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Tuesday 18 March 2014

Morning Showers As A Means Of Meditation


The modern world and digital era, although full of benefits, also brings a negative impact to us. It's always the lack of time, the fast-paced life, the technology that always connects us to something, the distractions that keeps us from focusing.
It's hard to be alone with yourself. We hardly even have time to look at ourselves in the mirror, let alone focus on our soles.
Meditation is something now spoken of as if a term for a past time – a forgotten practice, replaced by status updates, apps, chats and TV channels. We can't seem to help our bodies, let alone our souls.
For the past couple of years, many people have told me I take too much time in the shower, as I generally take at least thirty minutes for the daily wash.


Obviously, It's not taking me forty minutes to wash. What I'm doing is a form of mediation. Now, I'm not really into things like finding my inner-self, releasing my spirit or discovering the deeper level of my consciousness.
Audrey is a practical girl. I focus on reality and how to tackle what comes next, but I do tend to tire myself and overcrowd my mind with questions and information. Eventually, I get so bogged down my brain freezes and I can't even take a definite decision on what I have to do.
I found out the shower to be the perfect place to release all of this stress and refresh my mind. It's the only place, you're completely free of any connection – be it real or digital. You're alone with yourself and it only seems reasonable to use this time to yourself as well.
What I do is the following:
I get inside and turn on the shower. Then I go under the stream and spend around five minutes to slowly raise the temperature, allowing my body to get comfortable with the hot water.
Then I do all the regular procedures – brush the teeth, take care of my skin and so on and so on.
Afterwards I just stand still into the water, with my eyes closed and slowly turn and bend to allow the stream to hit different parts of my body. While doing so, I think about everything that I want to shake off - disappointments, frustrations, deadlines, relationships. I go through all those past arguments that went terribly wrong and correct them, while playing both roles. I go back to past mistakes I've made and resent the consequences that have happened, while identifying what the right choice has been.
When I've done that up to the point I feel it's enough, I stop and get to the washing part. Just as I go back into the stream of water and feel the soapy foam flow away from me, taking all the dirt and sweat with it, I also flush along all those thoughts I've went through in the past minutes.
While cleansing my body, I also cleanse my mind of everything bad and counter-productive that has accumulated from the past day.
The second I step outside the bathroom, I feel like a new person – somebody ready and able to hold their own in this world, while still keeping their heart and will in the right place.

Now, I don't imagine this will help everybody, as each and everyone is different. But, I tend to think at least a small portion of you can find at least some peace of mind. If you feel like you need a change in your life, try it. It wont cost you anything, except a few more minutes under the shower. If you want more quick and easy tips towards self-improvement, you can also check this article, I wrote on how to improve yourself, while improving your home. 

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