Much less often does it so happen that you stumble across something you had no idea you needed, something that is about to ameliorate every aspect in your life in the purest of forms. 'Oprah & Deepak 21-day Meditation Experience' is the miracle that found me as much as I found it. Before I began with it, I was mentally motivated to keep pushing myself to finish the entire challenge by waking up 30min earlier every day for the next 21 days. "I HAVE to complete this challenge, by any means!", I kept saying to myself. As it turns out, after the 'Day 1' meditation, I never needed to repeat that statement ever again. After each 20-minute morning meditation session, answers to questions I never knew I had came to me, I felt peaceful, liberated and outright happy, so much so that I looked forward to the day ahead and what the session next day would unfold.
'Oprah & Deepak 21-day Meditation Experience' is a 21-day meditation challenge presented by Chopra Meditation Centre. Members who sign up for it can listen to the audio streaming online and get the free app for their smartphones. Each of the daily meditation session is introduced by Oprah Winfrey, a staunch believer in the power of meditation. The sessions are guided by Deepak Chopra MD, who is ranked #17 for influential thinking in the world and #1 in Medicine by a global internet survey conducted by The World Post and The Huffington Post.
If you are a newbie, these guided meditation sessions will be perfect for you to begin with. I say this with experience, as a beginner, it can be quite daunting to figure out what meditation really is and how do you practically sit still with eyes closed trying to “meditate”, especially when you have no idea what to expect out of it. Guided mindfulness meditations are designed primarily to cater to a newcomer. They help you think in a way that makes you feel better, positive and energetic.
Mindfulness exercises and Meditation is a practice proven by psychologists that reduce stress, improves focus and improves relationships. It makes you creative, helps you overcome addictions and energises every cell in your body. These benefits are just a tip of the iceberg.
The best part about this guided mindfulness exercises and meditation is that you can consider it to be a manual for every answer you seek. It is articulated to guide you to reach not just spiritual well-being but also to live consciously and create the life you desire. I would be lying if I told you that I knew exactly what I sought out for before I started practicing this meditation, that I had a long checklist of questions ready in a sheet of paper right beside my yoga mat that needed answers to. I did not. I was equivocal and clouded in my mind. Answering the daily 'Reflection Questions’ included in the program and noting my reactions and feelings after each meditation in MY Journal helped me understand myself better.I was starting to be in the correct headspace
One of my favourite Sanskrit
shloka is asato mā sadgamaya
tamasomā jyotir gamaya
mrityormāamritam gamaya
Oṁ śhānti śhānti śhāntiḥ
which in English means:
From ignorance, lead me to truth;
From darkness, lead me to light;
From death, lead me to immortality
Om peace, peace, peace
This is exactly how I felt with each passing day meditating to 'Oprah & Deepak 21-day Meditation Experience’. From every shut out thought or fragment in me, I felt being lead to ideas and openness. I felt the aura of optimism enveloping any failure I had encountered in the past. I felt being infinitely bond with the beauty in the world - radiance, colours, love, light, stars, dreams, oceans and much beyond. I felt the warmth and love from everyone around me and I felt the grace I needed to let go of any negativity that ever crept in. Most of all, I felt happy. So deeply happy.
My 21-day journey has been fulfilling and has not ended at that. I continue treading on this path, finding my balance, inhaling-exhaling and being open to whatever the future holds, shaping and carving it with a new-found zeal. If you are still contemplating whether you should or should not take this challenge up, I would like to quote to you Oprah, "Take a deep breath, get comfortable and invite this beautiful new energy in."
Namaste 🙏🏾
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