Meditating Through Your Grief
While researching the value of meditation to those who are grieving, I came across an excellent article by Mary Friedel-Hunt, MA LCSW on the website Griefhaven.org. She began the article with the following quote:
It is only through holding our own broken hearts and wounds in an attentive and compassionate embrace, that we can, over time, move through our grief to some stage of peace and resolution. ~ Brad Hunter
To me this message makes such perfect sense. With all the stresses on our hearts and minds today, when magnified by the loss of a loved one, we have to take gentle care of ourselves. We need to dedicate periods of quiet solitude to help heal. What better way to do this than through a regular meditation practice?
Meditation has become “the word” over the past few years. You see it on magazine covers at the store, hear from celebrities on how meditation has changed their lives and probably even received sales pitches for meditation courses online. It is being sold as the panacea for our stressful lives.
As cliché as it may seem meditating can be an important tool in working through grief. Meditation does not help you forget your loss, but helps you care for yourself and the ways grief adversely affects your mind and body. Meditating provides many benefits including reducing pain , boosting your immune system and improving your sleep as well as your concentration and focus.
Meditation may sound challenging, in fact, you may have tried it and found that you simply cannot still your mind. But I suggest, that if you find yourself looking for a way to manage your grief, start with a very simple meditation and begin with no expectations. As with every learned skill, it takes time to get into the groove and feel comfortable.
In her article, Ms. Friedel-Hunt provides guidance for what she calls a Mindful Meditation. I recommend that you give it a try, daily for a week or two. Stick with it and see if this just might be one of the best ways to ease your mind from the overwhelming grief you find in your heart.