In silence lies the strength

Meditation is not “witchcraft”

Since this year I live and work mainly on the sunny island of Cyprus. This decision and especially its implementation was already not without … 😉

I know that we need a cool head and a warm heart to both recognize our path and then to walk it. My meditation has helped me with this time and time again. When I became uncertain or felt that I was falling out of trust, I went into connection – with my innermost being, with my spiritual team – with life itself. And I still do that today when I am at a point where mere reflection is not enough.

In this inner silence, I regain the overview: My constantly chattering head, which tends to know a lot better, then becomes calmer. And my intuition gets more space and is then also allowed to say something. So I can see what is pending and what is best for me. I know that our heads find and make the arguments for and against based on life experiences. This is good in principle because it can protect us from making a ‘mistake’ again. But it is not always helpful.

Let me put it this way: These experiences are embedded in thought and behavior patterns that are based on the past. So if I want to experience something new, something unknown, it can be that precisely these imprints prevent the step out of the known. But we can also find and strengthen the courage to leave the so-called comfort zone. The good news is: we can rewrite this old inner script. And that’s where my self-healing meditation helps.

Here I am meditating at one of my favorite places in my new adopted country Cyprus. I sit with open eyes in the inner silence, looking at the sea as well as the vastness of nature – without looking …

Liberated through connection!

But meditation is not only a versatile and helpful decision-making tool, it can be so much more. Connecting with the silence that resides in every human being is one of the most effective ways to step out of the many ‘I-must’s’, the hamster wheels, the (mostly self-generated) pressure as well as the haste of everyday life: In the silence lies the power!

It brings me to the essential. It connects me to “Mother Earth” and “Father Heaven. It makes me a part of the “big whole”. It puts things into perspective and puts them into the right light – what seemed big and unsolvable before, suddenly becomes manageable by concentrating on what really counts for me. Doubts, worries, insecurities dissolve. It makes me free, because I know that I am always and everywhere connected – with life, the light in me, the universe, all other entities. It brings me solutions, ideas. It gives me space and direction. Through connectedness frees!

I often think: If only people could feel what is inside them. And if they knew how to get in touch with this treasure. And if they would shape their lives out of this connectedness. Then the world would be such a more peaceful, fulfilling and healthy place. An offer that wants to serve the rediscovery of this connectedness with the cycles of nature are the moon meditations …

Silent contemplation of a candle is also a form of meditation. It is called contemplative meditation.

Meditation is not just sitting quietly

Many people think that meditation means sitting quietly on a meditation cushion – ideally completely absorbed and preferably still in a yoga position. This may look good, but sometimes it has exactly the opposite effect. Especially if you force yourself to do it because you think it’s the right thing to do.

A successful meditation practice is, like many other things, very individual. The good news is: everyone can meditate – and: There is a suitable method for everyone. In addition to silent sitting meditation, there is also dynamic meditation, such as walking or dancing or other moving meditations. You can also meditate contemplatively, for example by looking at an object. Or you can choose a mantra that helps you to concentrate and stay with the thing, with yourself. You can do the same with your own breath. Or you can let yourself be guided through a meditation, as I do in the self-healing meditation.

The goal is always to concentrate, to direct one’s attention, to practice mindfulness, to perceive and observe body and mind, to block out negative thoughts and emotions, to feel kindness, joy or (selfless) love, and so on. And in the end it is always about not being a victim of one’s own thoughts, but to calm them consciously, to gain distance and to come to the essence. The energy follows the attention!

“Typical Zen decoration” I thought with a twinkle in my eye when I was at an advanced training on Sufi mysticism at Benediktushof. The dance of the dervishes is a dynamic form of meditation.

Everyone can meditate

That you can really find and develop an individual form of meditation for every woman and man has been shown to me in working with a wide variety of people over the last few years. And then it is simply a matter of training. In the beginning it is really an achievement to get your mind calm for three to five minutes. And then you can gradually increase that – minute by minute until you can be in silence for maybe 30 to 60 minutes …

Because every day and every night are different, just like myself, I alternate the different meditation techniques: Sometimes I feel more like walking meditation, sometimes I like to sit in silence, then I prefer to sit outside in nature or by looking at a plant – depending on the mood of the day. I love the early morning hours, because then my mind is still relatively quiet and clear, because uninfluenced by activities, i.e. I come ‘in’ quite quickly. Sometimes, however, I also like the ‘after-work mood’ to shut down and come to myself and the essentials.

So also in meditation I stick to my intuition and do not follow any guidelines that want to force my freedom into a form. In this month I take up this especially today – in the wild times in which we live – important topic by means of different offers: May you find strength, peace and tranquility through the connection with your innermost essence. The best thing to do is to have a look at the menu item Meditation …

And here you can listen to some of my guided meditations to get to know them and maybe to start your meditation practice – enjoy!