What Did Meditation Do To Me?

I had never experienced this.

A few years ago, I had no experience with meditation.

Like many others, I assumed it was just sitting and closing your eyes.

Perhaps the occasional chanting. It seemed like a very relaxing and pleasant experience.

I was game to try it out. Why not? I signed up for some classes at a nearby studio. A strange experience occurred to me after a few sessions.

One day, I woke up feeling energetic and refreshed. I got up and went through my get-ready routine for work.

I got changed, put on my makeup, packed my bags. Even my lunch was ready to go.

I headed downstairs.

My husband was sitting on the sofa watching tv. I was thoroughly confused. I woke up quite early for work, around 6:00 am.

How can my husband be up already? What in the world was he watching so early in the morning?

He asked me what I was doing. He looked just as confused as I did.

I told him I was going to work. And he said, “at 11:00 pm”?

I was perplexed. Then, I looked at the time.

Sure enough, it was 11:00 pm! It was not the start of a new day! It was late at night!

I had no idea what was happening. Somehow, I felt that I had slept through the whole night and was ready for work. I felt great, so rested.

I went back to bed. Could it be that the meditation sessions were affecting my mental state? I discussed this situation with my instructor.

Maybe I had a restful sleep. After meditating, my brain was likely in a more relaxed state. It allowed me to achieve deeper sleep at a faster pace.

A few hours of sleep already felt like 8 hours to me!

It was incredible, something that had never happened before. I had always started my mornings feeling groggy and tired.

My first connection with meditation started because I began practicing yoga. I was in a terrible place a few years ago.

I was desperate to do something.

Anything to help me break out of the rut. I landed on yoga and jumped right in. At my yoga studio, meditation classes were also available.

I thought, heck, why not? I was already there for the yoga classes.

At this point, I was willing to do anything to unload my brutal mental burdens. There is no harm in trying a few meditation sessions too.

The first meditation class made me feel strange. The sessions were small, consisting of about four people, not including the instructor.

She provided us with some notes, explained a little about the practice. She said it was alright to let the thoughts in.

Trying to push against it would create stress. Let it happen. Notice the thoughts and let them pass.

Instead of struggling to calm your mind, let your thoughts float by. It is like an out-of-body experience, where you are standing outside your body.

You are only observing everything that is happening. Stop pushing or struggling against anything. Of course, it was easier said than done.

I fought against any thoughts at first.

But I tried my best to breathe and focus on the candle flame in front of me.

As expected, the experience felt better the more I meditated. I began to feel like it was a different state of consciousness.

It is where you are falling asleep, but not falling asleep. It is the state where you are so close to drifting off into dreamland.

The feeling was blissful and relaxing. I didn’t want to leave. When the instructor hit her bell to return to the present, I jumped.

I was in a state of bliss. The sudden noise startled me.

I never felt so relaxed.

I will never know what happened that night. I feel like meditation brought about subtle changes in my mental health.

I believe the effect that it had on me was very positive.

Although I have finished the meditation sessions, I still try to meditate every day. I also try to encourage others to adopt this into their daily routine.

To inspire others, I tell everyone this story about meditation. I hope it is working!

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