Shifting Perspectives: My Journey to Focus and Calm with Vedic Meditation

I am spending the week with my daughter in the city where I grew up – Alexandria, VA. My daughter is here for a soccer camp, and I plan to stay for the week to get some work done and to immerse myself in some writing. As a business owner and a mother, this is my regular go-to excuse for getting overly stressed… not getting enough work done. It’s a common issue many face, and even when I tick off everything on my to-do list, I still feel like I didn’t get enough done. Now I am aware of it, and more often than not, I don’t get bogged down in that crusty old-mind chatter. Taking a break to meditate for 20 minutes daily using Vedic Meditation techniques is my hard reset and works like a charm.

In my last blog post, “two things you should know about Vedic Meditation,”, I touched on how I unceremoniously exited Virginia after high school and didn’t make it back for 20 years until I married my husband, who lived in Virginia. Thus, I was left with the impressions of this area and the people I had known that I held during my wild and girlish youth. And who wants to stick to that identity for a lifetime? Not me!

(Even though this is my 5th-grade class picture from 1982, it looks like it is from the 19th century. That’s me in the second row, on the first step, on the right, up against the railing.)

Driving along the roads where my friends and I cruised around in the 1980s in my friend’s first-gen U.S. Edition Hyundai, I noticed that the streets seemed so much narrower than they used to and the houses much smaller than I remember. Vague recollections of exciting moments and less-than-fond memories seem much less monumental and less impactful on who I am now at age 52. Sure, they were foundational, but oh, how life has taken so many twists and turns since then. It almost feels like that childhood didn’t even happen in this lifetime. This is why they say you can never go home again; the place from your past will never be the same as when you were young.

At this stage in my visit, I considered wallowing in the loss of attachment to my childhood.

Where are those lifelong friends I was supposed to have?

How did my siblings and I end up so far apart geographically and emotionally?

I could silently regret the things I haven’t done. Or perhaps I could focus on the features of my advancing age – joint pain, my fading vision, etc., and hope that I am vital and relevant for another 50 years (and fear that I won’t be). I began to miss my husband and son, who are back home a few hours away.

I call my son, and he says, “I miss you, Mommy.”

My daughter texts me from camp, saying that she hates it there. “I need you, Mom!”

Can I surrender to this writer’s refuge with all this going on?

What am I doing here?

I begin to wonder if I’m being overly indulgent.

Should I go home?

I thumped down on the couch in the little purple house with the bright orange door in Old Town, where I would stay for the next few days. Once again, I assumed the meditation position of sitting comfortably, back supported, and head free. The realization dawns on me that this has been the only consistent thing I’ve ever done in my life. For the last 28 years, I have witnessed myself sitting comfortably (and sometimes not so comfortably) twice a day, every day, and slipping into…effortlessness.

Oh, yes, the Vedic Masters had it right…

Rest first.

Act second.

And thus, I began my afternoon meditation.

Almost instantly, I noticed a sense of lightness rising in me. It could almost be described as carbonated happiness bubbling up from the center of my being. The heavy, nostalgic, delusional, romanticized view of the past is easily lifted off of me and evaporates. Ahhhh. My children, who have been accustomed to having me around at all times, are growing and getting some much-needed independence and developing self-sufficiency. They are safe. My work – the writing, the bookkeeping, tailoring meditation course events to the needs of my students – it will all get done. It always does.

Mantra, Mantra, mantra, mantra, ….

And so it goes, another dip into the transcendent field of pure consciousness, utter bliss, supreme inner happiness.

From this, I return fully competent to meet the demands placed upon me and accurately discern which demands do not require my attention but are for someone else to handle. Liberty from irrelevancy and freedom to effortlessly, contentedly perform the next-right action is mine, yet again.

What is Vedic Meditation?

Vedic Meditation draws from the ancient body of knowledge known as the Veda. As a practitioner of Vedic Meditation, you will tap into the transcendent wellspring of consciousness that dwells within each and every one of us. Rooted in millennia of tradition, this approach facilitates a seamless journey beyond the realm of thought, leading to a state of profound serenity and heightened awareness.

Benefits of Vedic Meditation:

• Burn off stress rapidly so it doesn’t build up in your nervous system.
• Stabilize your personality so you can present your truest self to the world.
• Experience a more fulfilling connection with the people in your life.
• Meet all of the demands in your life without feeling drained.
• Bounce back from difficulties quickly and with grace.
• Enjoy downtime—recharge, guilt-free.
• Unlock creativity that has been concealed by stress overload.
• Live less rigidly in your mind and body.

How to Learn Vedic Meditation?

Embark on your meditation journey with a complimentary 15-minute introductory session, available both in person and online, to determine if Vedic Meditation suits you. This is an amazing opportunity to understand the positive shifts you’ll begin experiencing in your relationships. Learn about the science that supports Vedic Meditation’s effectiveness. Ask all your questions and get answers. Skeptics welcome.

After your introductory session, the meditation course continues with four immersive 90-minute in-person sessions.