-to in order to help
regulate my nervous system and calm my overactive,
neurodivergent mind.
I'm not talking about spending hours sitting in
lotus pose or repeating a mantra, but rather
a tool that I can return to, maybe
for 15 minutes at most, to bring me
back to center and to soothe my anxious
thoughts.
Many people think that meditation means keeping the
mind completely quiet, and that's just one type
of meditation.
Instead, I hear a lot of my neurodivergent
community talk about how they can't quiet their
mind, that they have to keep bringing it
back to the focus, whether it's on the
breath or just stillness, or anything else, really.
They think that they're doing meditation wrong when
they couldn't be further from the truth.
If you're bringing your mind back to your
practice, then not only are you doing meditation
correctly, but it's working.
If you're noticing when your mind wanders, I
like to think of it as a dog
off sniffing something when you're trying to go
for a walk, then bringing it back is
exactly what you're supposed to be doing.
A gentle, let's return to the practice, getting
back on track, and if you need to
do that a hundred times, then you have
correctly practiced meditation a hundred times.
In Pantajali's Eight Limbs of Yoga, dharana, concentration,
comes before dhyana, meditation.
Thus, returning your mind to its task is
simply the preparation for resuming your concentration and
meditating.
My preferred forms of meditation are a focus
on the breath, even if it sometimes means
thinking to myself, I am breathing in, followed
by I am breathing out.
I'll often pair this with the Reiki precepts,
which begin, just for today, I will not
worry, which is usually where I focus.
While yoga nidra isn't specifically meditation per se,
it is a form of it, and I'll
often bring my mind back when I'm going
through the sense rotation, focusing on various body
parts, because I'll finish my arm, get to
my shoulder, and then whoops, off goes the
mind.
I'll encourage you to explore various ways of
meditating and to think about the different ways
and how they work with your mind.
It's not just about being quiet or silencing
the thoughts.
It's about finding a focus and concentrating on
it, even if that's just for a minute
or five.
I'd love to talk meditation with you.
If you have a way that works for
you, or problems that you've experienced, let me
know in the comments below, or reach out.
You've been listening to the Feathermane Soul Wisdom
Podcast, hosted by Kit Kaelstow.
Learn more about Feathermane Soul at feathermanesoul.com.
As a wild spirit storyteller, Kit is passionate
about helping those who are neurodivergent, disabled, or
living with chronic illness rediscover their own inner
wild spirit.
Visit feathermanesoul.com to receive free gifts or
book a free call with Kit to discuss
how wild spirit storytelling can help you.
Music is Running With the Horses by Purple
Planet Music.
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Find out more by visiting feathermanesoul.com and
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Thank you.