A while back, a local high school student sent me a bunch of interview questions for her research paper. The focus of her research was spirituality and meditation. As I was filling out my answers, I was struck by what great questions she was asking.

This is a high school student! Asking about spirituality and meditation! How cool is that?! I wasn’t interested in spirituality and meditation at that age. I was impressed by her interest and her curiosity.

After I finished, it occurred to me that her questions and my answers might be worth sharing with y’all. So here I am. Sharing them!

1. How do I successfully meditate without spacing out and feeling restless?

I can’t guarantee that you won’t space out or feel restless during meditation. In fact, I can guarantee that you probably will feel those things. I’ve been meditating daily for almost four decades now, and I still feel spaced out and restless sometimes. But here’s the thing: You can get better and better at meditating in spite of those things. You simply watch yourself feeling spacey or restless, and then return your attention to your breath, or your mantra. Meditation helps you develop a witness consciousness – a calm part of yourself that simply watches what’s going on, without freaking out.

One of the huge benefits of meditation is that, once you start to develop this witness consciousness, it will come into play more and more in your life outside of meditation. Meditation helps you to be more calm and collected in your life.

2. How do I put aside my anxiety that I experienced throughout the day while meditating?

The answer to this is similar to the answer to the first question. You won’t necessarily be able to put all your anxiety aside, especially when you first start to meditate. But you’ll develop more and more of that witness consciousness, which allows you to simply observe your anxiety without needing to act on it or do anything about it. Then, the longer you meditate – both in an individual meditation session and keeping up your meditation practice in general – your anxiety will start to lessen. I’ve heard of some folks with anxiety who said that meditation was the only thing that helped.

3. Is it possible to become more spiritual after meditating for a long period of time?

Yup! That witness conscious I was talking about? That’s essentially the spiritual essence within you. It’s the part that is chill. The part that doesn’t judge anything. The part that simply accepts everything that’s happening, without needing to freak out or force things to go in a certain way. As you develop this consciousness, you bring your spiritual essence more fully into your life. And when you do that, life gets more enjoyable and better in countless ways.

4. How do I consistently stay motivated to meditate every day?

Hmmm. I’m a super disciplined person, so this part has been easier for me. I do it first thing in the morning, which is one good way to keep the practice going. By doing it first thing in the morning, it doesn’t get “put off till later” and not happen. Also, not doing too much at first is good. If you set an unrealistic goal for your meditation practice, you’re less likely to keep doing it. Meditation can take some time to get used to. Starting with 5 minutes a day, and then increasing gradually, is one good way to go.

Also, meditating with others is another way to stay motivated. There’s accountability because there’s someone else doing it, and it’s also cool (and powerful!) to meditate with others.

5. Would it be better to repeat a mantra while meditating? If so, do you recommend any for anxiety?

I love mantras. I have a seriously busy mind, and a mantra helps keep me focused. I use the mantra “I am Love.” I say this along with my inhale and exhale. For anxiety, you could use a mantra like “I am peace.” If that doesn’t work, try one that fits better for you. Or ask Spirit/the Universe/Source to inspire you with a mantra, and then wait and see what comes up. It may take a while to find the best mantra for you, but the key is to keep trying different things until you find one you really like. I’ve been using the same mantra for over twenty years, which has really helped anchor it in my consciousness.

6. What are your thoughts on meditation connecting you to your higher self?

Meditation is one of the best ways to connect with your higher self. Meditation is amazing and life changing. Sometimes I meditate and it feels like all I did was sit there, feeling distracted. But then I notice that I feel different afterwards. Also, I can see the effect that long-term meditation has had on my life. Meditation allows a space – that witness consciousness thing – to build in your mind. It’s like building a temple in your mind and body. Every time you space out and bring your attention back to your meditation, it’s like adding another square foot to that temple. The temple keeps building over time. That temple is your connection to your higher self. That temple is your higher self.

So yeah. Meditation. It’s amazing. Except when it’s weird and frustrating. But even then, it’s still amazing.

What’s your experience of meditation practice? Share your comments below!

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