Since as early back as I can remember, I have had a storm brewing inside of me that was just too big to control.

It ventured outside of my soul, which later led to total destruction. This wasn’t the normal “I am having a bad day”, “It will pass”, or anything like our typical ebbs and flows.

This was a tsunami.

The adrenaline that ran through me was like a train that lost its breaks. Over time, I searched for ways to ease some of this uncontrollable feeling of expanding to the point of explosion.

I used various outlets, but they were only temporary fixes. Not to mention, they were not the best outlets in the situation I was in. All I did was dig myself deeper into a darker abyss.

I was completely oblivious to the many good things and beautiful things happening in my life. I was blinded in that sense. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I was introduced to meditation.

Now, my first impression of meditation and yoga was that it was a joke. I laughed at my friends who mentioned it because I found it to be ridiculous. I thought they were crazy—not literally but just a bit off. I don’t come from that type of background.

Sitting around and chanting was not a part of my mindset. My options were to either get over my issues or scream and yell and throw things.

As an adult, it becomes tiresome to respond to things in such a manner. I decided to open myself to new and innovative techniques. Something had to change because what I was doing made no difference regardless of how good life was.

I decided to take up yoga and research meditation. I read articles, participated in free conferences, and talked to friends about it. Meditation became more and more attractive to me in a very short period of time.

All those years I laughed at people and now here I am doing it myself.

I joined my first free 21day meditation challenge. The first day I think I almost cried. It was one of the most amazing feelings and experiences I have ever had in my life. That was enough for me.

I was addicted to it and committed to practicing meditation on a regular basis. At first, I was not very focused, but as time went on and I delved into that lifestyle, I began to see amazing changes in not only myself, but in my life.

It was as if all my anger, resentment, and anything negative I held inside of me just flowed out as if a dam wall broke down releasing raging waters. I was thinking clearly, smiling more, and laughing more. I was focused and determined. I was opening my heart and loving more. Incredible new things were coming into my life. The list goes on and on.

I never realized exactly how closed off and shut down I actually was. I was holding myself back for years and didn’t even know it. I felt like I had this whole new life to live—and indeed I did. My journey took a sharp turn and it was definitely one for the better.

If anybody doubts meditation, I am here to tell you that we must be open to it. Please be open to it. A simple task can do such wonders—it did for me. I was trapped inside of myself until I did my first meditation practice.

I now incorporate meditation into my life daily, along with every free meditation challenge I can participate in from around the world.

It isn’t always about the common forms of therapy we utilize in our lives that make the difference. Rather, it is thinking outside of ourselves and the box. It was the best decision I ever made.

What I walked away with after my first meditation experience is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. It is about being alone, quiet, and one with ourselves. It is about letting our minds, bodies, and souls flow together, setting our minds free.

Before meditation and yoga, my mind was constantly cluttered and stressed. Now all it takes is five minutes out of my day to change the negative into a positive. It is not something I have to do for hours, but it is something I do every day. It is a natural sedative to the beauty of myself, nature, and life.

The life I am living now is filled with an abundance of growth, strength, power, love, and hope that I forgot existed for awhile. It is not about the people around me anymore because I realize that it all starts from within before it can be given back.

What once was a consistently raging storm is now calm waters with an occasional ripple that is easily fixed when I concentrate on what I need to do through my meditation experience for that day.

Whatever I need to fix, change, or become is what I pull from and manifest.

Life is amazing and beautiful, but it can also be ugly. There are ways to cope with this that I had never imagined possible. We become so accustomed to conforming to society that we almost miss out on the countless possibilities.

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Editorial Assistant: Karissa Kneeland / Editor: Catherine Monkman

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