“Monday! His Day 1 at school.”
“Tuesday! He has an upset stomach.”
“Wednesday! He had a sleepless night due to a terrible nightmare.”
“Thursday! He has immense pain in the left thigh due to vaccination.”
“Friday! He has fever!”
“Saturday! Oh no! It’s ‘that’ time of the month for me!”
“Sunday! Whoosh!”
I bet you won’t disagree if I say that motherhood gets tiring and stressful at times, for weeks at a stretch sometimes! All mothers, at such times, feel neglected, exhausted, un-loved, irritated, fussed and annoyed.
Such stressful times strike a mom’s life quite frequently and there are, truly speaking, not many ways to deal with it. With very few effective options available in the market, ‘Meditation‘ is one.
Types of Meditation
There are various types of meditation like close eyed meditation, open eyed meditation, mindfulness meditation,meditation for spiritual progress etc.
I am a spiritual meditation practitioner of the ‘Sahaj Marg‘ (the natural path) system since the past 10 years. I am a member of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission and I practice meditation on divine light in the heart using transmission (pranahuti).
The benefits of this type of meditation are manifold and I thought of sharing it with all mothers here, as motherhood can get very demanding at times.
10 Benefits of Spiritual Meditation for Mothers
Since I started practicing meditation, I have been benefiting from it on a regular basis. Though my system of meditation is for spiritual progress, it also helps me deal with motherhood with a calm head and here’s how it benefits me as a mother:
When I meditate every morning, I feel that the peace of mind that I miss through out the day (due to a hectic schedule or perhaps due to the demands of my child)
comes running to me during meditation and I feel immense peace and calmness, which is enough to keep me going through out the day.-
Benefit: Provides the much needed peace of mind
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- Usually a mother feels that her child is the best, the cutest, the sweetest, the most intelligent, the healthiest and what not. But, meditation creates in you sympathy and pity for the misfortune and sufferings of others. Children who are physically challenged can never get ignored by a mom who practices meditation. I always get a soft corner and warmth for such kids and always feel like they need to be understood and cared for better.
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Benefit: Makes you a compassionate being.
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Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by motherhood and feel that it has such a strong emotional effect on me, that I tend to forget and neglect everything else around me. It is in such times that meditation reminds me of the real goal of my life – ‘Oneness with the Ultimate’ – and gets me back on track.
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Benefit: Reminds you of your real purpose in life
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As a mom, on many occasions I feel that I have lost the game and haven’t been a good mother or a superwoman. Especially in instances when I’m not able to prevent my pre-schooler from common cold or not able to bring him up as a veggie lover or unable to teach him to not shout to get something done! Though these are small instances, they do impact me heavily and also negatively at times, but then, the strength gained from meditation comes to my rescue and I get down to trusting myself, having faith in myself and feel better sooner.
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Benefit: Increases self-confidence
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What will happen when my pre-schooler steps into the outside world? Will he be able to face the competition? Will he grow up to be a family person or just another wayward young boy? Such questions pop up in my mind repeatedly but get answered immediately. Thanks to the attitude that spiritual meditation has developed in me. It brings me back to the ‘now’ of life, rather than taking me to the ‘will be’.-
Benefit: Keeps you focused on the present moment.
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All moms have kids, husband, in laws, other members of the family, household chores and a career to look after – so do I. It feels like we are a juggler and the number of balls being juggled by us are swelling up to infinity as each day passes. In such tiresome and maddening times, the sanity that spiritual meditation gives me is ‘the’ saviour! I try my best and ‘almost’ succeed at juggling all the balls in my hand and sometimes even get the courage to add one more!
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Benefit: Helps you to synchronize different aspects of life – smoothly.
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After practicing spiritual meditation as a mother, my attitude towards life is a completely different one. I love to see the beauty in every person – not physically, but the beauty in the heart of that person – be it a child or a mother or a father.
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Benefit: Gives a fresh and positive attitude towards life
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He spills water on my laptop, he slaps me when I ask him to eat spinach, he sprays water on the bathroom roof-walls-geyser using the health faucet, he tears apart Rs. 1000 notes – but, I don’t say a word. I don’t get angered by this behavior of his. I don’t scold him till I feel that he has done a mistake deliberately. I don’t shout at him either. Yes, meditation does calm you down and make you a more sensible person.
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Benefit: Helps you deal with your anger
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When he throws tantrums, when he cries on being sent to school, when he runs around when left free in the park, when he tries to catch insects by his own hands, when he finds happiness in wasting water – all I do is – understand. Understand that this is his time of life, this is his childhood and this is his happiness and memories in-the-making. I only understand him lovingly and let go off a lot- very often.
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Benefit: Helps develop a better understanding of others – especially your children.
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When I have to churn out time for meditation every morning, automatically all things fall in place and a regularized routine gets formed which also helps me bring up my child in a systematic routine and manner, which is very important for a growing child.
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Benefit: Disciplines you.
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Listed above are only the ‘spiritual’ benefits of meditation for ‘mothers’. Apart from spiritual, there are many other physical and emotional benefits too which you realize as you get going on the journey.
If you wish to start meditation
If you wish to start spiritual meditation using the technique that I follow, then here’s what you need to do:
1. Start by practicing heartfulness guided relaxation using this YouTube video link.
https://youtu.be/HuiV395xI4I
2. Meditate according to the instructions given in this picture:
Please note that anyone above the age of 15 years can take up this session independently on their own till the 25th Dec ’15 only. Post that, you can drop me a line and I’ll help you with the way forward.
Benefits of Spiritual Meditation are many and are best summed up by this quote:
Prayer is talking to God, but meditation is listening to Him.