TRIGGERED! When your brain won't let you meditate
Inner Work: A Spiritual Growth Podcast
Josephine Hardman
4.9 • 619 Ratings
🗓️ 26 December 2020
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
You finally find a quiet moment to meditate, you sit down, close your eyes, take a few deep breaths... and your brain is off to the races. The ego mind can often get in the way of your meditation practice by pulling you in many different directions.
In this mini-episode, I explore the most common interference patterns used by the brain and ego mind when you try to meditate. I also share a few journaling or reflection prompts so you can explore the idea of surrendering, letting go of control, and creating more space between you and your ego mind.
Additionally, I offer some alternative practices if sitting still in complete silence is too unbearable for you. Sometimes this can be a sign that you're tapping into "frozen" or unresolved trauma, so it's important to be mindful of what's happening in your body and take a more gradual approach to meditation.
If this episode is helpful for you, please consider leaving a rating or review on Apple Podcasts - or, better yet, telling a friend about the podcast!
Also, you can reach me at me@josephinehardman.com if you want to share your own triggers. I would love to address them in a future episode so we can work through them together.
To learn more about my healing work, please visit www.josephinehardman.com
Thank you for being here!
Editing & music by G. Demers
Inner Work 2020 All Rights Reserved.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Inner Work, a spiritual growth podcast. |
| 0:06.0 | I'm your host, Josephine Hartman. |
| 0:08.0 | I'm an intuitive healer and certified Akashik Records reader and teacher, |
| 0:13.0 | driven by the purpose of helping others become more powerful by reconnecting to the healer within. |
| 0:19.0 | To explore my work or connect with me, you can visit josephinehardman.com. |
| 0:24.9 | If you feel called to support the podcast, please leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. |
| 0:30.6 | I so appreciate your presence here, and I'm honored to serve as a guide or companion on your path for a little while. Now on to the episode. |
| 0:44.2 | If you're human, which I suspect you are, you've probably had the experience of your brain, |
| 0:50.5 | what we might also call your ego mind, getting in your way when you're trying to sit still and meditate. |
| 0:57.6 | This is especially true if you're used to a fast-paced lifestyle or to taking in lots of sensory input all day throughout the day. |
| 1:06.9 | It can be so challenging to shift from that constant stimulation and movement and action to total stillness and silence. |
| 1:15.6 | And I won't even go into how Western culture, which is the dominant culture that I belong to, |
| 1:21.6 | prioritizes speed and so-called productivity and multitasking over reflection, solitude, and very slowly doing one thing |
| 1:31.9 | at a time. You must have had the experience at some point of sitting down on your meditation |
| 1:38.1 | cushion or chair or wherever and closing your eyes, trying to get centered, taking a few deep breaths, and your brain is jumping around, moving in all sorts of directions. |
| 1:51.0 | This can of course feel frustrating, irritating, it can make you feel hopeless about your practice, and it can really interfere with your intention to be still and to meditate. |
| 2:05.1 | So first let me say I don't believe that completely silent and still meditation is the only way |
| 2:13.1 | to meditate or to connect to something bigger than yourself. Of course, you can use active meditation, |
| 2:20.1 | walking meditation, guided meditations, mindfulness. There are many different approaches and types |
| 2:26.6 | of meditation that might be better suited for you than just trying to sit there in utter silence. |
| 2:37.7 | However, of course, being able to sit with only yourself in a quiet room without restlessness, without irritation, without distraction, |
| 2:44.5 | that is definitely a worthy goal. So let's run through the primary ways in which your brain might interfere with your meditation |
... |
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