May 21st is World Meditation Day!

Take this May 21st to slow down, meditate and foster practices that can deepen calm, clarity and concentration! As we move through this May, consider making time to read through and think about your relationship with meditation. For a brief primer on this topic, consider reading through this blogpost written by my colleague Vera about World Meditation Day! Here are some ways that I’ll add to the pool of ideas of what meditation can look like whether in my own spiritual/religious practice or methods I have found helpful when offering them as interventions in the therapeutic space:

• Journaling It can be hard for me to slow down and make time to meditate and reflect. To produce calm and hold my values, sometimes I use my journal to help me meditate. For me, that looks like journaling as an act of prayer or mindfulness in a free associative fashion or being inspired by something I’m listening to to contextualize my experience.

• Music/Sounds/Nature Sitting with one’s self in silence can be difficult. Perhaps a way to deepen or engage in meditative practices is through the use of music. This can be quiet, instrumental music, sounds of nature or a sound machine to help focus the wandering mind on something that can produce a relaxing experience.

• Lectio Divina Although commonly associated with monastic, religious or faith-based practices using religious text, the concept of focusing on a word or phrase can be very grounding. Sometimes it’s unclear where to start in meditation. One solution can be to follow these steps:

  • 1) Read a short passage or inspirational text slowly (and prayerfully for those who have a faith based experience);

  • 2) Reflect on this text with how it relates to one’s life;

  • 3) Engage insights experienced through responding to one’s thoughts and feelings (through prayer for those with faith-based practices), and 

  • 4) Contemplate on the conclusions found as an act of love and peace.

• Prayer beads Sometimes the deepening of a meditative experience can involve the usage of one’s body and tools to help foster focus. There is risk in using these tools because it can create a need to use them compulsively versus intentionally. With that in mind and with support from one’s community or therapist, the usage of prayer beads and walking paths such as via labyrinths (see the next example) have been used for centuries to foster deeper meditation or reflection. Prayer beads are found in a variety of faith based practices like Protestantism, Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism among other faiths and non-religious people for mindfulness and grounding.

• Labyrinth A labyrinth is a walking tool via a drawn map/maze on the ground commonly found in Protestant traditions. They are found as well in a non-religious context in the community. Check out the Armenian Heritage Park in Boston, Labyrinth and Contemplative Garden at Harvard Divinity School and 9/11 Memorial Labyrinth in Newton, MA for in-person examples. When using these paths, one walks the path slowly and meditatively to find a connection to a higher power or foster a deeper sense and connection with self and the world around them.

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Lou Lim, LMHC, REAT is a licensed mental health counselor and registered expressive arts therapist (REAT) with a master's degree in Expressive Therapy and Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University. He is a member of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association and on the committee for REAT credentialing. He has 13 years of experience in counseling and expressive therapy working with children, adolescents, teenagers, adults, and retirees.

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