5 Insights from my 3 Day Meditation Retreat

I was on the virtual Find Yourself at Home meditation retreat with Agape International Spiritual Center and I’m excited to share with you 5 Insights from my 3 Day Meditation Retreat!

Insight #1 I am not my Mind

This was a bit challenging for me to understand, and it took me until the last 10 minutes of the last day for me to finally understand what this meant.

I think I’ve been using my mind so much since school that I’ve felt like I was my mind.

When I sat still for meditation, it was hard for me to focus on my breath because I kept wanting to plan – my day, marketing, paying bills, etc.

I asked Reverend Beckwith how to handle it and he said that it’s just my planning mind.

Just hold it in your attention, don’t try to judge it or stop it or engage with it.

And eventually, it will move on, just like other thoughts in our mind.

That made a huge difference for me in these last two weeks to be in the present moment, or at least when I leave the present moment, I know better why it happened.

Insight #2 Practicing Meditation to To Gain Dominion Over Our Attention

We practice meditation with the intention of having a realization that we are one with God, love-intelligence, all that is.

As we practice, we get stronger and stronger at keeping our attention where where we want it to be.

In meditation, we want to pay attention to our breath (because it is in the present moment, which is the closest vibration to the eternal now) and simultaneously pay attention to our intention I mentioned above.

So it’s a practice.

The more we practice, the better we get at paying attention to the now.

Insight #3 There Are Cycles To Meditation Like In A Washing Machine – There is No Good or Bad Meditation Sitting

Sometimes it feels like I meditate and I’m struggling with thoughts, and seems like I’m not getting anywhere.

Reverend Beckwith said that there is no bad meditation, or good meditation.

Every time we meditate it’s part of a cycle.

Sometimes we are in the cleaning phase.

Sometimes we are in the spin cycle, when everything is all clean.

It will be a different experience every time, but if you are going to wash clothes, you need each cycle.

We are doing an internal cleansing when we meditate.

Insight #4 Holding an Emotion in our Attention, and Not Trying to Change It Or Judge It, Will Make It Have Less and Less of a Hold On Us, and It Might Give us Insight Into The Root Cause of the Emotion

Emotions are rooted in a thought or thoughts.

If we are overwhelmed with an emotion, then pay attention to the emotion.

Don’t try to fight it, or get involved in it.

Just pay attention to it.

It will gradually fade away, though it may take time.

Sometimes, if we are lucky, we will discover the thought underneath the emotion.

Insight #5 Creating The Meditation Habit Is Key – And I Have The Discipline to Do It

Just as we clean our bodies and wash our hands, it’s important to clean our spiritual body before we meet people.

Otherwise we will be projecting on them our unresolved issues.

So my meditation retreat and practice revealed to me that everyday at 5:15am I am to wake up and meditate.

And also meditate every night before I go to bed.

Well, that scared me at first because it is so disciplined.

I have never done that before.

However, I started and ever since the retreat I have been meditating twice a day, whether I feel like it or not.

My meditation has revealed that I am strong enough to change my habits, and that this will greatly improve the quality of my life.

So far, it has been great!